The Democratic Academy Workshop
June 4,2004

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610-606-4607
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Democratic Academy Workshop

For faculty and administrators interested in promoting greater civic engagement among college students, the Democratic Academy Workshop at Cedar Crest College offers an array of instructional techniques that will serve to encourage increased political and social engagement on the part of undergraduates.

The two day workshop will train faculty and administrators in the use of three distinct, yet mutually reinforcing pedagogical strategies that enable educators to promote student engagement in the classroom, their local communities, and/or the political process. Suitable for adoption in courses and academic programs across the curriculum, the instructional techniques associated with each pedagogical strategy serve to broaden and deepen the significance students attach to the meaning of citizenship through the creation of learning environments that:

• Empower students to take personal responsibility for their own learning.
  
• Encourage students to develop a sense of personal responsibility for the well-being of their communities.
  
• Enable students to acquire the knowledge, skills and self-confidence needed to assume a leadership role in the process of social change
  The Democratic Academy Workshop is an outgrowth of Cedar Crest College’s “Participating in Democracy Project,” a three year - $1.2 million dollar initiative designed to address the problem of civic disengagement and political apathy among younger Americans. Over the last two years, the instructional techniques featured in the Democratic Academy Workshop have proven their value in addressing these problems through a series of field tests involving thousands of students at several colleges and universities across the country.

Participants in the Democratic Academy Workshop will receive:

The Instructor’s Guide which provides an overview of the Democratic Academy and the pedagogical strategies that will promote an enduring commitment to civic engagement among students.

The Toolkit for Teaching in a Democratic Academy which details active learning instructional techniques that can be used to engage students in the classroom, their local communities and the politics.

An Assessment Matrix featuring research tools explicitly designed to evaluate student learning outcomes and community impact.

“Reinventing Democracy,” a 60-minute video emphasizing the role that civic engagement has played in the evolution of democracy in America.