Civic Learning Institute Launches

The Civic Learning Institute (CLI) has launched at Harvard Graduate School of Education, providing interactive, online professional development courses to ensure that educators have the tools they need to prepare young people to be civically engaged and able to work together to sustain our constitutional democracy in the future.

“Passing on a clear-eyed understanding of American constitutional democracy to future generations is an urgent civic necessity. Students are hungry for a deeper understanding of their country’s origins, triumphs and struggles. Yet, teaching American history and civics is particularly challenging right now,” said Professor Danielle Allen, a Civic Learning Institute instructor. “We need many educators to build a new foundation for excellence in history and civics education. Civic Learning Institute participants will deepen their understanding of how to teach civics and history to students, especially during these polarizing times.” 

In each of the nine, four-week courses, teachers and leaders in K–12 and higher education will deepen both their content knowledge and pedagogical skills as they get feedback from coaches, participate in small group discussions, and design learning activities. CLI courses will cover topics including founding documents, such as the Constitution and Declaration of Independence; key periods of history, such as the Vietnam War; and pedagogical topics, such as navigating difficult conversations in the classroom. The first course, Our Declaration: “We the People” and the Declaration of Independence, launches October 7 and will be taught by Harvard Professor Danielle Allen. Registration closes October 1. Participants will receive a certificate of completion from the Harvard Graduate School of Education that documents their participation hours.

CLI courses are developed based on the Educating for American Democracy Roadmap, or EAD, created by more than 300 academics, historians, political scientists, K–12 teachers, school district and state administrators, civic leaders, and students from across the country. This cross-ideological group, which was diverse in all dimensions — demographic background, expertise, and viewpoint — worked together for more than a year to build consensus around high-quality history and civics content and pedagogy. This included their work to consider and address controversial and challenging tensions in American history and contemporary public life. 

Students who experience high-quality civic education are more likely to complete college and develop employable skills; vote and discuss current issues at home; be confident in speaking publicly and in communications with elected representatives; and to volunteer and work on community issues. Yet, at the Federal level, $50 per student, per year is spent on STEM education, whereas approximately just 50 cents per student, per year is spent on teaching civics. CLI seeks to make high-quality professional development accessible to all educators. 

CLI courses will be about 10 hours total, with asynchronous sessions at the start and end of each course (about 2 hours each) and two synchronous sessions in between (3 hours each). Registration is $15 per course and is open to K–12 classroom teachers, instructional coaches, school leaders, professional development professionals, higher ed faculty and those who work in a museum or cultural institution. Participants will learn from the country’s leading scholars, from Harvard University, the University of Florida, Loyola University Maryland and Northeastern University. 

Learn more and view a full list of courses offerings.