People Powered: Civic Action, Community Engagement, and American Representative Democracy
Traditional civics education has focused largely on the establishment, structures, and inner-workings of the federal government, specifically the duties and prerogatives of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and more recent civics curriculum has incorporated a focus on individual action, like voting. People Powered will expand the civic lens and include a substantial focus on the powerful ways that collective grassroots organizing and engagement with the legislative process have historically shaped and continue to shape our nation. Students participating in this initiative will develop and refine the critical skills needed to become informed and engaged participants in American civic life.
People Powered: Civic Action, Community Engagement, and American Representative Democracy will expose high school and middle school educators to inquiry-based teaching pedagogies, in order to engage students in a year-long series of collaborative, civics-focused experiential activities that culminate in research-based, authentic task assignment. Designed as a hybrid project incorporating the most successful elements of the Byrd’s Center’s highly regarded annual Teacher Institute and student-focused Government and Deliberation programs, People Powered will utilize innovative primary source-based lessons and student-led activities to facilitate broader and deeper understanding of the full arc of American civic life in historic and contemporary contexts.
Participants in People Powered will gain:
People Powered: Civic Action, Community Engagement, and American Representative Democracy will expose high school and middle school educators to inquiry-based teaching pedagogies, in order to engage students in a year-long series of collaborative, civics-focused experiential activities that culminate in research-based, authentic task assignment. Designed as a hybrid project incorporating the most successful elements of the Byrd’s Center’s highly regarded annual Teacher Institute and student-focused Government and Deliberation programs, People Powered will utilize innovative primary source-based lessons and student-led activities to facilitate broader and deeper understanding of the full arc of American civic life in historic and contemporary contexts.
Participants in People Powered will gain:
- Access to dynamic educational tools for engaging your students in inquiry and experiential based learning;
- Primary resources which support instruction on the Constitution, Legislative Branch, and West Virginia history;
- Exposure to civics instruction from field leaders at regional and national institutions;
- A network of fellow civics teachers and an exchange of ideas, experiences, and resources to ensure your students are meeting their curricular expectations;
- EDPD credit for workshop attendance;
- Compensation ($925) for the time, planning, and participation in the workshop and People Powered Project.
Get Involved:
The Byrd Center welcomes the application of educators teaching 10th, 11th, and 12th grade civics or social studies classes, as well as AP American history or government classes and middle school social studies classes to participate in a workshop (either June 28 or 30, 2023) exploring the content of the People Powered project and piloting the resources and experiential learning approaches introduced by the workshop.
On April 20, 2024, participating teachers will submit a capstone, via Zoom, of a student social studies project evolving from People Powered, with the winning school receiving a $5000 Prize, and four runner-up schools receiving $2500 prize each. Thirty teachers will be selected to participate in the June 2023 workshop and April 2024 capstone presentations.
See the evaluation rubric below.
On April 20, 2024, participating teachers will submit a capstone, via Zoom, of a student social studies project evolving from People Powered, with the winning school receiving a $5000 Prize, and four runner-up schools receiving $2500 prize each. Thirty teachers will be selected to participate in the June 2023 workshop and April 2024 capstone presentations.
See the evaluation rubric below.
| people_powered_presentation_2023_evaluation_updated.doc |
If you are interested in participating in one of the workshops and in the People Powered Civic Action, Community Engagement, and American Representative Democracy project, please complete the information below.
Project Background:
The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation has awarded the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education a grant of $136,250.00 for a new initiative that will expand civics education in West Virginia. “People Powered: Civic Action, Community Engagement, and American Representative Democracy” will launch in June 2023, bringing together experts in the fields of civics, educational pedagogy, and experiential learning practices to deliver innovative practices in the use of primary source materials, experiential learning and educational materials to West Virginia social studies, civics, and history teachers.
“People Powered” is designed to supplement the high school and middle school curriculum in order to support and enhance the teaching of history, civics, and social studies. Grant funding has enabled the Byrd Center to produce lesson plans which utilize the primary sources from its archival collections which engage students in learning that is inquiry-based, experiential, high-interest and connects to the broader concepts of American government and civil life with a West Virginia and Appalachian regional focus. The grant will also allow the Byrd Center to offer specialized training for teachers to incorporate these resources in their classrooms. Paired with tested learning tools from such highly regarded institutions as the National Archives and Records Administration and iCivics, “People Powered” will provided a robust resource for West Virginia educators.
The Byrd Center is uniquely positioned to lead such an initiative. For six years, the center has worked closely with teachers to discover and implement primary sources in classroom instruction, demonstrating the immense value these resources can lend to civics education. The center’s highly regarded Teacher Institute has served over 300 West Virginia teachers since its launch in 2013. From this foundation, “People Powered” will be the Byrd Center’s next step in engaging with West Virginia’s excellent educators as we work together to prepare our nation’s next generation of public leaders and engaged citizens.
“People Powered” is designed to supplement the high school and middle school curriculum in order to support and enhance the teaching of history, civics, and social studies. Grant funding has enabled the Byrd Center to produce lesson plans which utilize the primary sources from its archival collections which engage students in learning that is inquiry-based, experiential, high-interest and connects to the broader concepts of American government and civil life with a West Virginia and Appalachian regional focus. The grant will also allow the Byrd Center to offer specialized training for teachers to incorporate these resources in their classrooms. Paired with tested learning tools from such highly regarded institutions as the National Archives and Records Administration and iCivics, “People Powered” will provided a robust resource for West Virginia educators.
The Byrd Center is uniquely positioned to lead such an initiative. For six years, the center has worked closely with teachers to discover and implement primary sources in classroom instruction, demonstrating the immense value these resources can lend to civics education. The center’s highly regarded Teacher Institute has served over 300 West Virginia teachers since its launch in 2013. From this foundation, “People Powered” will be the Byrd Center’s next step in engaging with West Virginia’s excellent educators as we work together to prepare our nation’s next generation of public leaders and engaged citizens.
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Our Mission: |
The Byrd Center advances representative democracy by promoting a better understanding of the United States Congress and the Constitution through programs and research that engage citizens.
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© 2021 Robert C. Byrd Center for
Congressional History and Education |