Civic Engagement in the Classroom

Civic Engagement in the Classroom

Civic engagement may be incorporated into the classroom in a number of ways. For example, SMSU faculty have made use of NY Times as the main "text" for a course, involved students in direct service (i.e., service learning), involved students in area advisory boards, encouraged students to write letters to editors of local papers, incorporated involvement in electoral processes into course instruction, or created learning opportunities for some combination of all of these forms of civic engagement. Below you will find some examples "civic engagement in the classroom" over the past few years.

Dr. Tom Williford - HISTORY - Students subscribe to The New York Times at a discounted rate through SMSU's participation in the NY Times inCOLLEGE Program and bring their newspapers to class to discuss contemporary global issues (to learn more about the NY Times inCollege Program go to http://www.nytimesincollege.com/ ).

Dr. Will Thomas -ACCOUNTING- Students serve on local boards.

Dr. David Sturrock - POLITICAL SCIENCE - Students conduct exit polls during election years. 

Dr. Scott Peterson - PSYCHOLOGY - Students enrolled in a Developmental Psychology may opt to volunteer area sites for 20 hours as a means of adding depth to their understanding of developmental constructs, while addressing area needs.

Dr. Cindy Aamlid - SOCIOLOGY - Students enrolled in Social Problems course may opt to locate service opportunities in the Marshall area or broader SW Minnesota region as a means of increasing their understanding of factors that contribute to a variety of social problems covered in this course.

Dr. Christine Olson - PSYCHOLOGY - Students enrolled in General Psychology and Psychology Seminar could, for extra credit, become involved in 15-20 hours of Election 2012 processes (e.g., assisting with voter registration, canvassing, assisting with coordination of public forums for local candidates) as a means of gaining a better understanding "efficacy/motivation for social change".

Civic Engagement in the Classroom Form

 Civic Engagement in the Classroom