AACU Encourages Civic Learning, Provides Practical Ways to Implement It

The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU) has made available a free publication on practical ways faculty can better produce civic learning. The publication, called Civic Prompts, addresses a goal that has been part of the American education system since its inception: to instill the values of democracy in American college students and inspire and enable them to take democratic action and further democratic process. In recent years, the American higher education system has been charged by United States leadership to define how each discipline can contribute to public well-being and how to incorporate civic learning into coursework.

Civic Prompts helps to provide faculty with resources to encourage civic learning and generate students who will use their degrees to benefit the nation as a whole and advance democracy worldwide. Some prompts include, "What are some big issues that are common to your disciplinary domain that lend themselves to civic inquiries and/or actions?", "What kinds of assignments generate a line of civic questioning or civic actions within the context of your disciplinary or interdisciplinary course?", and "What are some civic pedagogies suited to your disciplinary domain?". The AACU hopes priming faculty with these prompts will make civic learning more routine across the disciplines of higher education.