2024 Innovators in Civic Education Fellowship Workshop

The David Mathews Center hosted the 2024 Innovators in Civic Education Fellowship Workshop at the Rotunda at the American Village on July 11th, 2024. This workshop brought together educators from across the state to provide resources and training to guide civics-forward education in their classrooms and communities. 

Fellows began the day with introductions from Executive Director Rachel Mosness, learning more about each other and the Mathews Center’s mission, programs, and history. 

Following introductions, educators engaged in a deliberative forum about elections, weighing the benefits and tradeoffs between making it easier to register and vote, doing more to make elections secure, or offering more and better choices in the voting system. Throughout the discussion, fellows heard views that were both similar and different from their own, from topics such as how to make it easier to run for office or fairly draw congressional districts. A range of actions were deliberated during this conversation; however, everyone agreed that offering in-person early voting for 7 days (rather than the proposed 15), making voting a national holiday, and automatically registering voters when they turn 18 were the most practical solutions to increase voter turnout and participation. 

During lunch, Fellows heard from guest speakers who are engaged in civic education and have used deliberation in applicable ways in the classroom. Mindy Walker, a 2023-2024 Teacher Fellow, described her use of the Creek War 1813-1814 issue guide with her students and how mapping out the approaches helped the students think more critically about the benefits and tradeoffs of each. By using this technique, students can come to a more concise decision that aligns with their values or better explain why none or multiple of the approaches would work for them. 

Ben Honan and Salem Khalef, UAB medical students participating in the fellowship program at the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship of Alabama, presented after Walker. Honan and Khalef are working to address limitations in the ability to engage with those different from oneself among teens, specifically by cultivating skills of discourse and dialogue. Beginning with an understanding of cultural humility, teens can connect by sharing differing elements of their backgrounds and discussing stances on contemporary issues. This capacity for communication can be beneficial across multiple settings, including healthcare, which contributes to improved health for self and family. 

To reach this goal, Honan and Khalef are looking for teachers and classrooms to host these conversations. If you are interested in learning more, please contact them at skhalaf@uab.edu (Salem Khalef) and bmhonan@uab.edu (Ben Honan).

DMC Staff with Fellows Barbara Sullivan and Anna Elswick

To complete the day, Education Coordinator Lauren Lockhart conducted a moderator training workshop, providing tools, tricks, and resources to facilitate forums and deliberative conversations in the classroom. The workshop closed with the resources and support the Mathews Center has to offer teacher fellows throughout the year and beyond. Each participant went home with class sets of issue guides they wanted to incorporate into the classroom. 

The Mathews Center is beyond thankful for these educators and their dedication to uplifting civic education and engagement across the state. If you are interested and want more information about participating in the 2025-2026 Innovators in Civic Education Fellowship, please contact Education Coordinator Lauren Lockhart at llockhart@mathewscenter.org.