Every other week, GC picks out a selection of articles that are relevant to our work and to the civic education space as a whole. We at GC love to expand our learning in every aspect of what we do, and we hope you enjoy our selections!

 

Is literature the answer to tackling poor civics curriculum? Education Dive.

Some educators believe that literature should be a key piece of holistic civic education reform. They argue that teachers can contextualize historical and political realities by incorporating literature into civics education, and that works of fiction can expose students to opposing views in a way that is comfortable for teachers to facilitate.

 

Three Ways to Find More Disease Cures, Wall Street Journal.

This article about ways Congress and the executive branch can spur disease research offers a strong example of why civic knowledge is vital for the success of all fields, including science.

 

Augmented Learning and Teaching the Skills of the 21st Century, Georgetown Public Policy Review.

In many ways, the education landscape is shifting in response to a changing job market as technology replaces human jobs. A section of this report from the Georgetown Public Policy Review points out that a greater focus on civic education can develop a future workforce bent on promoting social impact, and that civics classes are effective at building needed skills like critical thinking, problem solving, and interpersonal communication.

 

How pollsters could use social media data to improve election forecasts, Washington Post.

In this piece, political scientists explain new methods for analyzing social media postings to predict election outcomes. The researchers’ model is not without shortcomings, but it performed well in forecasting the 2016 presidential election, and this kind of innovative work is especially intriguing in light of the relatively poor performance of traditional polling methods in this election cycle.