Digital Commons Network^™

Item 5: Final Project: Civic Leadership: Theories And Practice, Kara Dillard

Kara Dillard, Civic Leadership: Theories and Practice

Understanding the experiences of real-life civic leaders can help students learn and become civic leaders themselves. This final group project will ask students to identify and interview a local civic leader about their work, challenges, opportunities, and threats. Students will use course material to thematically assess the interview answers and develop new insights about civic leadership.

Item 6: Assignment 1: Deliberating Across Divides To Find Common Ground, Kara Dillard

Kara Dillard, Civic Leadership: Theories and Practice

Many students struggle to engage in conversations with people who hold different views. Fear of saying the wrong thing—or being “canceled”—can discourage open dialogue, yet democratic societies rely on the ability to deliberate across divides. This assignment gives students the opportunity to practice deliberation, a structured way of discussing complex, “wicked” issues while fostering mutual understanding, respect, and hopefully finding common ground to act together. Following the deliberation, students will write a reflection analyzing their experience, exploring what they learned from listening to diverse perspectives, and how civic leaders can use deliberation to foster productive dialogue in divided communities.

Item 2: Identifying Local Nonprofit Organizations & Volunteer Opportunities Activity, Fatima Sattar

Fatima Sattar, Soc 1100 - Introduction to Sociology with a Civic Engagement Emphasis

In this small group/paired activity, students will use the internet to identify a local nonprofit organization, its mission, its work/services (what it does and why), volunteer opportunities, populations served, and the social issues/problems it seeks to address. They will use this information to create a visual about the nonprofit organization. Next, they will present their findings to the class by taking the position of the organization to discuss the significance of their work and try to recruit volunteers. Students will then vote on which organization they would like to (potentially) volunteer with as a class!

Item 5: Immigration Story Project, Fatima Sattar

Fatima Sattar, Soc 1100 - Introduction to Sociology with a Civic Engagement Emphasis

The United States has a long history of migration. Immigrants and refugees have experienced unique challenges throughout their migration trajectory from origin to settlement in a new society. The purpose of this assignment is an opportunity to practice civic engagement by learning about an immigrant’s challenges from an immigrant themself. Students will be interviewing an immigrant and creating an MS PowerPoint recorded audio presentation about their story. Presentations will be shared with classmates.

Item 6: Sociological Imagination And Civic Problems Essay Assignment, Fatima Sattar

Fatima Sattar, Soc 1100 - Introduction to Sociology with a Civic Engagement Emphasis

In this assignment, a short-written essay, students will be using the concept of the “sociological imagination” (introduced by sociologist C. Wright Mills) to examine a local civic problem reported in the news. Mills introduces this idea of “personal troubles” versus “public issues” by explaining that although individuals tend to perceive their problems as being “personal troubles,” these problems are “public issues,” stemming from the structures and culture of society. To effectively engage in civic engagement, we must understand how societal structures, culture, and practices impact our everyday lives and problems we experience. This can then help us work collectively on …

Syllabus: Participación Cívica En/Para Puerto Rico, Leila Rodriguez

Leila Rodriguez, Participación Cívica en/para Puerto Rico

¡Bienvenidos al curso Participación Cívica en/para Puerto Rico! En esta clase, los estudiantes¡Bienvenidos al curso Participación Cívica en/para Puerto Rico! En esta clase, los estudiantesaprenderán sobre el estado sociocultural, político, económico y ambiental actual de PuertoRico, contextualizándolo dentro de su historia como colonia española primero y territorioestadounidense después. Se explorarán algunos momentos históricos clave que han moldeadoa Puerto Rico, y su impacto duradero. Los estudiantes aprenderán los mecanismos que lospuertorriqueños en las islas tienen para interactuar con el gobierno de los EE. UU., así como lasformas de participación cívica dentro de la isla. Al finalizar este curso, los estudiantes tendránuna …

Actividad En Clase 2: Vistas Públicas Como Mecanismo De Participación Cívica, Leila Rodriguez

Leila Rodriguez, Participación Cívica en/para Puerto Rico

En Puerto Rico, las vistas públicas son espacios importantes de diálogo y discusión entre la sociedad civil y los representantes del gobierno. Estos eventos están abiertos al público y representan una oportunidad para presentar diferentes perspectivas antes de que se tomen decisiones oficiales sobre temas importantes. Participar en vistas públicas es una parte fundamental del ejercicio democrático. Los organismos gubernamentales que celebran vistas públicas incluyen el Senado, la Cámara de Representantes y varios Departamentos. La Junta de Supervisión y Administración Financiera de Puerto Rico, creada bajo la Ley PROMESA en 2016, también realiza vistas públicas. La Junta está compuesta por …

Asignación Uno: La Vida En Puerto Rico Vs. Ee. Uu.: Comprasen El Supermercado, Leila Rodriguez

Leila Rodriguez, Participación Cívica en/para Puerto Rico

El propósito de esta asignación es que los estudiantes obtengan una perspectiva más profunda sobre cómo la vida cotidiana de los puertorriqueños se compara con la de los estadounidenses en el territorio continental mediante la comparación del costo de una compra en el supermercado. En esta actividad, los estudiantes ejercitarán el pensamiento crítico.

Item 1: Syllabus: English 3xx: Argumentation: “The Ballot Of The Bullet”, Sarah Rudewalker

Sarah RudeWalker, The Ballot or the Bullet

This syllabus for an upper-level undergraduate course in argumentation, rhetoric, or communication contains a course concept, assignment descriptions, and a detailed course schedule with readings centering Malcolm X’s provocative ultimatum of “the ballot or the bullet” as the way forward for African American liberation and a functioning American democracy. The first half of the course provides students with a foundation in core theories and concepts of argumentation, and the second half of the course asks them to apply them by participating in public address, deliberation, and debate in the class and out in the world.

Item 2: Assignment 1: Deliberation, Sarah Rudewalker

Sarah RudeWalker, The Ballot or the Bullet

This assignment gives students an opportunity to apply the concepts they are learning in a course on rhetoric and argumentation in the real world by organizing and facilitating a public deliberation event about an issue of their choice. Students choose the issue they would like to discuss with the community, compose an issue guide to overview and present approaches to the issue, and reflect after the event about their experience in a post-project report. The assignment can be adapted for courses in writing, communication, political science, civic education, and courses emphasizing social justice and practices of civic engagement.

Item 4: Activity 1: “My Vote Don’T Count”, Sarah Rudewalker

Sarah RudeWalker, The Ballot or the Bullet

This activity asks students to consider voter predispositions about whether or not voting “matters.” Students are given the choice to share one of two texts with a small group of friends or family outside the class: either a music video for hip-hop artist YelloPain’s song “My Vote Don’t Count” (2020) or an article reporting on current research about young voter disengagement. Students then record their subjects’ responses to the message and mode of the video, attending to convergences and differences about attitudes towards the efficacy of voting. The activity works well to introduce a course or unit about voter engagement …

Item 1: Shakespeare For Civic Action Course Syllabus (Upper-Level Undergraduate Course), Molly Slavin

Molly Slavin, Shakespeare for Civic Action Course Syllabus (upper-level undergraduate course)

This syllabus sets out a general overview for an upper-level literature class titled “Shakespeare for Civic Action.” The syllabus contains readings, a course schedule, and brief sketches of assignments. This syllabus would be useful for English or other literature professors who would like anywhere from a full-fledged syllabus to ideas and inspiration for how to incorporate civic education into a class on a canonical author. Five other deliverables (three activities and two assignments) are also submitted as part of this class/syllabus.

Item 5: Assignment 1: Shakespeare For Civic Action, Molly Slavin

Molly Slavin, Shakespeare for Civic Action Course Syllabus (upper-level undergraduate course)

This is the assignment sheet for the paper that follows from the archival research activity described in Activity 1. The paper asks students to discuss educational facilities as places for civic engagement and Shakespearean productions, and to draw on archival resources to explore how race and segregation affect Shakespearean production within those facilities. Students will have read and performed archival research on The Taming of the Shrew and will have watched 10 Things I Hate About You.

Item 6: Assignment 2: Shakespeare For Civic Action, Molly Slavin

Molly Slavin, Shakespeare for Civic Action Course Syllabus (upper-level undergraduate course)

This is an assignment sheet for a podcast assignment tied to Activity 2. The sheet gives further details on producing a podcast on Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, including information on structure, questions for inspiration, and specifics on what to include in the podcast dialogue. Students are asked to discuss gender in the original play, and what it might mean for civic engagement in the world today, taking a Slate-sponsored podcast series (Lend Me Your Ears) as a starting point.

Keynoter, September/October 2025, Boise State University Association Of Office Professionals

Boise State University Association of Office Professionals - Keynoter

President's Message

Talent Show

Guest message: Prioritizing

Professional & Personal Development

Recipes

NAEOP

Enrichment Program

Treasurer's Report

Readership

PSP Certification

Membership

General AOP Info

Calendar

Utilizing Generative Ai To Counter Learner Groupthink By Introducing Controversy In Collaborative Problem-Based Learning Settings, Andrew Wiss, Mary Showstark, Kyle Dobbeck, Jennifer Pattershall-Geide, Elke Zschaebitz, Dawn Joosten-Hagye, Kirsten Potter, Erin Embry

Montclair State University Scholarship & Creative Works

This article highlights the foundational challenge of rapid interprofessional student team formation and the potential challenges that groupthink poses for newly-formed teams participating in collaborative problem-based learning activities. This article describes a mixed-methods study that addresses groupthink by introducing a generative artificial intelligence-based agent (genAI agent) into the small group processes of student teams engaging in a session of a well-established virtual interprofessional education methodology. The integration of this novel genAI tool into each student team was an intentional pedagogical technique, introduced in response to the challenges that newly-formed student teams may encounter as they rapidly come together and potentially …

Women Of Legend And Merit Awards October 14 2025, Tennessee State University

Women of Legend and Merit Awards Programs

No abstract provided.

Assignment 2: Looking At The New York State Constitution (Or Your State Constitution), John Shekitka

John Shekitka, Social Studies Curriculum and Methods in Secondary Education

This is an activity, one that I have piloted with my most recent cohort of secondary social studies methods MAT students, in which the students—alone, in small groups, and with the whole class—explore the New York State Constitution. This can rather readily be adapted for other states as well. In our experience, it proved very illuminating in that many of the things that make our state unique are enumerated in the state constitution.

Assignment 4: Childhood Methods For Social Studies And Civic Engagement, John Shekitka

John Shekitka, Social Studies Curriculum and Methods in Secondary Education

This course provides the methodology and content necessary to teach elementary school social studies. Emphasis is on the integration of elementary school social studies and fine arts in an interdisciplinary teaching context. Students are expected to refresh their content knowledge so that they are prepared to teach social studies to children in grades K-6.

Editor’S Note: Comparative Civilizational Turn: The Future Of The Iscsc In The Wake Of Geopolitical “Grey Rhino” Events, Greg Lewicki

Comparative Civilizations Review

The last few years seem to have brought some bitter realizations among political scientists, forecasters, and security analysts. Namely: they tend to err, and their forecasts too often remain off-target.

Premenopausal Transition In Neurodivergent Women With Musculoskeletal Syndromes: Mechanisms, Risks, And Neuroinclusive Therapeutics, Piper Hutson, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

Neurodivergent women with chronic musculoskeletal syndromes experience disproportionate premenopausal symptom burdens that are poorly characterized in extant clinical paradigms and practice. The compounded interplay of estrogen fluctuations in premenopause with sensory–executive differences and baseline nociception from joint or connective-tissue pathology yields intensified pain, mood dysregulation, and functional decline. Evidence indicates estrogen modulates nociception, neuroinflammation, bone remodeling, and monoaminergic signaling; premenopausal variability magnifies pain, affective lability, and cognitive drift—effects accentuated in autism and ADHD. Coexisting hypermobility, fibromyalgia, or connective-tissue disorders compromise joint integrity and proprioception, increasing susceptibility to estrogen-dependent changes in bone microarchitecture and tendon homeostasis. This article advances an integrative …

Assignment 3: Examining The Role Of State Supreme Courts, John Shekitka

John Shekitka, Social Studies Curriculum and Methods in Secondary Education

This course provides the methodology and content necessary to teach elementary school social studies. Emphasis is on the integration of elementary school social studies and fine arts in an interdisciplinary teaching context. Students are expected to refresh their content knowledge so that they are prepared to teach social studies to children in grades K-6.

A Complicated History Of Mitogenome Introgression Among Luxilus Species (Teleostei, Family Leuciscidae) In The Ozark Highlands, David D. Duvernell, Carson Arnold, Shila Koju, Abby J. Wicks, Thomas E. Dowling

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Hybridization is common among minnows and shiners in the family Leuciscidae, and mitonuclear discordance can reveal evidence of historical hybridization and introgression events that have shaped extant species and populations. We have identified a notable case of serial mitogenome replacement in populations of two shiner species, Luxilus zonatus and L. chrysocephalus, which are syntopic in drainages throughout the northern and eastern Ozark Interior Highlands of North America. These mitogenome replacement events involved L. zonatus acquiring the mitogenome of L. chrysocephalus, and populations of L. chrysocephalus acquiring the mitogenome of an allopatric congeneric species, L. cornutus. The latter species has a …

Auditory Cognition Lab: A Music Therapy And Speech-Language Pathology Co-Treatment For Military-Connected Populations With Auditory And Cognitive Impairment, Danielle Vetro-Kalseth, Rebecca Vaudreuil, Heather Morrison, Kathleen Howard, Hannah Bronson

Faculty Works

Military personnel are particularly at risk for auditory processing difficulties as their training, occupational, and combat experiences increase the likelihood of long-term damage to the auditory system as well as negatively impact physical, psychological, cognitive, and sensory functioning. This article introduces a music therapy and speech-language pathology co-treatment program, Auditory Cognition Lab (ACL), that treats auditory and cognitive deficits in military-connected populations (service members, veterans) with traumatic brain injury (TBI). ACL addresses auditory discrimination, temporal and binaural processing, and trains compensatory strategies related to auditory processing, cognition, and hearing function. ACL has been clinically implemented at multiple military treatment facilities …

The Fate Of Intra- And Extracellular Antibiotic Resistance Genes Through Advanced Wastewater Treatment Process, Celestene Adrianne Sebag

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

More areas across the globe are becoming affected by water stress or water scarcity. The decrease in available freshwater due to overconsumption reveals the direct need to consider other sources for necessities such as drinking water or food production. Agricultural irrigation uses 70% of the world’s freshwater, making the focus on safe and reliable reclaimed water for agricultural reuse imperative. However, contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), such as antibiotics and their resulting antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), can spread and affect human health if reclaimed water is not treated to the proper level. Antibiotics are widely used in human medicine and …

Strengthening The Rule Of Law In Ecuador: A Conversation With Jhoel Escudero Soliz, President Of The Constitutional Court, Jhoel Escudero, David Collins

Judicature International

No abstract provided.

Item 1: Syllabus: American National Government, 100-200 Level Introductory Course, Michael Williams Jr.

Michael Williams, American National Government 100-200 Level Introductory Course

This course explores American national government, balancing institutional standards with government beyond amendments. The course equips students to understand their roles as citizens. Key components include blended learning, a civic engagement letter project, and coverage of civil liberties, civil rights, public opinion, interest groups, the media, political parties, political campaigns, voting behavior, elections, the presidency, bureaucracy, the US Congress, the judiciary, and public policy. ThThis course explores American national government, balancing institutional standards with government beyond amendments. The course equips students to understand their roles as citizens. Key components include blended learning, a civic engagement letter project, and coverage of …

Item 2: Assignment: Letter Writing: Advocacy And Issues, Michael Williams Jr.

Michael Williams, American National Government 100-200 Level Introductory Course

This assignment cultivates students' civic engagement and enhances their communication skills. Its purpose is to empower students to become active participants in the democratic process by articulating their perspectives on public issues and advocating for change. A key learning objective is to teach students how to strategically target their advocacy efforts by understanding the structure of government. The assignment involves students in choosing a representative or government agency and a specific political issue, writing a persuasive letter, submitting drafts for feedback, and submitting a final physical copy.

Item 1: Civic Engagement In/For Puerto Rico Course Syllabus, Leila Rodriguez

Leila Rodriguez, Civic Engagement in/for Puerto Rico (English)

This syllabus provides students with an in-depth understanding of the current sociocultural, political, economic, and environmental state of Puerto Rico, contextualizing it within its history as a Spanish colony first, and a US territory later. It explores some key historical moments that have shaped Puerto Rico and their lasting impact. Students learn the mechanisms that Puerto Ricans on the islands have for engaging with the US government, and the forms of civic engagement within the island. After completion of this class, students will be able to explain Puerto Rico’s current challenges and its lessons for the rest of the world, …

Item 3: Activity 2: Vistas Públicas As A Mechanism Of Civic Engagemen, Leila Rodriguez

Leila Rodriguez, Civic Engagement in/for Puerto Rico (English)

In Puerto Rico, vistas públicas, or public hearings, are important spaces of dialogue and discussion between civil society and government representatives. The events are open to the public. They represent an opportunity to directly submit different perspectives before official decisions are made on important topics. Participating in vistas públicas is a fundamental part of asserting a democracy. Governmental organisms with vistas públicas include the Senate, House of Representatives, and various departments. The Financial Oversight and Management Board of Puerto Rico, created under the PROMESA Act in 2016, also holds public hearings. The Board consists of seven members appointed by the …