*Note: listed event times may not be accurate

Join teachers from across the country and engage with ideologically diverse scholars during an in-person weeklong institute on Constitutional Conversations and Civil Dialogue with the National Constitution Center.

During the institute, educators work with content experts to deepen their understanding of the importance of civil dialogue in the classroom, develop meaningful procedures to engage students, and understand the benefits of imbedding dialogue in their curricula. With teacher facilitators and the National Constitution Center’s education team, participants discover and develop innovative, nonpartisan ways to make the practice of constitutional conversations and civil dialogue applicable to their classroom structure.

Our approach has three main components: (1) building a historical foundation through storytelling; (2) learning how to interpret the Constitution like a constitutional lawyer; and (3) developing the skills of civil dialogue and reflection.

First, we build a strong foundation by telling the Constitution’s founding stories—including the ways in which compromise and deliberation shaped the Constitutional Convention and ratification process—and exploring how courts have interpreted the Constitution over time.

Second, we explore how to help your students separate their political views from their constitutional views—asking not what the government should do, but what it constitutionally may do—by working with the Center’s teacher facilitators in collaborative classroom application sessions and engaging directly with the text of the Constitution.

Finally, we review civil dialogue protocols and resources developed by the Center—by presenting the best arguments on all sides of each constitutional issue, providing helpful educational resources, and offering platforms to support civil discourse within the classroom and across the country.

Teachers will explore the importance of civil dialogue, both throughout history and in the classroom, and learn about resources and methods to engage in constitutional conversations and civil dialogue. The institute will emphasize the National Constitution Center’s Interactive Constitution and other resources from the Center to explore changing historical and constitutional examples of reasoned debate.

This in-person institute is open to educators working with grades 5–12 at public, charter, independent, parochial, and other schools. The institute is free to attend, but a successful application is required. Funding is available to cover a significant portion of travel and lodging expenses.

Applications for this Institute are now closed and notification regarding application status have been sent.

Questions can be sent to Sarah Harris at sharris@constitutioncenter.org.