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<p>Those reflections have recently been used to support research in a chapter of the new edited volume <em>Creating Space for Democracy: A Primer on Dialogue and Deliberation in Higher Education</em>. Edited by Nicholas V. Longo and Timothy J. Shafer, the book was published in 2019 by Stylus Publishing in association with the American Association of Colleges and Universities and Campus Compact. The chapter, titled "Enacting Democracy in "Democracy's Colleges" was written by Carrie B. Kisker, John J. Theis, and Alberto Olivas. In addition to MCC, Tarrant County Community College-Southeast (TX), Guttman Community College (NY), Lane Community College (OR), Delta Community College (MN), St. Paul Community and Technical College (MN), Santa Fe College (FL), College of the Canyons (CA), Kirkwood Community College (IA), Piedmont Virginia Community College (VA), and Wright Community College (IL), participated in the effort.</p>
<p>The chapter reviews the colleges' three-year project aimed to embed deliberation on campus as a civic skill in our community colleges. As part of the work, community colleges in particular were identified as having a responsibility to help students understand and discuss difficult issues that live in the gray area of certainty with individuals who are not like themselves with the goal of being able to take action for causes that are important to them. The work consisted of facilitating research exchanges, developing moderator skills for holding deliberative discussions on campus, and reporting on results (Kisker, Theis, &amp; Olivas, 2019, p.277-278).</p>
<p>The group used a train-the-trainer approach where attendees participated in a deliberative dialogue moderated by one of the trainers. Colleges then worked on establishing practices of deliberation on campus (Kisker et al., 2019, p.278).</p>
<p>Participating colleges reported successes from the project, including an increased number of deliberative training events and dialogues on campus, support from administration, and positive feedback from events. Most importantly, colleges reported that having deliberative dialogues on campus seemed to have impacted students' views and perspectives and increased their learning in the areas of civics and critical thinking. An MCC participant is quoted in the book as stating, "Deliberation is an opportunity to build critical thinking and reasoning skills. Students not only have to think about the entirety of an issue but also must do so in a rational and logical manner" (Kisker et al., 2019, p.281).</p>
<p>Colleges also reported some challenges to using deliberative practices on campus including logistical issues such as finding space on campus to have the conversations or trainings; scheduling issues with key campus stakeholders; and faculty and staff turnover. Other challenges were weightier and included topics such as faculty or administrative fears about holding deliberative discussions on campus. In addressing concerns, an MCC participant stated, "The hardest task likely may be building a culture of deliberation both on campus and in the community . . . an [to] clearly connect the practice to the college mission. More importantly, scheduling and discovering an effective process for public involvement will be key going forward" (Kisker et al., 2019, p.282).</p>
<p>This important and timely work was the result of contributions from MCC faculty members Joseph Scanlon and Dina Giovanelli.</p>
<p>For more information on The Democracy Commitment, please visit <a href="http://www.compact.org/the-democracy-commitment/">www.compact.org/the-democracy-commitment/</a> or contact one of the projects' contributors.</p>

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MCC Daily Tribune

The Democracy Commitment in Action

From 2016-2018, The Democracy Commitment (TDC) at MCC participated in a research exchange with the Kettering Foundation and 10 other community colleges from across the country. The exchange required each participating community college to develop an infrastructure for deliberative dialogues, and provided grant funds through a third-party research group to develop the infrastructure and share written reflections with Kettering about the overall experience.

Those reflections have recently been used to support research in a chapter of the new edited volume Creating Space for Democracy: A Primer on Dialogue and Deliberation in Higher Education. Edited by Nicholas V. Longo and Timothy J. Shafer, the book was published in 2019 by Stylus Publishing in association with the American Association of Colleges and Universities and Campus Compact. The chapter, titled "Enacting Democracy in "Democracy's Colleges" was written by Carrie B. Kisker, John J. Theis, and Alberto Olivas. In addition to MCC, Tarrant County Community College-Southeast (TX), Guttman Community College (NY), Lane Community College (OR), Delta Community College (MN), St. Paul Community and Technical College (MN), Santa Fe College (FL), College of the Canyons (CA), Kirkwood Community College (IA), Piedmont Virginia Community College (VA), and Wright Community College (IL), participated in the effort.

The chapter reviews the colleges' three-year project aimed to embed deliberation on campus as a civic skill in our community colleges. As part of the work, community colleges in particular were identified as having a responsibility to help students understand and discuss difficult issues that live in the gray area of certainty with individuals who are not like themselves with the goal of being able to take action for causes that are important to them. The work consisted of facilitating research exchanges, developing moderator skills for holding deliberative discussions on campus, and reporting on results (Kisker, Theis, & Olivas, 2019, p.277-278).

The group used a train-the-trainer approach where attendees participated in a deliberative dialogue moderated by one of the trainers. Colleges then worked on establishing practices of deliberation on campus (Kisker et al., 2019, p.278).

Participating colleges reported successes from the project, including an increased number of deliberative training events and dialogues on campus, support from administration, and positive feedback from events. Most importantly, colleges reported that having deliberative dialogues on campus seemed to have impacted students' views and perspectives and increased their learning in the areas of civics and critical thinking. An MCC participant is quoted in the book as stating, "Deliberation is an opportunity to build critical thinking and reasoning skills. Students not only have to think about the entirety of an issue but also must do so in a rational and logical manner" (Kisker et al., 2019, p.281).

Colleges also reported some challenges to using deliberative practices on campus including logistical issues such as finding space on campus to have the conversations or trainings; scheduling issues with key campus stakeholders; and faculty and staff turnover. Other challenges were weightier and included topics such as faculty or administrative fears about holding deliberative discussions on campus. In addressing concerns, an MCC participant stated, "The hardest task likely may be building a culture of deliberation both on campus and in the community . . . an [to] clearly connect the practice to the college mission. More importantly, scheduling and discovering an effective process for public involvement will be key going forward" (Kisker et al., 2019, p.282).

This important and timely work was the result of contributions from MCC faculty members Joseph Scanlon and Dina Giovanelli.

For more information on The Democracy Commitment, please visit www.compact.org/the-democracy-commitment/ or contact one of the projects' contributors.

Attached Files:
Chapter 25 Enacting Democracy in Democracy's Colleges.pdf

Andrea Wade
Academic Services
11/12/2019