Civics Educators Conference

Civics Educators Conference

Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Clarke Building (CB) 101B

Registration 8:00 a.m.

Conference Starts 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Utah Valley University, Orem Campus

Utah social studies teachers are invited to a professional development conference focused on civic education hosted by UVU's Center for Constitutional Studies as part of its Civic Thought & Leadership Initiative and its K-12 Constitutional Literacy Initiative. Sessions and speakers are expected to include:

  • Dr. Grace Mallon - Compromise at the Constitutional Convention
    • In the summer of 1787, delegates from 11 American states met in Philadelphia in the hope of generating a solution to the problem of postrevolutionary government in the United States. Some delegates arrived with strict instructions from their state legislatures regarding how they were to behave in the convention. Others brought firm conceptions of how they wanted the new U.S. government to work. Over the course of the negotiations, however, delegates from large states and small, agricultural states and commercial, major slaveholding regions and areas where slavery was on its way out, were able to arrive at joint solutions to the challenges that faced the young American nation. This lecture will explore how delegates to the Constitutional Convention approached the negotiations and arrived at the compromises that formed the foundation of the American system of government.

  • Jeff Nokes, Kyle Jensen & Brittany Holman
    • Pedagogical training, lesson plans, and classroom materials focused on compromise and the U.S. Constitution
  • Public Event with Governor Cox and Utah Law Professor Christopher Peterson (Professor Cox's opponent in the 2020 gubernatorial campaign) will be the closing speakers with Q&A
    • During the public event, we hope to improve Utah citizens' understanding of, and appreciation for, how to be civil, engaged, and productive participants in the American political system.

In order to fulfill the purpose of the Civic Thought and Leadership Initiative passed in the Utah State Legislature, this conference will provide professional development and assist in the PLC process by helping teachers determine essential standards and identify foundational prerequisite skills to develop targeted instruction. The conference will empower teachers to understand complex government principles by learning from experts in the field.

Participants can earn up to 6 relicensure credits.

The Center for Constitutional Studies will offer a Visa gift card to help offset travel to UVUfor conference attendees and lunch will be provided.

The Center will also reimburse schools for the cost of any substitute teachers needed to cover for teacher attendees. Please work with your schools to request the sub for your class.

To register, click on the following link: Here

Registration will close at 11:59 p.m. MT on Thursday, March 31st 2022.

This conference is made possible by the Utah Legislature through the 2021 House Bill 327, which established and funded the Civic Thought & Leadership Initiative within the Center for Constitutional Studies at UVU. The initiative was created to "facilitate nonpartisan political discussion and provide civic education and research" by "provid[ing] resources to students, outside academic institutions, government agencies, and other persons regarding civic affairs; and foster[ing] thoughtful civic engagement in Utah and the surrounding region."

To read the full text of HB 327, click on the following link: https://le.utah.gov/~2021/bills/static/HB0327.html