Engaging Students and Building Skills Through
Capitol Forum on America's Future

The Capitol Forum on America’s Future is a civic education initiative developed at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University in Rhode Island that uses Brown University’s highly regarded Choices Curriculum. The Choices Curriculum engages high school students in civic practice and consideration of current international issues. Prof. Walter Parker of the University of Washington describes it as

“[one] of the best resources for the high school social studies classroom, especially history and government courses…[which] engages students in the kind of deliberation that develops their understanding of one another, of the array of alternatives, of the problem itself, and of its historical context.”

Walter C. Parker, “Teaching Against Idiocy,” Phi Delta Kappan, January 2005.
(For full text, see http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/k_v86/k0501par.htm.)

The Washington State Capitol Forum is a year-long program cosponsored by the World Affairs Council – Global Classroom and the Secretary of State, open to any high school in Washington state, culminating in a day at the Capitol in Olympia. There, students interact with policymakers and deliberate on important issues, such as immigration, trade, terrorism, and environment, as well as exploring four alternative futures for America’s role in the world.

In this workshop, you’ll experience a “mini” Capitol Forum based on the Choices curriculum, U.S. Role in a Changing World. We’ll show you how to use these materials as a resource for Social Studies Classroom Based Assessments, such as U.S. Foreign Policy, and how to integrate thinking skills, problem solving, and presentation skills at the same time. Teachers can use the materials in their classrooms to engage students and build skills, whether or not they choose to participate in the Capitol Forum program.

Presenter: Dr. Michele Anciaux Aoki, Director of Educational Programs at the World Affairs Council, was trained at Brown University in June, 2004 and 2005, to lead the Capitol Forum program as a state organizer. She has coordinated the first Washington State Capitol Forum in 2004-2005, working with ten teachers from around the Puget Sound area. She has also used the U.S. Role in the World materials as part of a By the People Youth Summit: America in the World, held in Seattle in October, 2004.

The World Affairs Council of Seattle, a non-profit, non-partisan organization, is the leading foreign affairs forum in the Pacific Northwest. Since 1951, the Council’s purpose has been to promote greater understanding of global affairs in our Puget Sound community through a balance of public events, educational activities and the international visitor program. The Global Classroom program connects teachers and students with international resources, ideas, and people. Winner of the 2000 KCTS Golden Apple Award, the program reaches thousands of students through speaker programs and resources provided to Washington teachers.

Note: Materials in this packet were reprinted with permission
from Brown University.

Copyright - Choices for the 21st Century Education Program
Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University

Table Of Contents

Note: Page numbers refer to printed handout used in the Summer Institutes. These notes are provided as a courtesy to participants in the
2005 OSPI Summer Institutes.