Democracy and Civics Education

Democracy requires an educated public. CDG researchers are exploring new, experiential education methods designed to strengthen civics curriculum in a contentious, polarized information environment. 

The Information Empowerment Team, consisting of Dr. Ashley Muddiman, Dr. Tamar Wilner, Dr. Sarah Cavanah, and PhD student Huaimin Wen from the Department of Communication Studies and the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications, are testing out ways to teach media literacy that help teenagers learn to navigate a complex information landscape without increasing their cynicism toward news. This includes a new “Making the News” card game, as well as a learning module designed to teach students about lateral reading methods (see more detail in this one-page overview).

The CDG also provide suggestions for teaching political communication in college classrooms that are quite polarized in the current political environment (see KU News article here), and we are developing other ways to help students understand the current information and political landscape while becoming engaged community members themselves. More to come!

Current Projects:

Muddiman, A. (2026, June). Information Empowerment News Literacy Modules. Presented at the Judge David J. Waxse Memorial Summer Lecture. Kansas First Amendment Foundation. Olathe, KS. 

Cavanah, S. (2026, June). “Making News” Game. Presented to the American Public Square Civic Learning Summit in Gladstone, MO.  

Muddiman, A., Wilner, T., Wen, H., & Cavanah, S. (2026, June). Presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association in Cape Town, South Africa. 

Muddiman, A., Boyce, B., and Marquess, M. (2026). Strategies for reducing partisan tensions in practical assignments. In Zulli, D., & Coe, K. (Eds.), Teaching Political Communication (pp. 104 – 115). Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. A KU News article about this book chapter can be found here.