Program & Evaluation Models

Develop your own civic engagement projects using the program designs, educator guides, dialogue techniques, and evaluation tools developed by Sites of Conscience from around the world.

Here is a sample of the program models and evaluation tools the International Coalition offers. New plans and tools are added regularly to the Online Resource Center, an online forum where registered members can participate in discussion and access all the resources of the Coalition. ( Free registration required.)

Japanese American National Museum: “Dilemmas + Decisions” Project
In the Youth-Media Project “Dilemmas + Decisions,” the Japanese American National Museum’s National Center for the Preservation of Democracy engages youth media groups from across the country in producing short videos on a variety of actual dilemmas related to rights vs. responsibilities in a democracy, including such topics as the relationship between hip-hop music and violence, whether curfew laws protect youth or prevent crime, and whether freedom is a state of the nation or a state of mind. The Center’s project overview includes a description of the project, video clips, discussion questions, and viewer’s guides:
» http://www.ncdemocracy.org/node/1182

Gulag Museum at Perm-36: “I Have the Right Club” Workshop for Students
After touring the imposing barracks and guard towers of the Gulag Museum at Perm-36, students in the “I Have the Right Club” participate in a guided dialogue session on the ideas about freedom and “unfreedom” that the camp’s history raises. A trained facilitator at the Museum leads participants in an exploration of open questions such as “Is freedom in modern Russia an opportunity or a danger?” and “Should we limit freedom in Russia in the context of terrorist threats?” The Museum’s lesson plan includes a detailed project description, a list of needed materials, guidelines for setting up the dialogue session, and sample dialogue questions:
» “I Have the Right Club” Lesson Plan (PDF)

Mednoe Memorial Complex: “History of My Family” Lesson Plan
The Mednoe Memorial Complex’s “The History of My Family” works with high school students over a period of several months to explore their own family’s experience with state repression in the Tver region, its relation to a larger history of state repression in Russia, and the contemporary implications of this collective experience. The program takes young people on guided tours of the Complex, trains them in conducting oral histories and archival research, and guides them in developing an essay on their family’s experience of state repression. The program then engages the students in guided dialogues on the State and its role in democratic society, the types of institutions necessary for the preservation of democracy as they define it, and the role of citizens in shaping those institutions. The “History of My Family” lesson plan offers a step-by-step guide to the project’s goals, oral history and research trainings, and dialogue session:
» “History of My Family” Lesson Plan (PDF)

Lower East Side Tenement Museum: “Kitchen Conversations” Public Dialogue Program
After touring the Tenement Museum’s historic immigrant apartments, visitors are invited to participate in “Kitchen Conversations,” an open dialogue for visitors on such topics as the Tenement experience and contemporary immigration issues. These program resources offer an explanation of the program’s goals and a lesson plan for dialogue facilitators:
» Museum Mission and Kitchen Conversation Goals (PDF)
» Arc of Dialogue: Facilitator Guidelines & Questions (PDF)