About the U.S. Election Project
About
We're doing it again! Together with our local partners, the U.S. Embassy, LIFE e.V. and Leuphana University Lüneburg will conduct another school election project in the election year 2024. The format will be similar to the previous project cycles, adding cutting-edge pedagogical approaches and educational technologies. Our Facebook site and Instagram account will accompany the Moodle course environment. Based on results from project evaluation surveys and classroom research during the previous cycles, the team at Leuphana University is developing new course materials for all 50 states, update and improve tasks and project activities, and carry out teacher trainings.
Mission Statement
The U.S. Embassy School Election Project is an intercultural blended-learning program promoting democratic engagement and civil discourse in the context of the U.S. presidential campaign. Our goal is to provide participants with information and analytical tools to predict and evaluate the election outcome of an adopted state. Teachers and students research and understand competing viewpoints and political arguments. This project promotes respect, civility and open-mindedness as the basis for intercultural engagement.
Background
In 2012, 2016 and 2020 the U.S. Embassy together with Leuphana University Lüneburg, Life e.V. / eXplorarium and LISUM Berlin-Brandenburg organized a successful blended learning school project on the U.S. Presidential Election. About 2,000 participants in 2012
and more than 3,000 in 2016 adopted a U.S. state and learned about local politics, economics and culture. The number of participants increased even further in 2020. After becoming experts on their new "homes" and the U.S. election system, students made a prediction on the U.S. voters' choice on Election Day.
Would their state turn red or blue?
In preparation for the project, many of their teachers participated in seminars organized by the U.S. Embassy and U.S. Consulates throughout Germany. American experts
briefed the teachers on the mysteries of the U.S. election processes, issues, candidates, campaigns and the role of the media. Further trainings were offered introducing teachers to the effective use of online learning tools in their classrooms.
An interactive mock election took place at the concluding events at Friedrich Ebert Stiftung in Berlin one day before Election Day. Student delegates cast their votes on behalf of their adopted U.S. states. In 2012, their predictions turned out to be more accurate than most professional polls! Four years later, as most pundits and pollsters failed to predict the stunning electoral college win by the Republican candidate, Donald J. Trump, our students didn't have a Crystal ball either. In 2020, the students' were accurate once again as the predicted outcome shows:
The U.S. Embassy School Election Project was awarded the renowned Hans-Eberhard-Piepho Prize for Ideas in Communicative Language Teaching in 2013.
How does it work?
1. EXPLORE Learners will explore the core questions of the 2024 presidential election: How do Americans elect their President? Who are the candidates and where do they stand on the dominant issues of this election campaign? What image do they paint of themselves and what is the role of the media?
2. ANALYZE Each course will be assigned one U.S. state and study its local politics, economy, culture, and demographics as well as past voting behavior. Students will work with authentic text-based and audiovisual materials online, analyze population statistics, and review social media sites of local and state policy makers.
3. PREDICT Will your state turn red or blue? Is it going to be a solid or swing state? Based on their expertise, students will make a prediction about their state’s voting behavior. Student delegates will cast their course’s votes at an interactive mock election just before Election Day on November 5, 2024.
4. IMPRESS The election project includes a competition for well- researched predictions. Participants are encouraged to present their results in a creative and interactive format, reflecting their detailed understanding of their (adopted) state. Past student projects included YouTube videos, blogs and websites, web-presentations, and even songs.
Time frame
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Teacher training seminars will be offered in summer with expert speakers on the Presidential Election 2024 (see "upcoming events" for dates and venues).
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Through the U.S. Embassy and U.S. Consulate MeetUS program, Americans are prepared to visit schools and discuss election issues.
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Participating schools will work on "their state" in August-October 2024 as part of their curriculum.
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Results of the school projects will be posted on the U.S. Embassy website, Facebook, and Instagram.
Who can participate in Germany?
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The U.S Election 2024 project is tailored for intermediate to advanced English learners (upper secondary level grades 10 and above). With civil discourse and U.S. political culture being integral to most curricula, this project offers a rich learning experience across the board.
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Students with sufficient English proficiency (who will be able to express themselves in conversation, writing, and understand main ideas of complex texts)
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Students who are interested in politics and the U.S. in particular, who are open-minded, creative, self-motivated, and willing to take up challenges
What are the ideal subjects to integrate this project into
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English as a Foreign Language (in Germany)
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Politics / Economics / History (CLIL- Content and Language Integrated Learning classes)
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Integrated Humanities / Social Studies / Life and Society (CLIL)
What does the Moodle Course look like?
Demo Course 2024
Competition winners and outcomes from 2020
