Four people gather around a table displaying a copy of the United States Constitution during the Civic Learning Symposium in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center Ballroom. One woman leans over to examine the document while another gestures toward it as they talk. In the background, attendees are seated at round tables throughout the ballroom, and a videographer records the event from the back of the room.

Annual Civic Learning Symposium held at the L.A. Pittenger Student Center on Ball State Campus.

When most people think about America’s 250th anniversary, they think about history. David Roof, Associate Professor of Educational Studies at Ball State Teachers College, hopes people also think about the future.

As executive director of Ball State University’s Center for Economic and Civic Learning (CECL), Roof sees America250 as more than a commemoration of the Declaration of Independence. He sees it as an opportunity to help students discover what it means to be active, informed citizens and to recognize that democracy depends on every generation.

“The 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence reminds us that democracy is renewed through education.”

That idea is at the heart of CECL’s work. From Constitution Week on Ball State’s campus to partnerships with schools, museums, libraries, and civic organizations across Indiana, the center creates opportunities for students and teachers to connect America’s founding principles with the responsibilities of citizenship today.

David Roof sits at a panel table at the front of a room during a discussion, speaking to an audience. The photo is taken from the audience perspective, with the backs of attendees’ heads visible in the foreground. He wears a blue suit, white dress shirt, and striped, blue tie. A microphone on a short stand sits on the white tablecloth-covered table in front of him. The background features wood paneling on the lower wall and a plain white upper wall.

CECL New American Dialogue panel event at the Minnetrista Museum & Gardens. 

Democracy Is Something We Practice

For Roof, civic education isn’t simply about teaching students how government works. It’s about helping them understand their place within it.

“Effective civic education isn’t primarily about information, it’s about formation.”

That philosophy guided CREATE (Civic Renewal through Education for Agency, Tolerance, and Engagement), a three-year partnership between Ball State and Muncie Community Schools.

Rather than asking students to memorize the branches of government, CREATE immersed them in civic life. Students served as election poll workers, met judges through Appeals on Wheels, participated in Civics Day, explored local history, and connected constitutional principles to issues in their own communities. Those experiences mattered.

Photograph from Civics Day at Muncie Central High School showing a young woman squatting to weed a lawn beside a brick school building while holding a phone. Two other participants are partially visible assisting nearby, with bushes along the building in the background.

Civics Day at Muncie Central High School.

Students demonstrated measurable gains in civic knowledge, while teachers gained confidence leading discussions, using primary sources, and helping students wrestle with real civic questions.

“When teachers become more confident facilitating discussion, working with primary sources, and connecting history to contemporary civic life, they create classrooms where students begin to see themselves differently, as citizens with a role to play in it.”

Taking Civic Learning Across Indiana

The success of CREATE sparked something even bigger. Through CREATE250, Ball State is expanding those lessons to classrooms across Indiana.

Twenty-seven participants in a STEM Teacher Workshop pose on the steps in front of the Beneficence statue on Ball State University’s campus. The statue and surrounding pillars are visible behind them, with green, leafy trees in the background. Each participant wears a name tag, though the details are not legible.

Participants in a STEM teacher workshop.

Instead of providing another curriculum for teachers to follow, the initiative builds a statewide network of educators who learn from historians, constitutional scholars, museums, civic organizations, and one another.

The goal isn’t simply to deliver workshops. It’s to create lasting change in classrooms.

“My hope is that years from now we won’t measure success simply by the number of teachers who participated or workshops we delivered.” Roof said. “I hope we’ll see classrooms where students understand their history more deeply, teachers feel confident leading thoughtful conversations about constitutional democracy, and communities benefit from young people who recognize that citizenship is not simply something they inherit, it is a responsibility they share.”

Beyond Government Class

Three young adults sit at a round table in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center Ballroom during the Civic Learning Symposium, smiling and talking. A water bottle and a small American flag are on their table. Other attendees seated at nearby tables are visible in the foreground and background, slightly out of focus, along with windows and additional American and Indiana flags.

Participants in a Civic Learning Symposium.

Civic education also teaches skills that extend far beyond elections or government. Students learn to listen carefully, evaluate evidence, work with people who hold different viewpoints, and solve problems together.

Those ideas connect many of CECL’s initiatives. CREATE250 supports K–12 educators. Cardinals Vote and the Democracy Fellows encourage civic participation on Ball State’s campus. The Civic Studies Minor helps students explore leadership and public life. Research projects like the Indiana Civic Health Index examine how civic habits develop across communities. Each program asks the same essential question: How do we prepare people not just to understand democracy, but to participate in it?

Looking Ahead

John Snoad of the Sphere Education Initiative stands at the front of a room during the 2024 Civic Learning Symposium, pointing toward a monitor displaying text while speaking. He wears a navy blazer, blue patterned dress shirt, and tan pants, and holds a pen with a lanyard and name badge around his neck. He has short brown hair, a mustache and beard with some gray, and black-framed glasses. The room has a red wall behind the monitor, a tan adjacent wall, and a window showing green trees.

John Snoad of the Sphere Education Initiative leads the session: “Voices United: Navigating the Struggle for Equality and Civil Rights through Civil Dialogue and Deliberation” during the Civic Learning Symposium in 2024.

As communities celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, Roof hopes the milestone inspires people to think beyond the nation’s past.

“I hope America250 helps people see that civic engagement is not something reserved for elections or government officials. It is part of how communities become stronger.”

For him, the anniversary is ultimately about investing in the next generation. The work happening through CECL reflects Ball State’s broader commitment to connecting teacher preparation, research, community partnerships, and student leadership around civic learning.

“I hope people see that this work is about much more than a single project or anniversary,” Roof said. “Over the past several years, Ball State has been building something that is both distinctive and lasting.”

Six women sit at a round table in a room with green and tan walls during a CREATE event at Ball State University’s Teachers College. Behind them are three CREATE banners reading “Civic Renewal through Education for Agency, Tolerance, and Engagement,” with additional headings including Civic Engagement, Civic Agency, and Civic Knowledge. Several participants have laptops, notebooks, and drinks on the table, along with a small U.S. flag. Some women appear to be listening to a speaker off-camera while others are in discussion.

Civics professional development.

And that’s what Roof hopes America250 leaves behind, not simply a celebration of the country’s first 250 years, but a renewed commitment to preparing citizens for the next 250.

“If we want the next 250 years of constitutional democracy to be strong,” he said, “we have to continue investing in the educators, students, schools, and communities that will shape it.”