Evaluation of the Common Sense Education Digital Citizenship Curriculum

Teacher stands at a while board with two students. One student is holding a tablet and one student is writing on the whiteboard.

The University of New Hampshire is partnering with Common Sense Education (www.commonsense.org) to evaluate their Digital Citizenship Curriculum. 

Principal Investigator

Lisa Jones, PhD, University of New Hampshire 

Research Team

Alli Adams, Research Associate, University of New Hampshire

Deirdre Colburn, Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of New Hampshire

Gina Zwerling Kahn, Research Associate, University of New Hampshire

 

Study Information

What does the study involve?

This study is an implementation and evaluation of the Digital Citizenship Curriculum by Common Sense Education. Led by the University of New Hampshire, this initiative aims to learn more about how youth use the internet today, and their beliefs surrounding topics like internet safety, digital well-being, and media literacy. Participating schools will administer a pre and post survey and teach six Digital Citizenship lessons per grade in the 2024-2025 school year.

What is the Common Sense Digital Citizenship Curriculum?

Common Sense Education’s K–12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum was designed and developed in partnership with Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education -- and guided by research with thousands of educators. The Curriculum includes 6 lessons per grade, one per topic:

  1. Media Balance & Well-Being
  2. Digital Footprint & Identity
  3. Privacy & Security
  4. Relationships & Communication
  5. Cyberbullying and Digital Drama
  6. News & Media Literacy

Over 70% of U.S. schools use our curriculum, and over a million teachers use it worldwide. This important research will be used to inform Common Sense Education and other educators about the effectiveness of digital citizenship programming.

What are the benefits of participating in this study?

Participating schools will gain access to Common Sense Education’s full Digital Citizenship Curriculum (including professional development and family engagement resources) to help promote digital citizenship and online safety within their school communities. Benefits include:

  • Access to support from Common Sense in implementing the Digital Citizenship Program
  • Tailored reports on students' internet safety and digital citizenship behaviors
  • Badges of recognition as Common Sense Recognized Schools
  • A stipend of $2,000 to support their schools' participation

Who Qualifies?

Middle schools teaching grades 6 through 8 that aren't already implementing Common Sense Education’s Digital Citizenship program regularly with students.

For more information

Contact:

Lisa Jones, Ph.D.
Crimes against Children Research Center
University of New Hampshire
10 West Edge Drive, Ste. 106
Durham, NH 03824-3586
Phone (603)862-2515
Email: lisa.jones@unh.edu

Project email:  dig.cit.eval@unh.edu

 

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