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 New Research Confirms: 
Our Perception Gap Lesson Plan 
Makes a Real Difference
More Like US is excited to share encouraging news: Georgetown University Civic Education Research Lab researchers found that our Perception Gap lesson plan is highly effective in helping students better understand one another across the political spectrum.
Groundbreaking results: Perception gaps happen when Americans overestimate how extreme or threatening people from the other political party really are. Our lesson plan helps students discover something powerful: that we actually share far more common ground, values, and preferences than most of us realize! It also helps quell false beliefs such as the assumption that members of the other party support political violence at much higher rates than they actually do. By exploring real data and engaging in thoughtful discussion, students learn that many stereotypes about political opponents are exaggerated, helping reduce fear and hostility.
In secondary and post-secondary classrooms, students who participated in the lesson showed:
• Greater warmth and less perceived threat toward people from the other political party
• Increased political empathy
• More willingness and less anxiety around engaging in dialogue
• Stronger belief in the importance of compromise to solve important problems
Even more inspiring were these reflections from students themselves:

“The most interesting and surprising thing I learned in this lesson was how large the perception gap is between parties and how quick people are to categorize and assume things about others.”

“The media so frequently poses that either side is completely at each other’s throat when both sides see the humanity and reasoning of the other.”

“In general, all of the statistics were shocking, and really morphed my perspective on what the two parties look like and believe in.”
All these findings reinforce why our work at More Like US matters so much.

Going forward, the Perception Gap lesson plan will remain a core part of our Programming & Capacity Building initiatives as we continue helping students build understanding, empathy, and healthier civil discourse.

Want to dive deeper into the research? Check out Georgetown’s paper and the presentation slides.
Spreading the Word about More Like US 
Across the US
May was a powerful month for More Like US as we connected with educators and civic leaders at conferences across the country — building partnerships, sparking conversations, and growing momentum for closing perception gaps.

Below are photos of Co-Founder and Co-Chair Dane Erickson at the American College Health Association Annual Meeting, and Co-Founder and Executive Director James Coan at the Jack Miller Center National Summit on Civic Education.
Be sure to share this with people you know.
Warmly,
Ann · Dane · James
Co-Founders, More Like US
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