Judithanne Scourfield McLauchlan and Elizabeth A. Bennion

Participants in the Civic Engagement Education track discussed how to build students’ civic capacity through innovative and traditional course assignments focused on civic engagement learning goals. Online discussion forum assignments can build deliberative civic engagement skills, while a series of civics projects can be used in both online and face-to-face classes to teach students the skills they need to become politically engaged. Content-flexible courses, including research methods, can be redesigned to integrate civic engagement learning goals through experiential learning projects, while civic engagement centers can provide support for such curricular reforms.

Political scientists’ approach to teaching civic and political engagement reflects the contentious times in which we live. For example, a campus-wide debate surrounding a divisive guest speaker inspired a series of “deliberation cafés” to develop a “collective toolbox of democratic practices: careful listening, inclusive participation, and the collective identification of ways to move forward.” There is no doubt that the wider political climate affects instructors’ teaching decisions, and it is important to accept the fact that students’ understanding of how politics works will not always produce trust in government, but can, instead, produce an increase in informed cynicism. Luckily, an unprecedented number of groups are devoted to mobilizing college students to vote and become active participants in all levels of our political system. Political scientists in every disciplinary subfield should be a critical part of this process.

Megan Becker and Lucy Goodhart

These panels showcased examples of simulations and games used in classroom settings and offered opportunities for discussion of best practices and the place of simulations within political science’s pedagogical toolkit.

A major theme of the discussion was how to use simulations most effectively. Consensus reflected the need for intentionality in planning and the importance of faculty as guides in the process, particularly when things do not go as envisioned. In planning, faculty should have explicit goals and design simulations to achieve them. For example, when balancing the tension between realism and tractability, faculty should instead consider specificity. How much detail is needed to achieve specific pedagogical goals? Let the answer lead the planning process.

During the simulation, faculty must be aware that, while immersive experiences inspire engagement, they can also generate intense interactions and reactions. More reticent students may therefore benefit from help in navigating in-person discussions or may be more comfortable with online interactions. Whether online or face-to-face, faculty should include a regularized debriefing process—before, during, and after the simulation—as appropriate. Ask students to consider the questions: What just happened? So what? Now what?

TLC at APSA attendees participate in a presentation during the first half of the day.

So what about simulations and games in political science? Students learn to think like political scientists. Within simulations, students act out a simplified version of our “mental maps,” increasing the likelihood that they grasp and retain core concepts.

Now what? We will make simulations a signature pedagogy, developing innovative simulations and games, and establishing metrics to demonstrate their effectiveness in the classroom.

Tressa Tabares

As the topic of this track’s panels suggest, the presentations provided a wide range of examples of creative ways to respond to new and ongoing challenges in the political science classroom.

A major theme that emerged was that innovation in pedagogy and use of technology as a teaching and learning tool are often fueled by a need and desire to recognize and respond to who our students actually are, meet them where they are, and provide them with what they need to be successful not only in our classes but on their chosen educational and career paths.

Enhancing all of our students’ interest in and engagement with the political world and helping them acquire and demonstrate marketable skills were noted as common reasons for trying something new in the classroom, whether it be incorporating songs and cartoons as learning materials, using a gradual immersion strategy to teach in a bilingual classroom based on the skills of the incoming students, building an open access textbook for quantitative research methods to overcome barriers of cost and provide opportunities for applied and skills-based learning, creating opportunities for students to become active participants in their own learning through structured small group assignments, or leveraging technology to maximize students’ access to courses taught by experts.

Our students come to us with a wide range of previous knowledge, personal experience, interests, skills, resources, and goals. Recognizing this starting point is an important step to providing a meaningful learning experience for all students.