The Simulations and Role Play I track conducted a series of engaged discussions regarding what a successful simulation requires and what aspects are customizable, given the wide variety of contexts in which a simulation may be used. Recognizing the presence of significant variance in available time, institutional support (both financial and technical), student demographics, and class size, the track concluded that any successful simulation must include several core components, which can be presented in a variety of ways. Chief among these components are a balance between providing necessary structure and allowing room for engaged student creativity and the need for thorough, reflective debriefing.

Several of the presentations made note of the importance of role assignment, especially the strategic value of having the instructor assign roles. Despite the potential cost of student disgruntlement at not being allowed to choose their roles for themselves, track participants largely coalesced around the view that role assignment was an effective check against the free-rider problem, and that it helped bring competitive balance to more involved simulations. Jeffery Osgood and Chris Stangl (“Teaching Millennials Urban Political Theory: The Case of the Local Government Simulation”) imposed roles after administering a personality inventory that took different learning styles into account. This step was well-received by other track members and may be a particularly effective strategy when dealing with both the various learning styles of Millennials and classes featuring a high number of nontraditional students from different backgrounds. Moreover, the prudent assignment of roles provides an opportunity for more cynical students to work through a political decision-making process, perhaps shedding new light on the reality of political institutions and policymaking.

Another point of discussion was how to best ensure that student enjoyment of the simulation is connected to learning goals and is not just a function of the “game” element involved. To this end, several presenters incorporated a reward structure into their simulations that was tied to effective performance. Luke Perry (“Comparing Electoral Simulations for the Presidency and Congress”) ran a successful election simulation that intentionally assigned students with different ideological views to the same campaign team and rewarded the team that won a congressional election. Kent Park (“Learning by Experiencing the Law Making Process: Congressional Simulation Exercise”) imposed a forced distribution of grades at the end of a competitive simulation that assigned students to one of a number of specific political profiles and required the students to compete against each other in acquiring political capital. Both presenters reported a high level of student creativity that largely stemmed from how well the structure of the simulations allowed game elements to dovetail with course objectives.

Simulations that placed a greater emphasis on performative elements also stressed the need to link the role-playing aspect with learning objectives. Nina Kasniunas (“The Case is Submitted: Reenactment Theater and U.S. Supreme Court Oral Arguments”) organized a reenactment of Supreme Court oral arguments that began with a visit to hear actual arguments in person. Combined with careful case selection and the administration of a learning style inventory, that visit helped infuse the culminating performance with elements of civic participation and experiential learning. Margaret Tseng (“Teaching Electoral Politics through Role Playing Simulations”) created a presidential election simulation that also sought to stress political engagement and concluded that an enhanced focus on civic engagement was likely to strengthen a simulation that already featured a high level of student creativity.

The area of strongest agreement among participants was the need for a strong debriefing component. All agreed, however, that different debriefing exercises are appropriate to different simulations. Debriefing can be oral or written and either a one-shot effort or a series of reflections. Indeed, a more continuous debriefing process appeared promising in several contexts. Henrik Schatzinger and Christopher Schaefer (“A Presidential Simulation: A Student's Guide to Understanding the American Presidency”) ran a presidential simulation requiring students to serve as president in a series of clearly defined scenarios and then implemented group discussion after each exercise. Multiple iterations of group evaluation helped focus the participants' attention and encouraged reflection. Similarly, in his Supreme Court decision-making simulation, John Gates (“An Online Simulation of the Decision Making of the U.S. Supreme Court”) integrated a strong online component that required students not participating directly in a given iteration to post evaluative comments to an online forum. This element required students to think reflectively about the roles being played and, so long as tech support was reliable, improved the effectiveness of the simulation in a larger class setting.

Participants concluded that a well-structured debriefing component strengthens the connections that students make between the simulation and overall course learning goals and provides an opportunity for students to take ownership of their education. This component also allows students to demonstrate higher-order thinking skills such as analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating content. By providing an opportunity for students to close the loop, debriefing becomes a crucial element of a successful simulation. The stronger the debriefing component, the better one can assess how well the learning outcomes have been met.

In the years ahead, the participants of the Simulations and Role Play I track hope that the APSA will place a more profound emphasis on interactive learning by facilitating learning communities. In particular, this emphasis could be made by creating a clearinghouse for research on best practices, hosting a series of traveling workshops dedicated to interactive learning techniques, fostering hands-on learning, and integrating civic engagement into the simulation experience.