Political Science research methods courses face two problems. First is what to cover, as there are too many techniques to explore in any one course. Second is dealing with student anxiety around quantitative material. We explore a novel way to approach these issues. Our students began by writing a qualitative paper. They followed with a term…

One of the most important skills students can learn is how to use multiple, conflicting sources of information to formulate and defend positions on political issues. However, when we assign students to do this, all instructors see is the final product. Not knowing the process by which students do these assignments makes it difficult to help them…

I examine the impact of simulations on student learning and on the growth of civic competence in an introductory American government class. By civic competence, I refer to an individual's skill and ability to make sense of vast amounts of political information; to work with others (and in civil opposition to other people's ideas) where…