Simulations are often employed as content-teaching tools in political science, but their effect on students' reasoning skills is rarely assessed. This article explores what effect the "Statecraft" simulation might have on undergraduate students' perceptions of their decision making. Decisions are often evaluated on the basis of…

Simulations are employed widely as teaching tools in political science, yet evidence of their pedagogical effectiveness, in comparison to other methods of instruction, is mixed. The assessment of learning outcomes is often a secondary concern in simulation design, and the qualitative and quantitative methods used to evaluate outcomes are…

Institutions of higher learning are increasingly asked to defend curricular and pedagogical outcomes. Faculty must demonstrate that simulations are productive tools for learning, but a review of the literature shows that the evidence of their effectiveness is inconclusive, despite their popularity in the classroom. Simulations may in fact help…