I administer a quasi-experiment using undergraduate political science majors in statistics classes to evaluate whether "flipping the classroom" (the treatment) alters students' applied problem-solving performance and satisfaction relative to students in a traditional classroom environment (the control). I also assess whether general…

Student preparation for class is an integral part of the college learning experience. In order to incentivize student preparation outside class, professors have employed such techniques as reflection papers, quizzes, and group discussion, to name but a few. This article explores the benefits of using a technique known as "course preparation…

The federal budget and the rising national debt are crucial concerns in American politics. Yet, they are issues about which average citizens, and particularly young citizens, are presumed to have limited knowledge and very little to say. They are also topics that are not generally seen as engaging to students in introductory political science…

Using an example, this article demonstrates how instructors can make use of popular off-the-shelf board games to model politics. I show how the rules of the popular board game "Battleship" can be manipulated to simulate centralization of power and, more specifically, the differences between the Articles of Confederation and the…

There is evidence that some obstacles to women running for political office emerge early in the political development of women and girls. Lawless and Fox (2005) identify several reasons for lower political ambition among women relative to men. Among their explanations are that girls are less likely to be engaged in political conversations in their…

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…

Games and simulations are increasingly used in courses on international politics. This study explores the hypothesis that games are better than simulations (as well as only reading and lectures) in introducing students to abstract concepts integral to an understanding of world politics. The study compares a two-level Prisoner's Dilemma game…

This study assesses the pedagogical value of film as case material, and whether that value is affected by the different national and institutional contexts of the students engaging that text. We test whether students in two different Theories of International Relations (IR) classrooms--one in Brazil and one in the United States--demonstrated a…

The article evaluates the civic implications of studying political science. Previous research has argued that learning rational choice models of political behavior could be detrimental to civic outcomes. However, results from our two panel surveys of students at Swedish universities show the opposite: studying political science has positive…

Rancorous dialogue among political opponents is nothing new in the American political system. However, in the past two decades or so, pundits and scholars have noted an increase in the overall intensity and frequency of incivility among elected officials and citizens. At the collegiate level, many universities have undertaken some form of civility…

In a democracy, agents of political socialization, such as schools and parents, generally emphasize the importance of voting. While college students may be exposed briefly to voter registration as a barrier to participation, there is little evidence that the topic is given serious attention in the classroom. This research addresses how classroom…

In teaching the causes of the Iraq War, the use of "virtual history" can be employed in a conference setting in which different individuals are assigned to different plausible counterfactuals they use to construct virtual histories. The Iraq War lends itself to the virtual history approach because of the availability of many plausible…

Simulations have received considerable attention as a tool to promote problem-solving skills, intense involvement, and high-order thinking among students. Whether semester-long exercises or a single-class session, simulations are often used in areas of conflict studies, diplomatic studies, trade disputes, electoral processes, and policy and legal…

An emerging assumption in undergraduate political science education is that role-playing simulations are an effective teaching tool. While previous studies have addressed the pedagogical advantages of simulations as compared to more traditional teaching techniques, less attention has been paid to student perceptions of these simulations. This…

Many assessment studies are devoted to discovering whether student knowledge increases after successful completion of a specific course; fewer studies attempt to examine whether students undergo a change in their values and attitudes as a result of that coursework. Given the continuing emphasis on assessment and the fulfillment of core curriculum…