Documents

Theories and Measurement

These lectures on theories, game theory, and measurement provide an interactive way to teach concepts. The attached power points use concept maps, graphic organizers, and fill-in-the-blanks to make teaching political science methods more interactive and...

Using Student Data to Teach Research Methods

Students' own survey data can provide instructors an engaging, accessible tool for teaching students methods concepts. At the beginning of the semester, students took a survey that asked a variety of mundane and absurd questions. The data from the survey...

Explaining Political Attitudes

Assigned debates work well for weeks where several competing theoretical approaches are covered. This debate involves competing theories on approaches to explaining political attitudes. The steps for the assigned debate are as follows: - The section...

Parallel Discussions about Decision-Making

This group discussion format can be used in a week that covers several big concepts, each of which can be discussed along a similar ("parallel") sequence of discussion questions. The concepts in this particular class are: Wisdom of crowds, Heuristic...

Prisoner's Dilemma Game

Is it better to cooperate or defect? In this game, students participate in a real life prisoner's dilemma game. Each student has a partner and a red and black playing card to indicate which of two choices the student prefers. Each choice corresponds to a...

Speed Dating Topic Sentences

This activity, created by Justin Gest, involves learning through "speed dating." The activity focuses on how to craft excellent topic sentences while considering the application of the course's theoretical ideas. Justin has done this activity for several...

MIRA Guest Speaker

This activity brings the real world into the classroom. Eva Millona visited GOV98mg to talk about The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA). Prior to the talk, students read the handout with information about Eva Millona and MIRA...

Normative Models of Citizenship

This easy "Do Now" gets students engaged from the moment they enter the classroom. Students receive a handout when they enter the class ( see the document below). During the next few minutes, students respond to the questions on the handout, which prompt...

Resources

Steroids and Cloning

Should anabolic steroids remain banned? What about research cloning? In this activity, students work on constructing clear argumentative moral arguments using bioethical prompts. The instructor divides the class section into two groups and assigns each...

Overcoming Collective Action

Revolutions require collective action. This simple activity, used during the week on revolutions, demonstrates the difficulty of carrying out collective action. This activity is used in a class on comparative politics, during the unit on revolutions. It...

Why Activity-Based Learning? Why Active Learning?

Why use experiential or active learning techniques? Simply put, there is an emerging research literature that suggests that, properly implemented, these techniques are effective. Want to hear from other advocates of these approaches? Check out the...

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