A lesson plan involves high school students in examining incidents in U.S. history as acts of political behavior, including an examination of the resources the participants possessed and the political techniques they employed. A list of 25 issues/events to investigate is presented. (AM)

After a brief introduction to political redistricting, this article describes a learning activity to teach secondary or college level students about malapportionment and gerrymandering. The activity can be used in political geography, political science, or social studies courses. (RM)

Public administration, long considered a poor relation of political science in Australian academic circles, has recently been revitalized by a new concentration in public policy studies. This paper summarizes the efforts of 10 Australian universities to develop public policy degree programs, describes University of New England's new program, and…

A modified adversary context within a team teaching approach was used in a course on media law and ethics. Although some problems occurred, overall reaction to the course structures and teaching procedures was favorable. (RL)

An activity-based curriculum enables intermediate-grade children to pretend to be explorers who have discovered land. Students create a country by constructing a land map, formulating a constitution, determining an appropriate form of rule, and so on. Students learn how each aspect, from terrain to climate, creates ramifications leading to a…

Discusses a study of the political science major within the liberal arts curriculum. Urges that a major should have structure and coherence. Emphasizes the major as an area for in-depth training, not bureaucratic convenience. Suggests that the American Political Science Association foster more connections to other fields and assessment of…

Describes a team-taught, interdisciplinary college honors course on politics and literature, including the origins and theoretical underpinning of the course, issues related to the intersection of the disciplines, evolution of the teacher's role in the course, and outcomes. Concludes that despite the difficulties of interdisciplinary team…

Based on the game "Prisoners' Dilemma," a game-theoretical model of the arms race suitable for postsecondary level mathematics and/or political science students is developed in which two players can initially choose any level of arms development. The purpose of the game is to show under what conditions deescalation rather than escalation…

In this lesson plan, students are assigned a member of the California Assembly to research and a political faction to represent. Students examine representative bills voted on by the California Assembly to determine if their member's voting record coincides with the views of their political faction. Ultimately, students must decide whether, and…

Presents activities from an interdisciplinary project studying local watersheds that incorporate a broad spectrum of disciplines including science, math, geography, English, computer science, and political science. Enables students to understand how precipitation changes chemically as it interacts with the soils and human-altered landscape as it…

This book offers teachers problem-solving activities in five areas of the social studies curriculum: geography, politics, economics, culture, and history. The carefully structured activities in the book place students in role simulations so they learn to think and work with purpose and develop skills for problem solving. The book provides teachers…

In this lesson plan, each student must decide which political party he/she will join or whether to register as an independent. Each student will be part of a group analyzing one current political party and presenting to the class this party's solutions for the problems confronting the United States today. The political parties for analysis are:…

Argues that a complete and accurate understanding of constitutional history and constitutional law requires the study of state constitutions. Maintains that state constitutions contain a coherent political theory that is, in important respects, at variance with the concept of federalism. (CFR)

This teacher's guide was developed for the second of four courses in Valencia Community College's Interdisciplinary Studies Program, a 2-year core general education curriculum which chronologically examines the major developments in the evolution of human knowledge. The guide provides an introductory overview of the semester's topic (i.e., the…

This lesson plan imagines the student as part of a delegation to a special meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)-sponsored Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council being held in Brussels, Belgium, where the topic of discussion is a proposal by several NATO members to invite independent republics of the former Soviet Union to become…