Simulations have become a staple of political science education due to their effectiveness and creative nature that contributes to learning success. In this contribution, we argue that simulations can also offer new insights not only into student engagement and active learning, but also into the sociology of political processes. In this case it is…

This paper explores how PurpleState, a political simulation designed to foster skills and knowledge for informed civic participation, develops students' abilities to counter or resist the effects of political polarization and partisanship. Throughout the simulation, which has been implemented in Virginia and Wisconsin, students are asked to…

Scholars of teaching and learning frequently examine whether simulations promote content knowledge and engagement with course material. But many educators use simulations to promote additional goals. This article suggests that designers of political simulations often pursue four ends: "knowledge, engagement, skills, and empathy (KESE)."…

Simulation games are widely used to teach negotiation skills in political science education. However, existing studies focus on the impact of simulation games on students' knowledge gains and affective changes and largely ignore skill assessment and development in the gaming environment. This study aimed to understand the process of student groups…

This paper pilots a method of testing the learning effects of a role-playing simulation of negotiations over the Nile basin. Players negotiate how to apply general principles from international law, such as sharing water equitably and avoiding significant harm, to specific circumstances of the river basin. Students are presented with a set of…

The study of educational simulations at the secondary level has typically centered on programs that are competitive, shorter in duration, and characterized by their low fidelity, or a lack of realism. The resources required to hold longer, more immersive, and nuanced programs are often prohibitive for teachers of political science programs. As…

The use of simulations has increasingly gained momentum as a way of captivating students' attention and enhancing learning in the classroom. However, despite its increasing use as a teaching tool, only recently have scholars increasingly empirically considered how the use of simulations may impact student learning. Moreover, whereas qualitative…

What is the role of Model United Nations (MUN) in facilitating deep learning and professional skills attainment in the classroom? Using a 15-week MUN course, I gather data on student progress in four levels of knowledge: factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive. I use pre- and post-activity surveys as well as the instructor's own…

Active learning--and gaming, in particular--is now a well-established part of many political science courses. First, we discuss the design and implementation of a "Gateway Game", a pedagogical tool with broad applicability and test its effectiveness in increasing student motivation, satisfaction, and learning. Crucially, we provide…

Competition among parties is a central feature of democratic politics, but extreme partisanship can undermine democratic practices and institutions. We report the results of a formative curricular intervention involving reflective discussions designed to avoid hyper-partisanship in a training program for anyone--including university students--with…

Model United Nations (MUN) simulations are an increasingly popular approach to teaching international relations, in both secondary and tertiary education. There is some evidence, however, that these simulations disadvantage female participants. Studies by Rosenthal et al. and Coughlin found that female students participate less in simulations than…

This paper addresses two crucial gaps in the scholarship on the design and execution Simulation-Based Education (SBE) -- the importance of scaffolding in constructing successful simulations for entry-level students and the associated value of social media tools. We examine these issues within three successive iterations of a role-play simulation…

One challenge faced by instructors incorporating simulations and games into political science courses is how to assess learning outcomes from non-"traditional," pedagogical methods. Positive or anticipated simulation outcomes do not necessarily indicate positive learning outcomes for students. And, using more traditional methods of…

Active learning techniques are being use with increasing frequency in the classroom and more time is being dedicated to designing and implementing them. However, the literature still suffers from a lack of rigorous empirical methods to test the effects of simulations. Most of the claimed benefits of utilizing simulations, and other active learning…

Literature on simulation games stresses both the need for objective assessment of pedagogical effectiveness and the concern that such assessment may not be happening because it is too difficult. This article speaks to both points by presenting an approach to objectively assess the effectiveness of a simulation called the Human Rights Foreign…