The case for the use of simulations in political science seminars to provide illustrative learning of complex political process has been well demonstrated across a variety of sub-disciplines within political science. Their value to the teaching of European Union politics has also been explored and is particularly valuable for the EU's numerous…

Simulations offer opportunities for students to receive instruction in political strategies and practice developing political skills without the real-world consequences faced by policymakers. Budget simulations introduce students to collective action problems prevalent at all levels of American government and can be used in a variety of courses.…

This case is written for graduate students in a superintendency seminar course, a school-community relations course, or a school leadership course, such as a school politics course. It presents a highly charged school referendum issue in a school district that is comprised of two distinctly different communities. An initial referendum to construct…

Engaging students in the design, administration, and postelection analysis of an exit poll can be an excellent experiential learning activity. Lelieveldt and Rossen (2009) argue that exit polls are a "perfect teaching tool" because they provide students with a cooperative (rather than competitive) learning experience; help students…

Fourth grade students at a public elementary school in Houston, Texas, participated in a one-week exercise intended to mimic the process of creating a public good through a democratic process. The exercise involved students in four separate classes designing a class party with different characteristics (theme, music, and food) through a voluntary…

In 1878, Senator Aaron A. Sargent of California introduced to the Senate an amendment to the Constitution "Conferring upon Women the Right of Suffrage." Drafted by Susan B. Anthony, this same amendment would be introduced on a near-yearly basis until its final passage by Congress on May 19, 1919. Varying degrees of voting rights presented an…

This article looks at various cases of the Supreme Court's most recent term. In contrast to the 2006-2007 term when the Supreme Court was regularly split 5-4, during this last term, the justices have formed surprising coalitions in cases considered highly controversial. For example, it was the so-called liberal bloc's Justice Stevens who wrote the…

Teachers live for the "teachable moments"--those opportunities to connect their subject content to events taking place beyond the classroom. They can occur spontaneously, lucky occasions to bring the curriculum to life grabbed on the fly. In other instances, a teachable moment looms large. In hundreds of thousands of classrooms nationwide,…

Describes a unit on voting conducted by high school seniors for first graders in Bangor, Maine. Lists learning goals for both groups, describing how high school teacher and students collaborated with first-grade teacher to develop the unit and construct teaching aids. Details the unit's components, including a voting game, democracy, voting…

In a recent survey, the authors asked 37 elementary teachers to describe websites that they found to be the most helpful in planning to teach about voting, elections in general, and the Presidential election of 2004 in particular. For this article, they selected what were, in their judgment, the most useful websites--flexible enough to use with…

Students of the pedagogy of teaching have found that cooperative/problem-based learning activities engage the learner, promote ownership of the material, advance the development of higher-level cognitive skills and increase retention better than more passive learning activities. Despite broad recognition within the political science discipline…