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)."…

This paper discusses the use and benefits of the Current Affairs Journals Assignment in the Introduction to International Relations Class. The assignment provides not only the immediate benefits of relating class material to current events but helps to shape students' interests and to build knowledge in a thematic or regional area that can guide…

This article details a role-playing "citizenship simulation" used in a large graduate seminar offered by the Masters of International Relations (IR) faculty at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. While recognizing the need for a more systematic analysis of the relationship between class size and active learning strategies, this…

This essay introduces and analyzes a one-class role-play simulation during which students engage in stakeholder negotiations on how to respond to a large flow of refugees between two fictional African countries. Participants acquire an in-depth knowledge of arguments regarding granting and restricting refugees' freedom of movement and civil and…

This article describes the process of pedagogical thinking and design behind an advanced undergraduate seminar at a liberal arts college on "the international relations of the Asia-Pacific." From the perspective of the instructor, a former research analyst from Singapore who switched to academia in the United States in mid-career, key…

Global politics simulations are most often employed within a course via face-to-face student interactions, but they can also be integrated into a broader course model and implemented effectively for online and distance learners. To that end, this article proposes the WRIS system as an organizational framework for online course design to include a…

This article is about designing and implementing PowerPoint-based interactive simulations for use in International Relations (IR) introductory undergraduate classes based on core pedagogical literature, models of human skill acquisition, and previous research on simulations in IR teaching. We argue that simulations can be usefully employed at the…

Understanding student transition into higher education is an important aspect of module design, linking content, delivery, and assessment with a student's prior educational experience and knowledge bases. However, reflections on how modules designed choices are, generally, not widely disseminated. Here, we document the reflections of a junior…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered learning model used heavily in the natural sciences. By supplying students with contextualized problems and stopping short of handing them the tools to solve the problems, instructors take on the role of facilitator rather than expert. Use of PBL in political science, and more generally the social…

The evidence on learning communities suggests that student intellectual and psychosocial development is improved by participation. Faculty members become rejuvenated as learners once again through rediscovering the boundaries and intersection of their discipline with others. Active learning, collaborative learning, strategies to improve critical…