This article examines the extent to which service-learning courses affect students' attitudes and opinions. Elsewhere, we used a pre/postsurvey field experiment to demonstrate that volunteering with a homeless person tends to erode the stereotypes held by the domiciled--a confirmation of the venerable contact hypothesis. Here we use the same…

This article examines the effectiveness of a collaborative group learning project for teaching a core competency in comparative politics: constitutional structures. We use a quasi-experimental design and propensity score matching to assess the value of a constitutional writing group project and presentation. The results provide strong evidence…

Research suggests that student learning is enhanced when students are engaged through active learning strategies. In studying public opinion and polling, challenges include the provision of meaningful active learning environments when resources are limited. In this article, I discuss the design and implementation of telephone surveys as a teaching…

People often make choices that go against their own best interests. In the controversial bestseller "Nudge," Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein argue that people can benefit from simple "nudges" to improve their decision-making. In an upper-level undergraduate course on political decision-making, I created a series of assignments around "Nudge." In…

The challenges of teaching introductory-level U.S. politics to reluctant audiences are well known and widely lamented. This article investigates the pedagogical potential of political satire, specifically "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart", in engaging students in this tough-to-teach course. Based on a review of available literature and…

"I don't think I am good enough" was more than one student's response when invited to participate in civic engagement activities or to articulate their own original scholarly ideas. The insecurities underlying comments like this one are probably much more complex when put into the context of a student's academic life and its normal expectations.…

Notwithstanding political science professors' concerted efforts to remain politically neutral in the classroom, we find evidence that students are able to successfully identify the partisan loyalties of their professors. Furthermore, we find that there is a tendency for students to drift toward the Democratic Party over the course of the semester,…

Many political science departments offer, and increasing numbers of them require, undergraduate research methods courses. At the same time, studies cite high levels of student anxiety about such courses. Utilizing survey data from both students who take and faculty who teach methods, we conduct an analysis that compares the barriers students and…

Illustrates the importance of "passionate detachment" (passionate about being detached from one's position on a topic) when addressing advocacy in the classroom by describing "Introduction to Social Policy," a course on poverty. Explains that the course aims at developing an understanding of poverty, not just a list of proposed solutions. (CMK)

Evaluates the political attitudes of students at three West Virginia higher education institutions based on the effects of service learning. Indicates that students learn about and feel helpful towards their community and develop academic skills. (CMK)

Examines whether students who participate as public opinion poll interviewers derive any secondary benefits, specifically an alteration in attitude toward the local community. Finds that the polling experience produced no detectable changes in students' assessments of the community. Questions some forms of experiential learning. (CMK)

Summarizes four guidelines pertaining to classroom advocacy that are based on the purpose of a liberal arts education: (1) advocacy should be explicit; (2) advocacy should be reasoned and informed; (3) teachers should allow free and open discussion of students' positions; and (4) advocacy should be civil and repectful of students. (CMK)

Explores student attitudes toward technology in the classroom, based on data collected from introductory U.S. government courses that incorporated instructional technologies. Discusses the benefits and disadvantages of utilizing instructional technology in the classroom and the perspective of students. Includes references. (CMK)

States that the traditional instruments used to measure teacher performance at the end of the semester promotes a student-as-consumer analogy. Presents an alternative end-of-semester questionnaire that enables students to assess their own efforts and responses to learning processes. Includes a copy of the student opinion survey and lists…

Depicts a service learning program that focuses on homelessness and housing in which the students work in an urban neighborhood (Yonkers, New York) for a week as a means for developing the students' understanding of urban politics. Believes that this program may encourage students to integrate community development work into their professional…