Does the content of political science courses affect civic learning? The authors examine whether differences in students' self-reported knowledge, cynicism, and participation depend on whether their American government course included a character-playing simulation. The authors use an innovative longitudinal, quasi-experimental research design to test not only for immediate effects but also for those that differentiated the two groups 3 years after they took the course. Differential effects of the simulation at the end of the particular course are virtually nonexistent. Three years later, however, students who had the simulation reported more understanding of the concepts taught in the simulation than did the control group. They also emerged less politically cynical. No differences were observed, however, on items reflecting political participation.For years, it has been almost axiomatic that government classes are an important part of civic education. These courses are thought to teach knowledge and critical thinking and to perform other critical aspects of political socialization (Niemi & Junn, 1998). To date, however, little work has been done on evaluating the variable nature of government courses and its effect on civic learning. Here, we examine the effect of introductory American government courses taught with and without a characterplaying simulation. Our goal is to determine whether the way we teach American government classes has an effect on students'self-reported knowledge, political cynicism, and future political participation. Downloaded fromThe congressional simulation analyzed in this article was developed and implemented in full by the first author during the fall 1998 and winter 1999 semesters (a more limited trial run was attempted during the preceding summer). It was developed for a 100-student introductory American government course at Eastern Michigan University, a regional comprehensive university. 1 Because the simulation is a major departure from the typical introductory course in American politics, an evaluation was put in place to assess the effects of this curricular change as compared to a standard American politics course taught by the same instructor.This article compares student learning, cynicism, and participation based on whether their American government course included the simulation. We first provide an overview of the simulation's operation. Next, we discuss the rationale for using the simulation and describe the evaluation plan put into place to assess its effects. We then analyze results from this evaluation, demonstrating that simulations do have an effect on student learning and political cynicism (but not participation); these results are most likely to occur a few years after students have completed the course. We conclude by discussing how these results can shape future research on simulations.
Becoming Congress: How the simulation worksThe simulation took place for 3 weeks during the third quarter of the semester. For this simulation, students were divided into one o...
Despite itsubiquity asthewaythat instructors represent their views on teaching andlearning, the statement ofteaching philosophy can be afrustrating document to write and theresults are often uneven. This chapter describes a rubric created at the University ofMichigan's Center for Research on Learning and Teaching to help faculty andgraduate students craft teaching statements. We describe theresearch thatinformed thecreation of therubric, talk about howweuse the rubric in ourconsultations andworkshops, andpresent anassessment thatvalidates the use oftherubric toimprove instructors' teaching statements.
Despite its ubiquity as the way that instructors represent their views on teaching and learning, the statement of teaching philosophy can be a frustrating document to write and the results are often uneven. This chapter describes a rubric created at the University of Michigan's Center for Research on Learning and Teaching to help faculty and graduate students craft teaching statements. We describe the research that informed the creation of the rubric, talk about how we use the rubric in our consultations and workshops, and present an assessment that validates the use of the rubric to improve instructors' teaching statements.
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