TLC at APSA 2022: Teaching Political Science in a Post-Pandemic Era, In Review

Abstract

part of the APSA Annual Meeting. As with previous events, this was an opportunity to gather the growing community of scholars dedicated to improving political science education. Democracy requires functioning institutions and an informed and engaged citizenry. As a community that values undergraduate education and wants to find innovative ways to better educate our students, our goal is to help them become better citizens by stressing the importance of diversity, equity, inclusion, and civic engagement. The organization of the day-long conference reflects this spirit. The day was divided into a series of workshops (held in the morning) and panels (during the afternoon). The panels were organized around four tracks: 1) Promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the classroom; 2) Simulations and games; 3) Civic engagement; and 4) Teaching research, writing, and information literary. Summaries of each track's discussions are provided below.The conference's theme this year was "Teaching Political Science in a Post-Pandemic Era." Our experiences in the classrooms during this past year and a half tell us that we are experiencing a new moment in undergraduate education. Students and faculty are facing new challenges related to diminishing resources, overwork, the physical and mental legacies of the pandemic, and the consequences of uneven online learning, among others. How to reconnect with our students-while we rethink and restructure our teaching in the post-pandemic era-is a central question we confront. Responding to our call for proposals, our workshops and panels approached this challenge from diverse and innovative perspectives to improve quantitative reasoning, problem-solving, critical and analytical thinking, communication skills, global/intercultural fluency, leadership and teamwork, and accessibility. All participants and presenters took care in engaging fruitfully and thoughtfully in the discussions throughout the day.The morning workshops discussed a range of issues central to the mission of teaching in a post-pandemic era, and we can only briefly note them here: how to facilitate equity and access in the classroom, the use of DiploSim in International Relations courses, how to create a safe and challenging learning environment, the role of Political Science Honor Societies in engaging students, the foundational principles of antiracist pedagogy, the design of role-playing simulations in remote and hybrid classrooms, how to engage students in local government, and how to teach experimental political science.We were extremely lucky to have Terri Givens, Professor of Political Science at McGill University, and the Founder of Brighter Professional Development, as the keynote speaker during luncheon.