{"title":"The (Coffee) Grounds of Change: An Experiential Learning Approach to Sustainable Development","authors":"Caroline L. Payne","doi":"10.1080/15512169.2022.2107930","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15512169.2022.2107930","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Drawing on six years of experience teaching Political Science classes with field experiences in the Dominican Republic, I discuss the design and implementation of effective sustainable development projects. What started as a one-off field experience has grown into a long-term relationship with the coffee growing community of El Naranjito, which provides opportunities for students to learn through purchasing our campus coffee and collaborating with producers on navigating the international specialty market. Beyond efforts to assist farmers raise their standard of living through the sale of their primary commodity, students are also involved in projects addressing quality of life issues, such as access to reliable, affordable solar energy and safe drinking water—all funded from profits of our College-branded Warrior Coffee. Discussion includes learning objectives specific to Political Science and how an intentionally crafted experience can assist in the development of students’ cultural competence, global awareness, and soft skills—including effective communication, teamwork, and resilience. Finally, special attention is paid to the importance of building collaborative, mutually beneficial relationships with host communities in order to ensure sustainable economic and community development that seeks to avoid dependency and neocolonial power dynamics. The lessons learned can be applied to other contexts.","PeriodicalId":46033,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Political Science Education","volume":"18 1","pages":"570 - 583"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43813842","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Atlanta School Tradition: Teaching Black Political Science","authors":"Joseph L. Jones","doi":"10.1080/15512169.2022.2109482","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15512169.2022.2109482","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This reflection focuses on my experiences teaching political science through a black worldview suggested by Dr. Mack H. Jones. In 1971, Dr. Mack H. Jones challenged black political scientists to subvert the efforts of white political scientists by creating an alternative frame of reference that focused on African American and African communities in the discipline. Moreover, Dr. Jones was the founder and chief visionary for the political science Ph.D. program at Atlanta University (now Clark-Atlanta University-CAU), which created an academic program by which every subfield was taught through the material conditions of black people in the U.S. and around the world. As an alum of CAU, I describe my efforts to answer Dr. Jones' call through my teaching at various Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) by recounting how I integrate the black experience in my political science courses by highlighting race, class, and gender in my teaching.","PeriodicalId":46033,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Political Science Education","volume":"19 1","pages":"48 - 52"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48273283","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Book Costs How Much??? Textbook Cost & OER Awareness in Political Science","authors":"Shawna M. Brandle","doi":"10.1080/15512169.2022.2104164","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15512169.2022.2104164","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Introductory level political science courses are a near-universal experience for undergraduate students in the US. Despite the wide occurrence of introductory courses, and the increasing attention paid to student loan debt, the cost of the teaching materials for introductory courses has largely been ignored in political science. This paper brings together several data sources to show how political science has not been attentive to textbook costs and highlight one possible solution, Open Educational Resources (OER), which has the potential to increase access to political science for all students.","PeriodicalId":46033,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Political Science Education","volume":"18 1","pages":"555 - 569"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47368331","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Impact of Course Structure on Students’ Political Efficacy and Confidence-in-Knowledge in Introduction to American Government","authors":"Joshua M. Jansa, Eve M. Ringsmuth","doi":"10.1080/15512169.2022.2097916","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15512169.2022.2097916","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Introduction to American Government is a foundational general education course meant to promote understanding of democracy and students’ ability to participate in it. But, there is substantial variation in how the course is structured: it can enroll anywhere from a dozen students to hundreds; it can be delivered online, face-to-face, or in hybrid format; it can feature active, interactive, or passive pedagogy. Does course structure (i.e., class size, modality, active/interactive pedagogy) affect students’ learning about democracy? We surveyed students enrolled in American government at a large university both at the beginning and end of the course. We leverage variation in structure at the university to assess its impact on growth in students’ political efficacy and confidence-in-knowledge over the semester. We find that courses that feature more active/interactive learning exhibit greater student growth in both efficacy and knowledge confidence, robust to model specification. We also find that face-to-face and online courses produce greater gains than hybrid courses, but this depends on model specification. We find no support for a direct effect of class size on student learning. The results illuminate how best to structure courses to achieve civic education goals.","PeriodicalId":46033,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Political Science Education","volume":"18 1","pages":"455 - 475"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43077827","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Julie M. Mazzei, Andrew Barnes, Oindrila Roy, George M. Poluse
{"title":"Kids Today: They Care, But They Don’t Think We Do","authors":"Julie M. Mazzei, Andrew Barnes, Oindrila Roy, George M. Poluse","doi":"10.1080/15512169.2022.2099878","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15512169.2022.2099878","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Scholars and practitioners know that students flourish when they choose majors that are congruent with their self-conceptions. What is less investigated is the information they have for making that choice and how they gather that knowledge. This study demonstrates that a significant gap exists between student impressions of political science and its associated opportunities, on one hand, and reality, on the other. Specifically, we show that many students substitute their understanding of politics-as-career for an understanding of political-science-as-major, which prevents them from seeing the range of career options opened by the degree. The article also shows that university advisors are an important potential source of student information about major choice, as most universities intend, but they may be unfamiliar with the subject matter and careers associated with particular majors. Finally, we show that intentional efforts to inform advisors, students, and parents of the content and opportunities of a Political Science degree can help close the information gap, and we indicate how the practical strategy described here could be repeated in other settings.","PeriodicalId":46033,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Political Science Education","volume":"18 1","pages":"536 - 554"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49079738","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Podcasting as Pedagogy: Providing More Than Flexibility During Challenging Times","authors":"J. Woodward","doi":"10.1080/15512169.2022.2102028","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15512169.2022.2102028","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic magnified the need to teach undergraduates in ways that provide them the flexibility to balance increasing demands while also providing engagement to be able to focus on learning while surrounded by distractions. Podcasting provides an opportunity to address these concerns while also allowing students to connect with their instructors in an asynchronous environment. This article discusses how podcasting was used as an alternative lecture format in a remote sophomore-level public law course.","PeriodicalId":46033,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Political Science Education","volume":"18 1","pages":"614 - 623"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49497478","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Coddled or Engaged? Teaching Political Tolerance to Generation Z Students","authors":"M. McBeth","doi":"10.1080/15512169.2022.2097915","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15512169.2022.2097915","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Critics like to call students in Generation Z (those born in 1995 onward) “coddled” and resistant to ideas that they disagree with. A series of high profile protests at universities have led to the impression that Generation Z is political intolerant of those who they disagree with. At the same time, Generation Z is a more diverse, more educated, and more active political generation. Given political polarization, teaching Generation Z students about political tolerance presents challenges. This paper presents an approach to teach political tolerance in an Introduction to Politics course. Grounded conceptually in the cognitive and neurosciences, the course helps students understand the limitations of rational decision-making in politics and the centrality of emotion and identity. The paper presents a day-by-day recount of an approach to teaching political tolerance including an original survey that measures student political tolerance. The survey indicates that only 30% to 34% of the 69 Generation Z students completing the survey were politically intolerant using a variation of the “least preferred” approach. Additionally, the students were more tolerant of progressive speech, books, and teachers. The paper draws conclusions about teaching political tolerance to Generation Z students and includes suggestions for future research.","PeriodicalId":46033,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Political Science Education","volume":"18 1","pages":"438 - 454"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47540136","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Dictators’ Drinks at the Pub. A Role Play on the Strategic Use of Power and Violence","authors":"Timothy Williams","doi":"10.1080/15512169.2022.2099412","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15512169.2022.2099412","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The Dictators’ Drinks at the Pub is a role play for political science students that develops an understanding of the rational and strategic uses of state violence. The role play facilitates informal discussions and mutual advice between political leaders of autocratic or semi-democratic states regarding the strategic use of violence. The role play is designed to allow a deeper understanding of how violence can be pragmatically and politically useful (beyond obvious normative prescriptions against it) and which institutional and other factors act to constrain it. By drawing on real-world cases, participants deepen their knowledge of one empirical case considerably, as well as fostering comparative analysis with other cases. The collaborative atmosphere strengthens group cohesion in-class allowing for more in-depth discussions of sensitive topics. While the method is time-consuming and strongly dependent on solid preparation through the participants, the role play facilitates in-depth and long-term engagement with the issues.","PeriodicalId":46033,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Political Science Education","volume":"18 1","pages":"652 - 663"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49188716","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Tuning into Student Learning: The Music of IR Theories","authors":"Carrie Humphreys, A. Rasool","doi":"10.1080/15512169.2022.2099413","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15512169.2022.2099413","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The theories of international relations (IR) are often difficult topics for students to understand: What are these and how are they useful? This is especially true among students who have likely never taken a political science class, are not political science majors, and are attending a rural regional university with limited exposure to the world. So, how do we, as instructors, make IR theories more relatable to students and their daily lives? Cue the music! As part of an innovative new learning arc framework, students in sections of the Intro to World Politics course were asked to identify which of their favorite musicians embody the four main theories of IR (realism, liberalism, constructivism, and feminism). Students were then asked to explain what theories they identified the most with and why based on their music choices. They were also asked to imagine other theories as musicians as a way to help them improve their understanding of IR theories. We find that utilizing music as a pedagogical tool to teach IR theories has a net positive impact especially on freshmen and sophomore students whose major is not political science.","PeriodicalId":46033,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Political Science Education","volume":"18 1","pages":"523 - 535"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46727878","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An Examination of Student Preferences and Learning Outcomes in Flipped Classroom with Online Videos","authors":"Steven B. Rothman","doi":"10.1080/15512169.2022.2099411","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15512169.2022.2099411","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Flipping classrooms is a popular teaching method in universities to increase active learning and retention as the popularity of traditional lectures decline. Although many studies discuss the process for flipping courses and the student reaction to such courses, much fewer studies examine the effect on student performance. This study conducts a within-case and between-case analysis of student perceptions and performance in an international relations theory course treating students in one course with a flipped classroom style versus the same course taught using traditional lecture style. A survey measures the student perceptions and reactions to the flipped class style compared to the traditional classroom, and a statistical analysis examines the effects of different teaching methods on student exam performance. The results show that students have high favorability ratings for the technique of flipped classrooms, while the statistical analysis shows no positive correlation to student performance indicators.","PeriodicalId":46033,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Political Science Education","volume":"18 1","pages":"605 - 613"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46913490","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}