Enlivening Political Science Courses with Kolb's Learning Preference Model

Brock, Kathy L.; Cameron, Beverly J.

doi:10.1017/s1049096500049404

Cited by 47 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Simulation advocates contend that these exercises enhance the educational experience. They promote the value of these exercises in promoting critical thinking and analytical skills, providing students with a deeper level of insight into the dynamics of political exchange, promoting oral and written communication skills, and building student confidence (Smith and Boyer 1996; Brock and Cameron 1999; Newmann and Twigg 2000; Caruson 2005). Given broader trends in the discipline, it also seems appropriate to employ problem‐solving exercises and other innovative projects to foster “constructivist learning environments” (Brown and King 2000:245).…”

Section: The Simulations Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Building Knowledge? Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Global Problems Summit Simulation

Krain

Lantis

2006

Int Studies Perspectives

132

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This paper is an initial attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of the Global Problems Summit, a simulation exercise developed for the international studies classroom over 10 years ago. We first situate the simulation exercise within the wider literature on active learning techniques and discuss how the Global Problems Summit can be used as a learning tool to introduce international relations students to issues and processes that underlie diplomacy and negotiations. The paper then assesses the pedagogical value of the simulation based on data from an experimental research design. We test whether students who participated in the summit demonstrated a statistically significant level of increased knowledge about these issues compared with control groups who learned the same material in a traditional classroom (lecture/discussion) format. The paper concludes that while both the Global Problems Summit and traditional lecture environments promote learning, they have a significantly different impact on the types of knowledge that students gain from the experience. Active teaching and learning techniques have generated considerable excitement in the discipline. Many teacher-scholars have created interactive educational environments, employing new instructional technologies, case studies, and simulations in the classroom. But these changes have also given rise to criticism that instructors are choosing ''style over substance'' and that there is limited evidence of the value of active learning approaches. To date, there have been very few studies that carefully assess the value of active teaching and learning approaches. This paper sets out to explore the value of one category of approaches, role-playing simulations, for enhancing the educational experiences of students. Using an experimental research design, we test whether students who participated in the summit demonstrated a International Studies Perspectives (2006) 7, 395-407.

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Section: The Simulations Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Building Knowledge? Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Global Problems Summit Simulation

Krain

Lantis

2006

Int Studies Perspectives

132

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“…So, given the problems that could be associated with using games, why use them at all? The supporters of the active‐learning approaches contend that although lectures are suitable, may even be necessary, to convey important information to students, they are insufficient by themselves to address the diverse learning styles and preferences of the student population (Brock and Cameron ; Shellman and Turan ). Moreover, “by giving students the opportunity to exercise judgment, games can bring material to life—without sacrificing content learning” (Hess ).…”

Section: Use Of Games To Teach Cp Theoriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Comparative Politics Game Show: Using Games to Teach Comparative Politics Theories

et al. 2013

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Undergraduates often struggle with theoretical perspectives in political science. Often students can get a better handle on theories if they are able to relate them to something tangible in their experience. Lichbach and Zuckerman lay out cultural, rational actor, and structural perspectives as a way to think more systematically about comparative politics but often students struggle with these meta-theories and the different ways they encourage us to think theoretically about comparative politics. In this paper, we discuss a set of exercises that enable students to get a better handle on cultural, rational actor, and structural perspectives on comparative politics by making them "lab rats in their own experiments." We group these exercises together and treat them as a Comparative Politics Game Show. In this paper, we describe the different exercises and how they were used and our view of the utility of this approach for teaching comparative politics theory.

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“…Of the many models on which an instructor can draw, Kolb's experiential learning model (1984;1988) is particularly applicable in political science courses (Brock and Cameron 1999). First, theories of learning and pedagogical literature encourage faculty to employ active learning and experiential models in our teaching for a host of reasons.…”

Section: Rationale For a Mock Constitutional Conventionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…See Brock and Cameron (1999) and Smith and Kolb (1985) for additional insights into these stages. See Brock and Cameron (1999) and Smith and Kolb (1985) for additional insights into these stages.…”

Section: Final Thoughtsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenging the Constitution: Convening a Mock Constitutional Convention for American Government Students

Pautz

2011

APSC

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Enlivening Political Science Courses with Kolb's Learning Preference Model

Cited by 47 publications

References 12 publications

Building Knowledge? Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Global Problems Summit Simulation

Building Knowledge? Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Global Problems Summit Simulation

The Comparative Politics Game Show: Using Games to Teach Comparative Politics Theories

Challenging the Constitution: Convening a Mock Constitutional Convention for American Government Students

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