Research collaboration between political science faculty and undergraduate students is often identified as a goal of instructors and departments, but can be difficult to successfully implement. As part of National Undergraduate Research Week (April 17 – April 21, 2023), APSA and Pi Sigma Alpha convened a webinar illuminating best practices, unexpected challenges, and the benefits…
Application Deadline Extended to – April 26, 2023 The American Political Science Association’s (APSA) Teaching and Learning program is pleased to announce a call for proposals for 15 political scientists to participate in a three-day teaching and learning symposium July 27-29, 2023 at APSA’s headquarters in Washington, DC. APSA’s teaching symposia provide a workshop environment…
Marjorie R. Hershey, Indiana University – Bloomington This essay will be added to the second edition of Dr. Hershey’s ebooklet, How to Teach American Politics (and Other Subjects) Effectively. While this work is in progress, APSA Educate is pleased to feature below. ChatGPT is a specific program of artificial intelligence using a dialogue format (which makes…
Political Science Educator: volume 26, issue 2 Interview This interview is the first installment in a Q&A series focused on education and politics. In November, Matt Evans (Northwest Arkansas Community College, Political Science Educator Co-editor) interviewed Will Creeley (the Legal Director of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression[1]) on the political struggle for First…
Political Science Educator: volume 26, issue 2 Research Notes Ryan Gibb, Baker University Though the “meme”-ification of politics has its critics (Kulkarni 2017, Bulatovic 2019), memes can be useful tools. Similar to cartoons or comics, they illustrate concepts and generate conversation by both demanding that the author concentrate complicated thoughts into readily intelligible images with…
Political Science Educator: volume 26, issue 2 Research Notes James M. McQuiston, Southern Arkansas University Kahoot! is an instructional tool utilized regularly by instructors throughout the K-12 system in the United States to gamify their classes. Gamification is defined as “the use of game design elements in non-game contexts” (Groh, 2012). Quantitative analysis has indicated…
Political Science Educator: volume 26, issue 2 Research Notes Niva Golan-Nadir, the University at Albany, State University of New York, and Reichman University During the teaching disruptions of the Covid-19 pandemic, academicians became more familiar with online techniques, apps, and software for virtual teaching. Scholarly pedagogical engagements with the pandemic have pointed to several web-based…
Political Science Educator: volume 26, issue 2 Research Notes Elizabeth Dorssom, Lincoln University of Missouri Encouraging class engagement among undergraduate students is one of the harder aspects of teaching. It became even more difficult after returning to in-person teaching after educating students virtually during the Covid-19 pandemic. Returning to in-person learning was a difficult transition…
Political Science Educator: volume 26, issue 2 Research Notes Debra Leiter, University of Missouri-Kansas City Students in an environmental politics class often express frustration with the non-sustainable practices of others. Given that many of these students act with sustainability in mind–public transportation, reusable water bottles, etc.–their frustrations are grounded in their own experience. As political scientists, we…
Political Science Educator: volume 26, issue 2 Research Notes James Steur, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign In the first year of Trump’s Presidency, I started graduate school and worked as a teaching assistant for Introduction to American Politics. I was anxious about teaching in the classroom for the first time, and I was especially nervous…