How Political Scientists Teach Civic Engagement
Here, political scientists share their strategies for teaching. Included posts and articles, from PoliticalScienceNow.com, the Journal of Political Science Education, and PS: Political Science, address ways to incorporate specific substantive issues into the class curriculum or how to encourage student civic engagement more generally through teaching. Links to posts will be updated as new posts are published. We are grateful to Cambridge University Press and Taylor & Francis for providing free access to the JPSE and PS articles featured in the campaign through the end of 2019.
| "Getting Millennials to the Polls: An Extra-Credit Assignment on Voting and Citizenship" | Jeffrey Isaac (Indiana University, Bloomington) |
| "The Cora Brown Lecture Series - American State & Local Government Course at Howard University" | Keneshia N. Grant (Howard University) |
| "Simulated Complexity: A New Classroom Simulation to Teach About Campaign-Finance Laws" | Dick M. Carpenter (Institute for Justice) and Joshua M. Dunn (University of Colorado, Colorado Springs) |
| "Campaign Simulation for American Government: An Active Learning Approach to Campaigns and Elections" | Gayle Alberda (Fairfield University) |
| "Cultivating Campaign Managers: A Discussion Regarding the Creation and Implementation of a Campaign Management Course" | Amber R. Dickinson (Oklahoma State University) |
| "Teaching Students to Hear the Other Side: Using Web Design and Election Events to Build Empathy in the Political Science Classroom" | Leslie Caughell (Virginia Wesleyan University) |
| "Using Creative Assignments to Help Students Integrate their Learning in a Campaigns and Elections Class" | Jeffrey L. Bernstein (Eastern Michigan University), et al. |
| "Virtual Integration in U.S. Senate Campaigns: An Active Learning Tool for Teaching American Government" | Jocelyn Sage Mitchell (Northwestern University in Qatar) |
| "Navigating Partisan Differences in Class Discussions: Engaging Students' Policy Recommendations" | Eric Schwartz (Hagerstown Community College) |
| "Teaching Party Systems: A Culinary Demonstration" | Andre P. Audette (Monmouth College) |
| "When the Party Comes to Town: Experiential Learning During a Presidential Nominating Convention" | Karen M. Kedrowski (Winthrop University) and Katarina Duich Moyon (Winthrop University) |
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"Using COVID-19 and Connecticut’s Primary Elections to Teach Political Science Concepts" |
Gayle Alberda (Fairfield University) |
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"Will The Pandemic Weaken The Union To The Point Of Collapse?" |
Jennifer Nicoll Victor (George Mason University) |
| "From Rules to Representation: Teaching about the Territories and their Delegates in the US Congress" | Jonathan Lewallan (University of Texas at Austin) |
| "Teaching Trump: Why Comparative Politics Makes Students More Optimistic about US Democracy" | Hannah Baron (Brown University), Robert A. Blair (Brown University), and Shelby Grossman (University of Memphis) |
| "Working Together: An Empirical Analysis of a Multiclass Legislative-Executive Branch Simulation" | Nicole Kalaf-Hughes (Bowling Green State University) and Russell W. Mills (Bowling Green State University) |
| "For the Students: How to Analyze a Congressional District Election" | Josh Franco (Cuyamaca College) |
| "The Presidency and the 25th Amendment in Popular Culture" | Lilly J. Goren (Carroll University) |
| "I Researched the Sheriff, and I Researched All the Other Local Races" | Emily M. Farris (Texas Christian University) and Mirya R. Holman (Tulane University) |
| "Bet Out the Vote: Prediction Markets as a Tool to Promote Undergraduate Political Engagement" | Lukas Berg (United States Military Academy) and Major John Chambers (United States Military Academy) |
| "What You Need To Know About Election Polls" | Eric Loepp (University of Wisconsin-Whitewater) |
| "'We Have to Fight Back': Students' Thoughts, Feelings, and Plans for Action the Day after the 2016 Election" | Clarissa Hayward (Washington University, St. Louis) |
| "What to Expect When You're Electing" | Shannon Bow O'Brien (University of Texas at Austin) |
Theoretical and Philosophical Foundations for Democratic Engagement and Political Participation
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| "A Hitchhiker's Guide to 'Democracy in America'" | Craig Douglas Albert (Augusta University) |
| "Civic Republicanism: How to Make an Animal Out of the Politically Uninterested" | Daniella Mascarenhas (American University) |
| "Practicing Democratic Engagement in the Political Science Classroom" | George Davis (Marshall University) |
| "Racial Liberalism: Connecting Protest and Electoral Politics Today" | Sanford F. Schram (City University of New York) and Richard Fording (University of Alabama) |
| "Challenging Times Demand Focus on Fundamentals of Democracy" | Eric Schwartz (Hagerstown Community College) |
| "The Presidential Election "Postmortem": Preparing Students for Election Outcomes" | Athena King (Virginia State University) |
| "Is There a Catholic Vote and Does it Matter?" | Vincent Stine, George Washington University |
| "Will Trump & Congressional Republicans Benefit from White Racial Attitudes in 2020?" | Isaac Hale, University of California, Davis Carlos Algara, University of Texas, El Paso |
| "Divine Intervention: Can Historically Black Fraternities & Sororities in the Divine Nine Shape Political History in the 2020 Election?" | Caroline Harper (Howard University) |
| "Simulating Redistricting in the Classroom: A Binding Arbitration Decision Game Using Louisiana Census Data" | Peter Miller (Brennan Center for Justice), Steven Kimbrough (University of Pennsylvania), and Johanna Schact (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) |
| "Felon Disenfranchisement and American Democracy" | Alice Malmberg (University of California, Santa Cruz) |
APSA Publications
Explains how campuses can promote high quality education for civic engagement, providing a wealth of examples of successful practices, techniques, and assessment strategies.
Provides an exploration of key theoretical discussions, innovative ideas, and best practices in educating citizens in the 21st century.
Selected Chapter Summaries Teaching Civic Engagement Across the Disciplines
| Chapter 1 | Why Do We Need Government? The Role of Civic Education in the Face of the Free Rider Problem | Jane Mansbridge, Harvard Kennedy School |
| Chapter 2 | The Politically Engaged Classroom | Nancy Thomas and Margaret Brower, Tufts University |
| Chapter 3 | Deliberative Pedagogy's Feminist Potential: Teaching Our Students to Cultivate a More Inclusive Public Sphere | J. Cherie Strachan, Central Michigan University |
| Chapter 4 | The Essential Role of Campus Planning in Student Civic Education | Andrew J. Seligsohn and Maggie Grove, Campus Compact |
| Chapter 5 | Excerpts from a Crucible Moment and Civic Prompts | Caryn McTighe Musil, Northwestern University |
| Chapter 6 | Civic Education, A Key to Trust in Government | Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene, Barrett and Greene Inc. |
| Chapter 7 | The History of Civic Education in Political Science, The Story of a Discipline's Failure to Lead | Michael T. Rogers, Arkansas Tech University |
| Chapter 8 | Active Learning and the Acquisition of Political Knowledge in High School | Diana Owen and G. Isaac W. Riddle, Georgetown University |
| Chapter 9 | Essential School Supports for Civic Learning | Shawn P. Healy, Robert R. McCormick Foundation Democracy Program |
| Chapter 10 | Using Twitter to Promote Classroom and Civic Engagement | Gina Serignese Woodall and Tara M. Lennon, Arizona State University |
| Chapter 11 | All Politics Is Local: Teaching Urban Studies to Suburban Students | Constance A. Mixon, Elmhurst College |
| Chapter 12 | Promoting Civic Engagement in a Required General Education Course | John Suarez, SUNY Cortland |
| Chapter 13 | Fostering Civic Engagement Through the Arts: A Blueprint | Constance DeVereaux, Colorado State University |
| Chapter 14 | Service-Learning in an Environmental Engineering Classroom: Examples, Evaluation, and Recommendations | Tara Kulkarni and Kimberly Coleman, University of Vermont |
| Chapter 15 | Partnering with Campus and Community to Promote Civic Engagement: Miami University's Citizenship and Democracy Week | John Forren, Miami University |
| Chapter 16 | Teaching Faculty to Teach Civic Engagement: Interdisciplinary Models to Facilitate Pedagogical Success | Sarah Surak and Alexander Pope, Salisbury University; Christopher Jensen and Alison Rios Millett McCartney, Towson University |
| Chapter 17 | Politically Themed Residential Learning Communities as Incubators of Interest in Government and Politics | John McTague, Towson University |
| Chapter 18 | Collaborative Civic Engagement, A Multidisciplinary Approach to Teaching Democracy with Elementary and University Students | Ann N. Crigler, Gerald Thomas Goodnight, Stephen Armstrong, and Aditi Ramesh, University of Southern California |
| Chapter 19 | Unscripted Learning: Cultivating Engaged Catalysts | James Simeone, James Sikora and Deborah Halperin, Illinois Wesleyan University |
| Chapter 20 | New Resources for Civic Engagement: The National Survey of Student Leaders, Campus Associational Life, and the Consortium for Inter-Campus SoTL Research | J. Cherie Strachan, Central Michigan University and Elizabeth A. Bennion, University South Bend |
| Chapter 21 | Civic Engagement Centers and Institutes Promising Routes for Teaching Lessons in Citizenship to Students of All Disciplines | Elizabeth C. Matto, George Washington University and Mary McHugh, Merrimack College |
| Chapter 22 | Moving Forward with Assessment: Important Tips and Resources | Elizabeth Bennion, University South Bend |
| Chapter 23 | Politics 365, Fostering Campus Climates for Student Political Learning and Engagement | Nancy Thomas and Margaret Brower, Tufts University |
Additional Teaching Resources
- A Guidebook for Incorporating Civic Engagement in Undergraduate Education (Project Pericles)
- Course Syllabi, with examples of incorporating civic engagement (Project Pericles)
- Federal Election Commission
- National Association of Secretaries of State
- Periclean Voting Modules (Project Pericles)
- State Student Guides (Campus Vote Project, 2019)
- Student Voting Guide (Best Colleges)