Teaching Political Science Research Articles

Looking Back and Looking Forward: Reflections on 20 Years of the Journal of Political Science Education

The 20th Anniversary Special Issue of the Journal of Political Science Education reflects on the achievements of the journal and its emergence as a vital platform for political science educators to share innovative teaching practices, discuss views on the profession's changing nature, and underscore the essentiality and vitality of teaching and learning to the profession.

Surveying the Impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence on Political Science Education

Surveying the Impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence on Political Science Education

Using Prediction Markets as a Tool for Classroom and Civic Engagement

Keeping students actively engaged in their courses and seeking ways to help them understand how to apply course content to real-world scenarios remains a central focus of political science education. In an effort to address this enduring challenge, we implement a prediction market focused on the 2022 congressional midterm elections in our introductory and upper-level political science courses. Using original survey data, obtained through the administration of pre and post surveys, we find statistically significant increases in feelings of pride, hope, trust, and efficacy among market participants. More broadly, we discuss the ways in which this semester-long project, using both the prediction market and classroom assignments, fosters increases in the desire for civic participation and the possibility of sustained civic engagement that extends beyond the classroom. Throughout the paper we seek to provide a useful guide for anyone seeking alternative methods of classroom and civic engagement and different ways by which to achieve it in a variety of courses.

A Critical Review of the APSA Presidential Task Force on Rethinking Political Science Education

A Critical Review of the APSA Presidential Task Force on Rethinking Political Science Education

The Opportunities and Challenges of Teaching Political Science in a Small Island Developing State: The Case of Mauritius

Political Science is a relatively new subject in the Mauritian academic context. As a small island developing state located in the Indian Ocean, it has many interesting features from which to draw to teach the discipline. These features include the ethnic and cultural diversity of its population; the island’s political stability in a geographical region known for recurrent political violence; its curious power-sharing model and its strategic location in the Indian Ocean magnified by the vastness of its Exclusive Economic Zone and contested territories. All these provide a uniquely stimulating intellectual context for teaching and researching about politics. However, teaching Political Science in Mauritius involves grappling with several complexities such as developing students’ critical thinking skills and limited academic exchanges with international scholars due to the remoteness of the island itself. Moreover, as other African universities, the question of decolonizing the curriculum is relevant in the Mauritian context as the discipline remains highly western centric.

Teaching Political Science in Times of Conflict: Introducing the Symposium

The Teaching Political Science in Times of Conflict symposium’s collection of articles underscores the vital role of political science educators in fostering an understanding of democratic institutions and their vulnerabilities. As global tensions and domestic challenges to democracy continue to rise, the importance of teaching political science and equipping students with critical thinking skills cannot be overstated. This symposium aims to stimulate further debate and research on political science education, emphasizing the discipline’s significance in navigating and understanding contemporary political landscapes.

The Impact of Infrastructure: Considerations of Generative AI in the Classroom

How are we to grapple with the increasing intrusion of technology in the classroom? What considerations need to be addressed before we begin bringing advanced technological systems like ChatGPT into our classroom spaces? A close attention to the infrastructural elements at play within the development and usage of AI gives us a better understanding of what is at stake when we bring AI into the classroom. The social and environmental impacts of AI, in particular, are often overlooked in new technological tools, especially ones that are supposed to frictionlessly improve our lives. Ultimately instructors need to balance the potential benefits and drawbacks of using forms of generative AI in the classroom and have a clear view of the impact of their decisions. For Political Science instructors, the impacts of AI may provide new teaching opportunities as well.

Context Matters: Understanding Student Usage, Skills, and Attitudes Toward AI to Inform Classroom Policies

ABSTRACT With the growing prevalence of AI tools, such as ChatGPT, political science instructors are navigating how to manage the use and misuse of AI in the classroom. This study underscores the prevalence of AI in academic settings and suggests pedagogical practices to integrate AI in the classroom in ways that are informed by students’ current interactions with and attitudes toward AI. Using a survey of undergraduate students in political science courses, the study finds that ChatGPT usage is widespread at the university level and that students are not confident in their skills for using AI appropriately to improve their writing or prepare for exams. These findings point to key areas where instructors can intervene and integrate AI in ways that enhance student learning, reduce potential achievement gaps that may emerge due to differences in AI usage across student backgrounds, and help students develop critical AI literacy skills to prepare for careers that increasingly are affected by AI.

Facilitating Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Building, Research Competence, and Digital Literacy: Student-Led Wikipedia Group Project in an Undergraduate Class of Public Administration in Hong Kong

This article provides a detailed description and reflection on a student-led Wikipedia group project conducted in a large undergraduate class on public administration in Hong Kong. It was offered to senior undergraduate students in a research-intensive university. The project is framed within four key educational principles, namely knowledge exchange, knowledge building, research competence, and digital literacy. These principles are weaved together into an integrated learning sequence that includes essential assignment items and supporting tasks and activities. The sequence serves as a systematic and rigorous scaffolding for students. This article aims to contribute to the scholarship of political science education in three ways. First, this article outlines the sequential steps and approaches, as well as the attitudes and norms involved in integrating Wikipedia into political science classrooms. It also highlights the practical considerations and pedagogical justifications underlying the project. Moreover, this article primarily focuses on the classroom-level perspective, examining the actions of teachers and the dynamic responses of students. Lastly, this article proposes a series of key recommendations for political science educators worldwide. These recommendations aim to provide abundant learning opportunities and create a conducive learning environment when utilising Wikipedia as both a pedagogical tool and a classroom resource.

Critical Thinking Instruction in UK University Political Science Courses: Its Application and Impact on Students’ Political Analysis Skills

This paper investigates the implementation and impact of critical thinking instruction in political science courses across UK universities. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the study evaluates how critical thinking is integrated into curricula and its effects on students’ political analysis skills. Surveys, interviews, and classroom observations were conducted with students and instructors from ten diverse universities. Findings indicate significant improvements in students’ abilities to analyze arguments, evaluate evidence, and engage in political discourse following critical thinking instruction. Pedagogical strategies such as debates, problem-based learning, and reflective writing were identified as effective, although challenges such as resource limitations and student resistance were noted. Theoretical implications are discussed, emphasizing cognitive and constructivist learning theories. Practical recommendations are offered for educators and policymakers to enhance the integration of critical thinking in political science education. This study contributes to the discourse on educational best practices and underscores the importance of critical thinking in preparing informed and capable political science graduates.

A Multi-Method Approach to the Future of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Since the establishment of the Journal of Political Science Education (JPSE) in 2004, the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning has become more rigorous and data-based, thanks in large part to the efforts of editors, peer-reviewers, and submitters to the journal. Where does the field go from here? I argue that our greatest strengths lie in multimethod approaches. To best understand how to improve teaching and learning in political science, we need to use all of our methodological tools. To illustrate these tools, I provide examples of some of the most-cited pieces in JPSE over the past 20 years, including ones using large-n statistical, experimental, case study, student self-report, qualitative evaluation, and reflective methodologies. I also provide examples of multimethod SoTL work and argue that the best way to move the field forward is to use multiple methodological tools together. Multimethod approaches help us better understand both the teaching problems that are facing the field of political science today and how best to respond to them. For instance, big data can help us understand overall trends, but may hide the individual experiences of students; experiments may reveal causal relationships, but surveys can help us understand how they function in practice. By bringing multiple methodological approaches together, we can get better answers to important questions. The widespread adoption of multimethod SoTL approaches in the future will require rethinking graduate school training, thoughtful research design, and providing intentional collaboration opportunities through conferences and infrastructure.

Let us get numerical: explaining Political Science student preferences for quantitative studies

The global push to reorient social sciences in an increasingly technical direction might have a clear labour-market justification, but the efforts face headwinds from both faculty and students. This research is concerned with the fear that students would resist such a reorientation. Much of the pedagogic social-science research seeks ways to alleviate student math and statistics anxiety, an obstacle that would apply regardless of whether students receive such instruction in their field or indirectly through required cognate courses. The literature tends to emphasise instructor perspectives, but we focus on student attitudes. Using a survey of Political Science students at 11 institutions in the Western Balkans we predict student preferences for empirical, statistical, mathematical and computational instruction. Our explanatory variables fall into three batches: computer literacy, educational expectations and perception of career usefulness. Our main conclusion is that students expecting (1) to acquire practical training or (2) to develop research skills are especially likely to embrace a curriculum oriented toward empirical/statistical/mathematical/computational applications in Political Science, an association that grows stronger as the students remain enrolled. Insofar as a programme or institution can recruit for, or cultivate, such expectations, they can expect students relatively receptive to the technical direction in Political Science education.

Lessons From Dragons: Teaching Political Science With HBO’s House of the Dragon

Since first airing on HBO in 2011, Game of Thrones (GOT) has proven to be a fruitful text for teaching and studying politics. In 2022 the prequal to GOT—House of The Dragon (HOTD) debuted on HBO. This paper conducts discourse analysis on the entire first season with two goals in mind. First, we demonstrate how pop culture is impacted by real world politics by examining the change in gender and racial representation in HOTD compared to GOT and argue that this change was a product of cultural backlash that GOT received and a result of changing political attitudes over the time of both shows airing. Second, we use the show’s content as text to teach American and Comparative politics concepts. In the appendix we provide three examples of low, mid, and high-stake assignments that use show content in teaching political science courses.

Student satisfaction with the heutagogical approach in education

The heutagogical approach places a strong emphasis on learner autonomy and the enhancement of their potential for a self-directed learning, technology utilization also can make it easier to integrate heutagogy in the classroom, improving learning results and increasing learner engagement. Thus, the student satisfaction is an essential element of higher education that can support student achievement. This study aims to describe the satisfaction of Political Science students with the heutagogy approach in education at the Universidad de Manila, Philippines using a descriptive quantitative approach with a survey method. The subjects of this study were the twenty-nine (29) students of the Political Science education program at Universidad de Manila, Philippines who are currently enrolled in Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Political Data (PSC222). The sampling used was purposeful which is a non-probability. The result reveals that the students were very satisfied (62.1%) with the quality of teaching, satisfied (58.6%) with the course content, satisfied (37.9%) with the campus facilities, and very satisfied (55.2%) with the student support and services. The results disclosed that student satisfaction is a vital aspect in higher education as it affects their motivation and academic success, especially in this era of Globalization, Technology, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), is increasing, which forces the world of education to have positive innovations for the advancement of education.

TLC at APSA 2023: “Political Science Education in an Age of Mis- and Disinformation” In Review

TLC at APSA 2023: “Political Science Education in an Age of Mis- and Disinformation” In Review

Thinking Big? Toward a Pedagogy of Critical Data Studies in Political Science

Some in our discipline have recently voiced the opinion that political science is a data science. What follows from this argument is that we as instructors are training the next generation of data scientists, especially professionals and researchers who will work with big data. This paper explores the implications for political science education, arguing that we are uniquely suited to make students critical consumers of big data—a goal we can achieve by creating dialogue with work in critical data studies. I offer three suggestions about how to integrate lessons from critical data studies in the classroom. These include ideas about diversifying the research methods curriculum, using data work for service learning, and modeling best practices in our own engagement with students. Though the discussion in this piece is theoretical, the takeaways include a call to action to create more meaningful dialogue with critical data studies.

Reflections on the beginnings of the Journal of Political Science Education

Reflections on the beginnings of the Journal of Political Science Education

Research on the realization path of ideological and political education goals in colleges and universities based on Bayesian decision theory

Abstract With the continuous development of innovative education and the growth of the demand for personalized learning, this paper explores the evaluation of students’ learning ability and resource recommendation methods in Civic Education under the guidance of OBE (student-centered, outcome-oriented, continuous improvement) educational philosophy to better achieve the educational goals. By constructing a learning ability evaluation model for Civic Education, this paper establishes a learning ability evaluation and Civic Education resource recommendation model based on Bayesian decision making by using Bayesian Decision Theory’s a posteriori probability for uncertainty reasoning and combining the personalized recommendation function of collaborative filtering algorithm. By analyzing the data of a university’s ideological and political education course in the fall of 2020, this paper not only realizes the accurate evaluation of students’ learning ability, but also tests the model’s effectiveness in learning ability evaluation and resource recommendation. The findings show that students perform well in effective communication, collaboration and independent learning ability, whose evaluation mean values are 0.62, 0.58 and 0.55, respectively. In addition, some students’ learning ability significantly improves after receiving the recommended test questions, with the increase ranging from 34.36% to 36.67%. These findings demonstrate the model’s excellent learning ability evaluation and resource recommendation performance. The research in this paper provides valuable references for evaluating students’ learning ability and resource recommendation in Civics and Political Science education, which can help further improve students’ learning effectiveness and achieve educational goals.

Informationization Construction of Civic Education in Colleges Based on Big Data Technology

Abstract This paper explores the application of big data technology in daily civic education in colleges, and visualizes the data with heterogeneous systems, on which the result is based to design the education evaluation data model. Calculating the total evaluation value of the teachers in the field of Civics and Political Science, combining with the sector area ratio division algorithm to realize the uniform display of scientific research achievements in the field of Civics and Political Science, and completing the construction of the knowledge model of Civics and Political Science education in colleges with above procedures. The appropriate learning path of Civics informatization for the learners is projected with the ant colony algorithm, which is based on the adaptive test ability value of the learners generated from item response theory. The construction of civic education information in colleges is done using big data technology. The results show that after a period of learning in the mode of informatization of Civic and Political Education, the mean value of the students in the experimental class scores 10 points higher than that of the control class learning. Overall students are more agreeable to the role of informatization of Civic and Political Education in colleges and the construction of informatization of Civic and Political Education in colleges has achieved good results.

Challenges and Opportunities of Civic Education in Colleges and Universities in Digital Environment

Abstract Civic education in colleges and universities plays a pivotal role in fostering students’ national identity and civic responsibilities. Enhanced by digital learning environments, it promises to cultivate exemplary citizens more effectively. This paper details the development of a MOOC interactive communication platform utilizing the open-source edX framework, which serves to enhance civic education. It delves into optimizing resource storage technologies on the platform. It introduces an innovative assignment mutual evaluation algorithm tailored for Civics and Political Science education, which accounts for rater bias and scoring patterns. The newly implemented resource storage and mutual assessment algorithms have notably improved the functionality of the civic education platform. Performance metrics from the platform indicate an encouraging trend in student achievement across three courses, with average scores of 78.32, 79.24, and 83.27, respectively, showcasing a consistent upward trajectory. Further analysis reveals a converging trend in the variance of data distribution, indicating a reduction in disparities in student learning outcomes as evidenced by a decrease in standard deviation values. Comprehensively, students’ overall test scores have shown significant improvement. Notably, mastery of subject matter knowledge saw an increase from 2.3% to 21.4%, and the pass rate escalated from 92.6% to 98.3%. Although there were initial discrepancies in the cognitive rating of civic education values between the experimental and control groups, the experimental group exhibited substantial gains, underscoring the efficacy of the platform and its methodologies.