Avoiding, and Learning From, Mistakes Made by Junior Scholars Teaching Political Methodology

Political methodology courses are among the most difficult political science courses to teach, and young faculty—who have the least amount of teaching experience—often are asked to teach them. Resources abound for prospective instructors. Oxford University Press (Box-Steffensmeier, Brady, and Collier Reference Box-Steffensmeier, Brady and Collier) and SAGE Publications (Curini and Franzese Reference Curini and Franzese) curated extensive handbooks on political methodology; many articles have been written to introduce the key features of the subfield and describe its history (Beck Reference Beck; King Reference King1990; Roberts Reference Roberts); and several popular textbooks can be used for graduate (e.g., Bailey Reference Bailey) and undergraduate (e.g., Kellstedt and Whitten Reference Kellstedt and Whitten) students. Although these resources offer useful insights into the history and substance of political methodology, they do not provide much in the way of best practices for delivery of the material.