Teaching Legislative Politics Through a Game: Active Learning, Assignment Co-creation, and Assessment Across Modalities
By Jennifer L. Clemens, University of Wisconsin–Parkside and Michael A. Hansen, University of Turku
This article examines a legislative politics simulation in which students deliberate as a legislative chamber and engage in assignment co-creation by collectively designing their final exam. Implemented across five semesters in face-to-face, hybrid, and fully online formats, the game promoted engagement, collaboration, and deeper reflection on institutional dynamics. Students in in-person and synchronous courses reported strong motivation and clearer links between course content and assessment design, while fully asynchronous versions were more challenging, which highlights the importance of instructional modality. The study highlights the pedagogical value of combining simulations with co-creation and offers guidance for adapting active learning across formats.
The Journal of Political Science Education is an intellectually rigorous, path-breaking, agenda-setting journal that publishes the highest quality scholarship on teaching and pedagogical issues in political science. The journal aims to represent the full range of questions, issues and approaches regarding political science education, including teaching-related issues, methods and techniques, learning/teaching activities and devices, educational assessment in political science, graduate education, and curriculum development.