Teaching Political Science in the Poorest State in the U.S. And the Poorest Country in Africa: Similarities and Differences
21 Pages Posted: 13 Aug 2009
Date Written: 2009
Abstract
Last fall, when I walked into the unlit, unequipped hall on a college campus in Sierra Leone and found some 160 political science students squeezed onto the narrow wooden benches in front of wooden tables, I had two questions: (1) how motivated were these students? (2) could I turn this large class into a seminar and use the same community service, research requirements, and interactive learning style I used in the much smaller classes back in Mississippi? The answers would reveal much about how some pedagogical theories on learning and teaching apply (or not) across cultures and regardless of class size and equipment. This paper also makes some comparisons between my classes in Sierra Leone and Mississippi.
Keywords: teaching, political science, pedagogy, community service
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