Preliminary Findings on Implementing a New Learning Paradigm in Political Science

18 Pages Posted: 2 Feb 2012 Last revised: 10 Feb 2012

Date Written: February 9, 2012

Abstract

The essential goal of education is that students develop new skills and knowledge somehow caused by the intervention of the professor and the course presented during one school term. Conventional methods of assessment, especially used in introductory courses, traditionally are insufficient in measuring student knowledge of the subject at the beginning of each course and also lack individualized measures of student progress. This paper reports the results of a novel learning paradigm employed in four sections of an introductory course, American 20th Century Political History, during the summer and fall semesters of 2011 in a small liberal arts college.

The paradigm, of my invention, is described in three phrases: “I think I know”; “I know” and “I think”. Approximately 105 students, nearly all freshmen, completed a series of five original research assignments using 20th century media reports contemporaneous with the subject of their choice. They also included post hoc references that provided the long-term scholarly view of the subject. The findings report student reactions and my own analysis of the value of this paradigm. I believe that this paradigm measures the foundational familiarity students have with the subject as a vital baseline (“I think I know’). The second part (“I know”) captures the product of their research. The final part (“I think”) captures the analytical summation, especially by requiring that students place the subject in a larger context, including impacts on American political institutions and subsequent events.

Keywords: scholarship of teaching and learning, critical thinking, assessment, introductory course, teaching paradigm

Suggested Citation

Settich, John F, Preliminary Findings on Implementing a New Learning Paradigm in Political Science (February 9, 2012). APSA 2012 Teaching & Learning Conference Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1997610

John F Settich (Contact Author)

Benedictine College ( email )

1020 North 2nd St
Atchison, KS 66002
United States

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