Government in Action Series

Instructor's Manual

Julie Dolan and Marni Ezra

Running a Successful Simulation

Introduction
CQ Press's simulations are designed to give students insight into how government processes work by allowing them to "participate" in a congressional election campaign, presidential press conference, Supreme Court trial, or debate on a legislative bill.

After running the simulations in our own classes for a number of years, we have put together this instructor's manual to share our observations, thoughts, and suggestions. We found that the most time-consuming part of running the simulation was providing students with sufficient background materials to take part in the simulation with more than a cursory understanding of the process. Although we hope to be as comprehensive as possible, we realize that no two classes are exactly alike, and so we cannot claim to address all issues that may arise in the course of the simulations. We compiled the following list of suggestions based on our experiences with simulations in a classroom setting.

Timeline

Include as much material as possible in the course syllabus and introduce the simulation on the first day of class. Have students read a broad selection of materials relating to the particular simulation. If they have a strong background in the judicial process, for example, less time will be spent explaining the basics and the simulation will run more smoothly. Further, if students are aware of the simulation early, they can read course materials with it in mind and better prepare for their roles.
Devote an entire class period (about an hour or so) to discussing the simulation and assigning roles. By doing so, you will have sufficient time to educate students about their expected roles, tell them how you intend to grade their performance, and be certain that everyone has a basic understanding of each part of the simulation.
The simulation itself should take place in the latter part of the semester, after the students have had enough class time to learn about the various government processes. You can either (1) set aside the appropriate number of consecutive classroom periods, running the entire simulation from start to finish with no breaks for other classroom activities, or (2) intersperse the simulation periods throughout the entire syllabus (for example, holding committee hearings immediately after you cover them in the substance of the course). The advantage of holding simulation sessions immediately following class discussion of particular topics is that the textbook information remains fresh in students' minds. The advantage of holding all simulation sessions back to back is that students remain in their roles for longer periods of time and become more seasoned role players as the simulation unfolds.

Student and Instructor Roles

Students might not play a role that coincides with their own party preferences or predispositions on a given issue. Playing the devil's advocate can yield some of the best student performances. Do not be surprised if students initially seem apprehensive and confused about their roles in the simulation process. Unless they have participated in other classroom simulations in the past, they may not fully grasp their roles in the simulation until it gets under way. We find that repeatedly referring to the simulation in regular class sessions facilitates students' understanding and assuages their fears.
Instructors should try to remain as hands-off as possible, impressing on students the seriousness of their responsibilities and the necessity of coming to class well prepared to carry out their roles. As long as students know what is expected of them ahead of time, they are willing to step up and assume their assigned roles.
Because students can get wrapped up in their roles during the simulation, making it awkward for the instructor to step in and point out parallels between the activities of the simulation and real life procedures, set aside at least one class session for debriefing purposes. Possible discussion questions for the debriefing include:

               ·What parallels can students draw between their classroom experiences and the textbook descriptions?
               ·Can students relate what they learned in their textbooks to what they experienced in the simulation?
               ·What is similar or different?
               ·What did students expect before the exercise?
               ·Were their expectations realized?
               ·Was the simulation helpful in furthering their understanding of the government process studied?

These suggestions for a successful simulation will work with any of the scenarios in the Government in Action series.

Click here for the Questionnaire on your Member of Congress.

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