Active Learning in Large Graduate Classes: Reflections on an “Attaining Citizenship” Simulation

Abstract

This article details a role-playing “citizenship simulation” used in a large graduate seminar offered by the Masters of International Relations (IR) faculty at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. While recognizing the need for a more systematic analysis of the relationship between class size and active learning strategies, this article offers an anecdotal reflection on the challenges faced when employing active learning in an IR course with growing enrollment numbers. We describe and analyze a simulation used in the graduate course to evaluate the feasibility and desirability of structuring large IR classrooms to include participatory group activities such as simulations. We also hope the simulation provides instructors with an effective sample design for simulations in their own larger courses.

Keywords:

• Large classes
• active learning
• simulations
• citizenship

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Aleks Deejay

Aleks Deejay is the research and program coordinator for The Policy Lab at the University of Melbourne where he is working on several projects evaluating Public Sector Innovation (PSI) labs. Aleks’s research explores the interaction between civil society and technology, and he is specifically interested in “innovative” activism, the political visibility of marginalized actors and communities, and the culture and politics surrounding emerging technologies. He received his PhD at The University of Melbourne in 2016, where his dissertation examined the digital-visual semiosis of protest movements. Prior to working at The Policy Lab, Aleks taught international relations, politics and media, and gender studies. In 2017–18, he served as the Program Associate for the Monash University Master of International Relations.

Maria Rost Rublee

Maria Rost Rublee is an Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Monash University. From 2016–2018, she served as the Director of the Monash Master of International Relations, overseeing an external review of the program and leading multiple changes to the degree to strengthen student outcomes. Maria’s academic expertise lies in the area of how security threats are shaped by perceptions, ideas, and norms. She is an award-winning author and teacher, with articles published in journals such as Survival, Contemporary Security Policy, International Studies Review, and Comparative Political Studies. She has received grants from the United States Institute of Peace, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Asia:NZ Foundation, the International Studies Association, and the Japan Foundation. She is the chair of the International Security Studies Section (ISSS) of the International Studies Association; ISSS is the largest section with over 1,700 members worldwide. She is a frequent invited keynote or plenary speaker both within Australia and around the world. Maria received her PhD from George Washington University.

Steven T. Zech

Steven T. Zech (PhD 2016, University of Washington) is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Monash University. Steve serves as Deputy Director for the Master of International Relations (MIR) program and the Global Terrorism Research Centre (GTReC). He was previously a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver where he conducted research for projects on “nonviolent action in violent settings.” His primary research focuses on how communities respond to political violence and terrorism at the local level and Steve has conducted extensive fieldwork on self-defense forces in Peru and progovernment militias in the Philippines. His work appears in journals such as Terrorism and Political Violence, International Studies Review, Defense & Security Analysis, and the Journal of Terrorism Research. Steve currently teaches graduate courses on contemporary security topics and issues related to armed conflict. He has also delivered courses on political violence and terrorism, international politics, conflict and cooperation, and human rights.