Assessing the Learning Outcomes of a Role-Playing Simulation in International Environmental Politics

Abstract

This paper pilots a method of testing the learning effects of a role-playing simulation of negotiations over the Nile basin. Players negotiate how to apply general principles from international law, such as sharing water equitably and avoiding significant harm, to specific circumstances of the river basin. Students are presented with a set of factual statements about the basin and surveyed before and after play as to which facts will be (were) most important in negotiations. Surveys of 75 participating graduate students show interesting patterns: (1) a shift from emphasis on managing risks to exploiting cooperative opportunities; (2) change in the value orientation of the statements students consider most important, with development-oriented values increasing and environment-oriented values decreasing; and (3) change in the dimensions of power students consider most salient, including an increased appreciation for the institutional and knowledge-related elements of power and a de-emphasis on the structural aspects of power. Before-and-after surveying offers an alternative to the more common methods of learning assessment, based on knowledge acquisition or student satisfaction, while discussion of the survey results with students allows for a richer, more reflective learning experience.

Keywords:

• Simulation
• environment
• learning assessment

Acknowledgement

We are grateful to the American University Negotiation Project student team for developing a previous simulation that inspired this project.

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Notes

1 IRB approval, American University, reference number 2023196. IRB did not require consent of individual student participants.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ken Conca

Ken Conca is a professor of International Relations in the School of International Service at American University (Washington). His teaching and research focus on global environmental politics, environmental dimensions of peace and conflict, and the politics of water. His most recent books are An Unfinished Foundation: The United Nations and Global Environmental Governance and The Oxford Handbook of Water Politics and Policy.

Abby Ostovar

Abby Ostovar is a water policy specialist with a focus on advising local and state agencies on groundwater sustainability. She also teaches water resources management, policy, and law at the California State University, Monterey Bay.  Previously, Abby worked at the U.S. Department of State coordinating trade-related environmental cooperation with Latin America.  Abby holds a Ph.D. from the School of International Service at American University (Washington) and a master’s from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Ratia Tekenet

Ratia Tekenet is a climate security and climate finance practitioner with a focus on fragile and conflict-affected contexts. She has worked in the Horn of Africa, West Africa, and Southern Africa. She previously supported the UNDP Crisis Bureau in New York to develop and implement regional and country-specific climate security research and programming agenda and managed the knowledge management portfolio for the climate security subteam. Ratia holds a master’s degree in Global Governance, Politics, and Security from the School of International Service at American University (Washington).