Using active methodologies in the Political Science and International Relations classrooms in Spain: Views from instructors

Lucía Ferreiro Prado

doi:10.21308/recp.60.01

Authors

Lucía Ferreiro Prado Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21308/recp.60.01

Keywords:

active methodolgies, teaching and learning, instructional choices

Abstract

This paper highlights the classroom use of active methodologies in Political Science and International Relations in a Spanish setting. Using both surveys and in-depth interviews, it examines how extensively active methodologies are used in Spanish universities, what professors understand active methodologies to be, and how are they implemented in the classrooms. Most importantly, it seeks to understand the instructional transition made by professors that started off their professional careers as lecturers and, subsequently, decided they wanted to include active methodologies as a meaningful part of their courses. Results show an extensive use of active methodologies, although instructional choices are often made without prior pedagogical expertise, nor a proper evaluation of the student’s learning experience. We conclude with some suggestions on policy recommendations that would increase the quality of teaching and improve the learning outcomes in the classrooms.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Anthony, Glenda. 1996. “Active Learning in a constructivist framework”, Educational Studies in Mathematics, 31 (4): 349-369. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00369153.

Baranowski, Michael. 2007. “Single Session Simulations: The Effectiveness of Short Congressional Simulations in Introductory American Government Classes”, Journal of Political Science Education, 2 (1): 33-49. Available at: https://doi.org/ 10.1080/155121605004484135.

Berstein, Jeffrey and Deborah S. Meizlish, 2003. “Becoming Congress: a longitudinal study of the civic engagement implications of a classroom simulation”, Simulation and Gaming, 34 (2): 198-219. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/104687810 3034002003.

Bonwell, Charles and James Eison. 1991. Active Learning: creating excitement in the classroom. ASHE-ERIC Reports, 3-20. Available at: https://cutt.ly/eNAPmgS.

Boyer, Ernest. 1990. Scholarship reconsidered: priorities of the professoriate. Carnegie Foundation on the Advancement of Teaching, Princeton University Press. Available at: https://www.umces.edu/sites/default/files/al/pdfs/BoyerScholarshipReconsidered.pdf.

Bueheler, Melissa and Anthony Marcum. 2007. “Looking into the teaching crystal: graduate teaching and the future of political science”, Journal of Political Science Education, 3 (21): 21-38. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/15512160601115372.

Coll, César. 2001. “Concepciones y tendencias actuales en psicología de la educación”, in Cesar Coll, Jesús Palacios y Álvaro Marchesi (comps.), Desarrollo psicológico y educación. Madrid: Alianza Editorial.

Cousinou, Gloria and Isabel Inguanzo. 2020. «Aprendiendo sobre diseños institucionales en democracia mediante la simulación de la creación del Estado Ibérico», in Lucía Ferreiro (ed.), Metodologías activas en las aulas de Ciencia Política y Relaciones Internacionales. Simulaciones de procesos políticos en organizaciones internacionales y nacionales. Madrid: Tirant lo Blanc.

Ferreiro, Lucía. 2020. “Discusión de resultados y conclusiones”, in Lucía Ferreiro (ed.), Metodologías activas en las aulas de Ciencia Política y Relaciones Internacionales. Simulaciones de procesos políticos en organizaciones internacionales y nacionales. Madrid: Tirant lo Blanc.

García-Pérez, Daniel. 2021. “Ensayo contra el rol de la innovación docente en la carrera docente universitaria”, in Rabia M. Rabet Temsamani and Carlos Hervás-Gómez (coords.), Innovación en la docencia e investigación de las ciencias sociales y la educación. Madrid: Dykinson.

Gibbs, Graham and Martin Coffey. 2004. «The impact of training of university teachers on their teaching skills, their approach to teaching and the approach to learning of their students», Active Learning in Higher Education, 5 (1): 87-100. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787404040463.

Hansen, Edmund and James Stephens. 2000. “The Ethics of Learner-Centered Education. Dynamics that impede the process”, Pro Quest, 32 (5): 41-47. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/00091380009605739.

Hartlaub, Stephen and Frank Lancaster. 2008. “Teacher Characteristics and Pedagogy in political science”, Journal of Political Science Education”, 4: 377-393. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/15512160802413741.

Kellog Commission. 1999. Returning to our roots. The engaged institution. Kellog Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities. Available at: https://cutt.ly/DNASILU.

Kember, David.1997. “A reconceptualization of the research into university academic’s conceptions of teaching”, Learning and Instruction, 7 (3): 255-275. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0959-4752(96)00028-X.

Krain, Mathew, Kent Kille and Jeffrey Lantis. 2015. “Active Teaching and learning in cross-national perspective”, International Studies Perspectives, 16 (2): 142-155. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/insp.12083.

Lammers, William and John Murphy. 2002. “A profile of teaching techniques used in the university classroom: a descriptive profile of a US public university”, Active Learning in Higher Education, 3 (1): 54-67. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787402003001005.

Landemore, Helene. 2012. Democratic Reason. Politics, Collective Intelligence and the Rule of the Many. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Available at: https://doi.org/10.23943/princeton/9780691155654.001.0001.

Lean, Jonathan, Jonathan Moizer, Michael Towler and Catherine Abbey. 2011. “Simulations and Games. Use and barriers in Higher Education”, Active Learning in Higher Education, 7 (3): 227-242. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/14697 87409343188.

Machemer, Patricia and Pat Crawford. 2007. “Student perceptions of active learning in a large cross-disciplinary classroom”, Active Learning in Higher Education, 8 (1): 9-30. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787407074008.

Michael, Joel. 2006. “Where’s the evidence that active learning works?”, Advances in Physiology Education, 30: 159-167. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1152/advan. 00053.2006.

Mikalayeva, Liudmila. 2016. “Motivation, ownership, and the role of the instructor in active learning”, International Studies Perspectives, 17: 214-229. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/isp/ekv001.

Moore, Matthew J. 2011. “How (and what) political theorists teach: results of a national survey”, Journal of Political Science Education, 7 (1): 95-128. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/15512169.2011.539921.

Morgan, A. L. 2003. “Toward a global theory of mind: the potential benefits of presenting a range of IR Theories through Active Learning”, International Studies Perspectives, 4: 351-370. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/1528-3577.404002.

Nyquiest, Jody and Donald Wulff. 1996. Working effectively with graduate assistants. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Päuler-Kuppinger, Lena and Regina Jucks. 2017. “Perspectives on teaching: conceptions of teaching and epistemological beliefs of university academic and students in different domains”, Active Learning in Higher Education, 18 (1): 63-76. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787417693507.

Powner, Leanne C. and Michelle G. Allendoerfer. 2008. “Evaluating hypothesis about active learning”, International Studies Perspectives, 9 (1): 75-89. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1528-3585.2007.00317.x.

Prince, Michael. 2004. “Does active learning work? A review of research”, Journal of Engineering Education, 93: 223-231. Available at: https://cutt.ly/tNAFJ3W.

Rodríguez, Juan Carlos. 2018. «La edad media del profesorado de la universidad pública en España (I). La dimensión de la cuestión: una primera comparación internacional», Fundación Europea Sociedad y Educación. Universídad. Una conversación pública sobre la Universidad. El Blog de Studia XXI [blog], 13-11-2018. Available at: https://cutt.ly/GNAGz65.

Sánchez Caballero, Daniel. 2022. «Los nuevos profesores universitarios tendrán que hacer un curso de formación docente», El Diario.es, 22-2-2022. Available at: https://cutt.ly/TNAG7i4.

Wright, Mary, Inger Bergom and Tracy Bartholomew. 2019. “Decreased class size, increased active learning? Intended and enacted teaching strategies in smaller classes”, Active Learning in Higher Education, 20 (1): 51-62. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787417735607.