Creates Network Connection, Contextualizes Lessons, & Connects Decisions to Outcomes

ESTUDIO DE CASO

Crea una conexión de red, contextualiza las lecciones y conecta las decisiones con los resultados

RESUMEN

Después de cuatro años usando Statecraft IR, el Dr. Benjamin Tkach dice que “es una pieza importante para entusiasmar a los estudiantes con las relaciones internacionales” Los estudiantes son nativos digitales, por lo que el uso de la tecnología como herramienta de enseñanza ayuda a demostrar las lecciones de una manera única y atractiva.

Para él, los principales beneficios de Statecraft son:

Plus, the lessons students learn working in groups are valuable because they have life applications. Group dynamics can sometimes be a challenge, but navigating interpersonal conflict in a simulated world is a healthy way to learn important lessons students can take with them to real-world scenarios like the workplace where stakes are much higher.

FECHA DE LA ENTREVISTA

Spring 2021, April 22nd

INFORMACIÓN DEL INSTRUCTOR

Dr. Benjamín Tkach es profesor asistente en el Departamento de Ciencias Políticas y Administración Pública de la Universidad Estatal de Mississippi. Su investigación principal se centra en la privatización de la seguridad y la participación de actores no estatales en los conflictos. Otras áreas de investigación incluyen la política exterior de EE. UU. y la seguridad nuclear.

Ha estado enseñando durante ocho años y usando Statecraft durante cuatro años. Durante ese tiempo, lo usó en dos situaciones diferentes: en una pequeña universidad de artes liberales y ahora en clases grandes en una institución de Research One.

ACTUALMENTE EN FUNCIONAMIENTO

Dr. Benjamin Tkach Photo

Statecraft es increíblemente valioso a largo plazo para establecer la utilidad de la clase, establecer el entorno del salón de clases y asegurarse de que las lecciones importantes de RI casi se vuelvan reales para el estudiante.

DR. BENJAMIN TKACH

4 años de statecraft

Hace cuatro años, encontré Statecraft en una conferencia donde tomé una clase sobre simulaciones en relaciones internacionales. Ahora probablemente he ejecutado la simulación en un total de siete clases diferentes a lo largo de los años; este semestre hará ocho repasos.

En Mississippi enseño el mismo curso en primavera y otoño, así que lo hago dos veces al año. Lo empiezo en las semanas cinco a ocho y pasamos por su finalización.

Está diseñado dentro de mi curso para resaltar diferentes conceptos teóricos cada semana.

TECNOLOGÍA DE APROVECHAMIENTO

Un beneficio importante de Statecraft está en el lado tecnológico: la interfaz de usuario y el sistema de software que lo subraya es exclusivo de Statecraft y tiene mérito propio.

Brinda a los estudiantes otro mecanismo para el aprendizaje y la participación que no puede ser replicado por nada más que yo haga.

INVOLUCRAR A LOS NATIVOS DIGITALES

Un aspecto de las Relaciones Internacionales, y realmente de la ciencia política en general, es cuán abstracta es. Y obviamente, tratamos de contextualizarlo en las aulas y tratamos de dar ejemplos usando simulaciones y mecanismos de aprendizaje para mantenerlo interesante.

La forma en que los estudiantes aprenden ahora es en bytes cortos: necesita ser de cinco a ocho minutos de compromiso si estamos hablando de un contexto en línea; y el compromiso tiene que ser no pasivo. Esa era en la que te paras en un escenario y simplemente pontificas no es la mejor manera de aprender las lecciones de las relaciones internacionales.

Statecraft brinda a los estudiantes una oportunidad de compromiso que no es de humano a humano. A medida que pensamos en el crecimiento de la tecnología y el componente nativo digital de los estudiantes que ingresan a las aulas, es útil tener algo que sea más consistente con la forma en que interactúan con otros aspectos de sus vidas.

AGRUPACIÓN DE ESTUDIANTES EN UNA CLASE ENORME

Una característica que me gusta de Statecraft es el cuestionario de política exterior. Agrupa a estudiantes que tienen puntos de vista similares sobre cómo funciona el mundo, que es una dimensión en la que no suelen pensar.

Una vez formados los grupos alrededor de la tercera semana, Los uso para sus grupos de trabajo, sesiones de estudio, proyectos y juegos fuera de línea.

Eso les da a los estudiantes exposición a otros estudiantes que de otro modo no conocerían porque estas son clases grandes. Encuentro eso muy valioso.

Además, ayuda a garantizar que los estudiantes se mantengan al día con otras tareas que no están relacionadas con el grupo, y se comunican entre sí. Con la situacion de COVID, es útil tener otro grupo de personas que estén dispuestas a controlarlo y que quieran participar.

BENEFICIO principal #1: CONEXIÓN DE RED

Los estudiantes están aislados, especialmente durante COVID. Aquí en Mississippi tenemos muchos estudiantes de primera generación, tenemos muchos estudiantes que no necesariamente se sienten cómodos en el ambiente universitario. Puedo usar Statecraft para hacerme más accesible. Tener una forma de involucrarme y conectarme con ellos a nivel de grupo es útil.

Puedo saber que algo está pasando con un estudiante en particular y no puedo abordarlo porque es solo a través de la observación. Es poco probable que haga que ese estudiante venga a mi horario de oficina, o incluso que responda a un correo electrónico uno a uno.

Pero si puedo involucrarlos en el grupo Statecraft, los alegra y me humaniza. A medida que esas interacciones comiencen a aumentar, se sentirán mucho más cómodos poniéndose en contacto conmigo o haciendo preguntas en clase.

Statecraft es eficiente en el tiempo en la construcción de esas conexiones con los estudiantes y tener algo que me permita involucrar a grupos donde se sentirán mucho más cómodos.

Statecraft reflejó la dinámica del mundo real con el comercio y los acuerdos internacionales. Obviamente, en una escala diferente, el proceso de negociación sucedió de manera muy similar a como lo haría en el mundo real. Hubo negociación y coerción involucradas en algunos intercambios. Statecraft contribuyó a la experiencia de la clase y al ambiente de aprendizaje de muchas maneras. Especialmente con COVID, fue muy difícil conocer gente. Sin embargo, las conversaciones de Statecraft de ida y vuelta permitieron que nuestra clase se reuniera y conversara fuera del salón de clases. En mi caso, hice dos muy buenos amigos a través de él y nuestras conversaciones comenzaron con muchas negociaciones comerciales. También enseñó las lecciones que estábamos aprendiendo y pude entender el juego y la clase a medida que avanzaba. Conectó lo que estábamos aprendiendo para que realmente pudiéramos usarlo a través de la simulación. Al igual que en el mundo real, cuanto más te involucras, normalmente significa el poder que tenía tu nación y refleja la participación y el compromiso en la clase. 10/10 experiencia.
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Cita de estudiante
En respuesta al cuestionario de fin de curso del Dr. Tkach

BENEFICIO Principal #2: CONTEXTUALIZA LAS LECCIONES

El segundo componente por el que me gusta Statecraft en términos de aprendizaje es contextualizar las lecciones. Hay términos y conceptos clave en las relaciones internacionales que están integrados en Statecraft que son muy abstractos, pero son ideas muy importantes. Conceptos generales como anarquía, sombra del futuro, cooperación e incertidumbre. 

Utilizo la simulación para señalar estos conceptos principales e iniciar conversaciones: “Bien, esto es lo que está pasando entre estos países. ¿Cómo se relaciona con nuestra teoría y luego cómo se refleja en Statecraft?”

RELACIONA LOS ASPECTOS CON EL MUNDO REAL

En términos de la jugabilidad en sí, hay numerosos aspectos que se vinculan con el mundo real: grandes conceptos como la anarquía y la sombra del futuro.

Parte de la razón por la que lo ejecuto en la parte media del curso es que permite la realización de algunos de los otros aspectos, como el derecho internacional o el comercio o el conflicto.

Statecraft permite la política interna, permite que los actores internacionales o una multitud de diferentes tipos de actores internacionales participen en el proceso de la comunidad internacional. Entonces proporciona esas lecciones y esos identificadores.. 

DEMUESTRA LECCIONES SIN CONEXIÓN

Statecraft también ayuda cuando tomo sus lecciones fuera de línea como ejercicios del curso. Tengo un juego comercial popular al estilo Scattergories en el que los grupos de países deben buscar productos en su casa. Quiero que busquen y piensen críticamente de dónde provienen los elementos de sus viviendas. 

Lo que empuja a los estudiantes a hacer es darse cuenta de cómo el comercio afecta su vida diaria en Starkville, Mississippi. Terminamos con solo docenas y docenas de países únicos y productos únicos de cada uno de esos países.

Ese es un ejemplo de cómo la lección de Statecraft se vincula con las diferentes teorías del comercio. Además, debido a que es competitivo, y los estudiantes disfrutan de ese aspecto, por lo general realmente se involucran.

haciendo una conexión personal

Statecraft es increíblemente valioso a largo plazo para establecer la utilidad de la clase, establecer el ambiente del salón de clases y asegurarse de que las lecciones importantes de RI casi se vuelvan reales para el estudiante.

Gran parte de lo que sucede en IR está “allá”. Está fuera del compromiso diario de la mayoría de los estudiantes; no sólo las noticias, sino un sentimiento general de que “Oh, esto no tiene nada que ver conmigo”.

Lo que Statecraft permite es: “Y“Sí, lo hace, así es como es y aquí está mi compromiso. Statecraft facilita eso y creo que es muy beneficioso en eso, que es una de las razones por las que lo uso.

Statecraft modeló escenarios políticos de la vida real que se mencionaron en conferencias, lo que ayudó a pintar una imagen de qué se trata cada aspecto de la política mundial y cómo funciona. Statecraft contribuyó a la clase dándonos la oportunidad de trabajar juntos dentro de nuestros grupos, así como en toda la clase. En general, Statecraft me ayudó mucho con las ideas y los conceptos que aprendimos en clase al permitirme verlo en situaciones del "mundo real".
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Cita de estudiante
En respuesta al cuestionario de fin de curso del Dr. Tkach

Extracto

BENEFICIO PRINCIPAL #3: CONECTAR LAS DECISIONES CON LOS RESULTADOS

En Statecraft, los estudiantes pueden vincular las consecuencias de la toma de decisiones a un resultado. Por ejemplo, simular cómo se estructuran los estados, sus características domésticas, las características que eligen, así como las limitaciones de recursos con las que se enfrenta cada estado. 

Ser capaz de ver cómo estas diferentes piezas se conectan en el proceso de toma de decisiones con un resultado frente a competidores reales es una de las grandes fortalezas de Statecraft. 

No es contra la IA, no es solo contra la simulación, es contra esa gente de allá, ¿verdad? Es posible que se hayan visto o se conozcan vagamente. Entonces, de repente, “esa gente” tomó Sapphire Island. Ellos no esperaban eso. Ahora de repente están interesados. De repente empiezan a pensar: “Está bien, nuestras decisiones en esto tienen consecuencias reales para el funcionamiento del estado”.

LAS OPCIONES IMPACTAN AL MUNDO

Puede ser difícil para esos grupos procesar cuando, por ejemplo, otro grupo dice “No vamos a invadir Sapphire Island” y luego deciden hacerlo.

Esas dinámicas son críticas porque conecta ambos casos en el sistema internacional e identifica que tomar una decisión no solo te impacta a ti, sino que también impacta a la red, en este caso, el mundo simulado de Statecraft.

Este aspecto de conectar la toma de decisiones con los resultados es una fortaleza significativa de Statecraft que sería muy difícil de simular en cualquier otro entorno.

Las/los estudiantes tienen que tomar decisiones.

Algunos estudiantes luchan por tomar decisiones seguras. Lo bueno de Statecraft es que los estudiantes tienen que tomar decisiones para que puedan desarrollar sus habilidades para tomar decisiones.

Hay un aspecto realista en esto porque contribuye a sus calificaciones, pero también está integrado en la naturaleza de la simulación. Les ayuda a ser capaces de pensar en el escenario “si” de lo que sucede cuando toman la decisión, además de tomar medidas al hacer clic e implementarla.

¡No es justo!

Uno de los aspectos de los bienes públicos es el problema del free rider, y Statecraft hace un excelente trabajo al enmarcar y demostrar que.Los estudiantes se preguntan: “Bueno, ¿por qué no se resuelve esto?”

Por lo general, tiene su personalidad tipo A, que es el presidente que viene y dice: “¿Por qué ninguno de estos otros países puede cooperar y hacer esto? ¿Qué se supone que debo hacer?

Vas a fallar. A menos que su país lo haga por su cuenta, no va a suceder. Ellos responden: “¡Bueno, eso no es justo!” 

No, no es justo. Eso es lo que estoy tratando de comunicar. Hay una razón por la que no hemos resuelto algunos de estos problemas internacionales y aquí hay uno de varios aspectos.

BIENVENIDO/BIENVENIDA A LOS SISTEMAS INTERNACIONALES

Un escenario es si no hay violencia; a veces esto se debe a que estratégicamente han decidido ganar puntos como clase por no tener ningún tipo de acción violenta más que contra los piratas y algunos de los juegos. He visto estados que están de acuerdo con eso, lo mantienen durante tres o cuatro términos y luego invaden a un vecino o a Sapphire Island. Y la clase está alborotada, y tenemos que sentarnos y tener una conversación con la clase sobre los comportamientos y la gente está molesta.. 

Tengo que decir: “Bueno, no hiciste ningún tipo de tratado”. Sí, son deshonestos, está bien. Lo suficientemente justo. Pero, ¿violaron alguna de las reglas del juego o alguna regla que tú mismo creaste? La respuesta a eso es no. Bienvenido a los sistemas internacionales.

LO QUE REALMENTE SIGNIFICA SER PACIFISTA

La otra área de conexión de las decisiones con los resultados es cuando las simulaciones son violentas. Eso podría significar múltiples invasiones o un país que es conquistado por completo.

Los estudiantes se conectan y comienzan a reconocer la importancia de los conceptos y valores. Quieren ser pacifistas: “Bueno, somos pacifistas, no teníamos una fuerza de defensa”.

Dijiste que ibas a confiar en la comunidad internacional para que te ayudara, y no hicieron nada. Tú también fuiste conquistado. Esa es su elección de estado. 

No hay mucho que decir a eso. Aprenden que ser pacifista no significa que no tengas un ejército per se, simplemente no lo usas de manera ofensiva.

HAY CONSECUENCIAS

La gravedad de la gravedad en una clase condujo al uso de armas nucleares. Un país lo había tenido con el comportamiento de otro país.

Como diría, el país que usó el arma nuclear no estaba entre los tres países con mejor desempeño porque respondió la comunidad internacional.

Los otros compañeros de clase decían: “Eso parece fuera de lugar”. Tomaron medidas contra ellos. Las rutas comerciales se secaron y se produjeron otros resultados desventajosos.

hay consecuencias: Los estudiantes usaron un arma nuclear. Ahora van a tener que reparar el mundo y tratar de reconstruir la falta de confianza entre los actores después de ese comportamiento. 

Entonces ese tipo de cosas suceden con Statecraft cuando las cosas se desmoronan, por así decirlo. Pero incluso esa situación es útil debido a lo que los estudiantes pueden aprender de esos compromisos.

Statecraft reflejó la dinámica internacional del mundo real de varias maneras. En primer lugar, demostró el problema del "dilema del prisionero" en el que ningún estado sabía definitivamente qué harían los otros estados en cada turno. En segundo lugar, demostró que las interacciones repetidas pueden superar el deseo de "desertar", ya que la interacción constante entre estados inspiró más cooperación que discordia. En tercer lugar, demostró la dificultad de los problemas de acción colectiva, ya que solo varios estados juntaron recursos y tecnologías para crear el Globo de Escarcha, pero todos los estados se beneficiaron de ello. Statecraft mejoró la experiencia de clase y el entorno de aprendizaje al resaltar muchos de los problemas anteriores de manera simulada. Ayudó a convertir las ideas discutidas en clase en estrategias reales en un sistema internacional simulado, lo que mejoró la comprensión y la retención.
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En respuesta al cuestionario de fin de curso del Dr. Tkach

Aprendiendo a funcionar en grupos

Es importante ser capaz de funcionar en diferentes grupos con diferentes personas con las que quizás no esté familiarizado o con personas que no haya conocido antes. 

Obviamente, si te involucras en dinámicas internacionales, lo desconocido es algo que tenemos que ser capaces de navegar y hacerlo bien.

CUANDO FALLAN LOS GRUPOS

Los resultados interesantes que encuentro suceden cuando los grupos realmente luchan por coordinarse dentro de su país. Así como el cuestionario de política exterior generalmente funciona, a veces los grupos aún no funcionan. A veces hay una personalidad fuerte, oa veces alguien no tomó la prueba muy en serio. Y entonces los ponen en un grupo donde tienen diferentes perspectivas y actitudes de RI.

Cuando ese grupo comience a fallar, me reuniré con ellos uno a uno. Preguntarán: “Bueno, ¿podemos simplemente cambiar de grupo?” No, no, no puedes.

“No entiendo, este otro grupo se lleva bien y todos quieren lograr lo mismo.”

En los Estados Unidos de América, ¿con qué frecuencia todos los políticos están de acuerdo en lo que debemos hacer en política exterior? ¿Con qué frecuencia están de acuerdo en política interna?

Resulta que con frecuencia los estados nacionales pueden no estar de acuerdo consigo mismos sobre cuál debería ser la política.

Los problemas no suelen escalar después de que me he comprometido y comunicado. Esos grupos generalmente toman dos o tres turnos para darse cuenta de que no están funcionando bien. Y en Statecraft, dos o tres turnos es toda una vida. Están significativamente en desventaja por esa pérdida de eficiencia. En general, realmente no afecta las calificaciones porque hay muchas otras oportunidades para obtener puntos. 

Una lección de por vida

Más importante aún, es una lección de aprendizaje de por vida para esos estudiantes: si se le asigna un grupo y se le asignan tareas, debe resolverlo. No es correr hacia una autoridad arbitraria y decir: “Oh, simplemente no podemos trabajar juntos. No podemos resolverlo. No podemos hacerlo.”

Para ese grupo esas lecciones son realistas y de largo plazo. Eso es lo que sucede en la vida real. Trabajas en una empresa o trabajas en una pequeña empresa y, a veces, tienes que trabajar con personas que pueden irritarte o no encajar contigo. Todavía tienes que hacer tus tareas.

UN LUGAR SALUDABLE PARA APRENDER LECCIONES DIFÍCILES

Dado que Statecraft es un mundo simulado, siento ayuda a los estudiantes a dar pequeños pasos para lidiar con esos escenarios difíciles de dinámica de grupo.

Hacer esto en el ámbito digital elimina la presión del compromiso en comparación con un escenario como una presentación de trabajo importante.

Es una situación de aula de pregrado. Podemos encontrar una solución y una estrategia juntos. Esa es una manera saludable y fácil para que los estudiantes aprendan una lección importante a largo plazo que surge directamente en la funcionalidad que Statecraft me brinda en el aula.

Vale la pena la inversión de tiempo

Usar Statecraft no me ahorra tiempo porque maximizo su uso; Quiero asegurarme de que la experiencia del estudiante sea la mejor posible. Lo importante es que es una herramienta pedagógica educativa útil para el aprendizaje de los estudiantes. Definitivamente no me cuesta más tiempo.

En mi forma de usarlo, pongo mucho esfuerzo en asegurarme de que funcione de manera consistente. Respondo a los grupos cuando están en el aula, hago un seguimiento de los correos electrónicos y compromisos cuando veo ciertos patrones o ciertos comportamientos fuera de lugar. Quiero asegurarme de que funcione sin problemas.

No creo que tengas que hacer eso; puedes dejarlo correr. De hecho, al principio Statecraft era solo empujar y jugar; darles tiempo en clase, darles tiempo para debatir. No tienes que calificar nada. Sale, está bien administrado, la mesa de ayuda es muy efectiva. Esa es una forma perfectamente legítima de usar Statecraft, pero hay mucho más que esta herramienta puede hacer por mí.

Si tuviera que replicar algunas de las oportunidades de aprendizaje dentro de Statecraft, no estoy seguro de cómo lo haría, y estoy bastante seguro de que, sin embargo, me llevaría más tiempo que usar Statecraft. Entonces, de esa manera, probablemente ahorre tiempo.

ELOGIO DEL ESTUDIANTE

Y después de mi primer semestre aquí en Mississippi State, vi a mi coordinador de pregrado en el pasillo. Mencionó que los estudiantes estaban hablando de mi clase y la simulación. Estos estudiantes habían comentado

“Oye, Statecraft es diferente. Esto es algo que disfrutamos. Esto es algo divertido. Esto es algo que nos ayuda a aprender. No tenemos esto en ninguna otra clase que estemos tomando. El Dr. Tkach es muy exigente, pero este es un aspecto divertido..”

No presiono mi clase o Statecraft, y no lo publicito. Soy terrible en la autopromoción, pero los estudiantes se involucran y cuando alguien pregunta “¿Cómo van tus clases?” Statecraft es una de las primeras cosas, si no la primera, mencionaron.

Statecraft es una pieza importante para que los estudiantes se entusiasmen con las relaciones internacionales.

DR. BENJAMIN TKACH

Statecraft fue una simulación maravillosa porque reflejó absolutamente la dinámica del mundo real de las relaciones internacionales. En primer lugar, conceptos importantes como el de soberanía se hicieron evidentes de inmediato. Disfruté tener un control total sobre lo que sucedía dentro de las fronteras de mi país sin que otros países pudieran interferir directamente. Luego, disfruté comunicarme con otros países sobre temas como el comercio internacional y los objetivos colectivos. Los países que hicieron aliados definitivamente vieron los beneficios. El comercio se volvió importante dentro de la simulación y aquellos que usaron su ventaja comparativa y comerciaron mucho sin duda podrían beneficiarse en términos de recursos generales. Además, fue interesante ver a los países unirse para intentar abordar asuntos como el terrorismo, el cambio climático y los derechos humanos, que son aspectos que enfrentamos en el mundo real de hoy. En particular, nos enfrentamos a un problema de acción colectiva ya que algunos países querían viajar gratis o simplemente eran demasiado pobres para ayudar en ciertos temas. Finalmente, Statecraft me permitió captar el concepto de anarquía mucho mejor que antes. Estaba claro que no había un poder central en la simulación y esto llevó a que cada país tuviera que luchar por la seguridad. Quedó muy claro que los países tendrían que ser inteligentes y competitivos para ganar poder y riqueza sobre sus oponentes, porque en última instancia, todos los países luchaban para tener éxito en las mismas categorías.
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Cita de estudiante
En respuesta al cuestionario de fin de curso del Dr. Tkach

Experimenta Statecraft por ti mismo

¡Estos increíbles resultados también están disponibles para su clase! Reserve su demostración hoy para obtener un recorrido personalizado y obtener respuestas a todas sus preguntas. O siga leyendo para obtener más información sobre el Productos de Simulación de Relaciones Internacionales o Simulación de Relaciones Internacionales Lite.

The Ultimate Active Learning Tool for Engagement & Academic Honesty​

case study

The Ultimate Active Learning Tool for Engagement & Academic Honesty

Abstract

For Dr. John Linantud, the two biggest benefits of using Statecraft Simulations are:

  1. Engagement: Students really get into Statecraft and it’s active learning. While they’re having fun they are also experiencing political science theories in a personal way. 
  2. Academic Honesty: is unique, it’s virtually impossible to plagiarize a Statecraft paper and get away with it if you use Turnitin. Since 2013 only 2-3 students out of hundreds have tried to plagiarize a prior Statecraft paper or a classmate’s paper. Plus, their personal experience gives students a reason to be proud of their classwork, which builds their confidence.

Since Dr. Linantud has experience with both the Statecraft IR and Statecraft U.S. Government simulations, in this interview we also discuss some of the key differences between the two products. 

Plus Dr. Linantud shares student stories, surprises and some insightful ideas for other instructors learned during his eight years of Statecraft experience.

INTERVIEW DATE

Spring 2021, May 14th

INSTRUCTOR INFO

Dr. John Linantud has been teaching for over 24 years. He is currently an Associate Professor and Degree Coordinator of Political Science at the University of Houston–Downtown where he’s been an instructor since 2002. He has assigned Statecraft Simulations to his classes since 2013 and has written two scholarly research articles featuring Statecraft Simulations. 

CURRENTLY RUNNING

Photo of Dr. John Linantud

Each simulation really is unique. The students just don't follow one pattern every semester. Plus, a lot of them take the initiative and they call meetings and they stand up in front of class. They do stuff without me forcing them to do it. It's probably the best part. That's the best surprise when students take the initiative on their own.

DR. JOHN LINANTUD

WHY STATECRAFT?

Back in ‘13, the Statecraft exhibit and brochure at the International Studies Association Convention really caught my eye. I wanted something new, a challenge for me and the students. Something that would emphasize the students and be good for their own initiative. Something where they could be independent.

Statecraft is a much better assignment than my other assignments. When you compare it to other assignments, that’s where Statecraft holds the edge, as far as I’m concerned.

research articles as positive reviews

I think Statecraft has done a really good job because I wrote a couple of research papers about it. I co-wrote the articles with Dr. Joanna Kaftan, an Associate Professor of Sociology and Degree Coordinator for Anthropology, Sociology and Social Sciences at the University of Houston–Downtown. Those are my positive reviews for Statecraft. It really shows up in engagement and academic honesty. 

Ideologies and Competition: Student Reflections on Their Statecraft Experience

Abstract

This article utilizes the online world politics simulation Statecraft to examine how students perceive the influence of simulations on their political ideologies as well as their expectations about behavior and outcomes within the constraints of a virtual world. 

Students make definitive connections between their initial political ideologies (folk realism or folk idealism) and their initial strategies within the simulation as well as how their ideological positions change over time as a response to events within the simulation. In addition, they justify their actions based on their political ideology and final outcome-success or failure. 

Written by Dr. John Linantud and Dr. Joanna Kaftan
Published 2020, Journal of Political Science Education

The Statecraft Effect: Assessment, Attitudes, and Academic Honesty

ABSTRACT

This article uses a multimethod research design to compare Statecraft to non-Statecraft assignments and courses along three dimensions: student engagement, political attitudes, and academic honesty. The results indicate that Statecraft increased student engagement and academic honesty. In terms of political attitudes, students generally remained on the left side of the political spectrum, but shifted toward the right and became more hawkish by the end of a semester. Changes in attitude are more strongly associated not with playing Statecraft, but taking a political science class by the coauthor, or some other external variable. Statecraft, however, did reduce support for pacifism.

Written by Dr. John Linantud and Dr. Joanna Kaftan
Published 2019,
Journal of Political Science Education

ACADEMIC HONESTY

With the academic honesty aspect of the simulation, it’s kind of a “sleight of hand” situation because if they write a paper on Statecraft, there’s nothing for them to plagiarize because nobody else has done that simulation but them. You see what I mean? 

You can’t plagiarize your own simulation. You have to be loyal to yourself and I think the students like that. They like to write about their own Political Science experiences.

Since 2013 only 2 or 3 students out of hundreds have tried to plagiarize a prior Statecraft paper or a classmate’s paper.

A Reason TO BE PROUD

In this article we also wrote about how Statecraft affects student self esteem. What we did was go through some of their papers. The whole experience gives students something to hang their hat on because it is a direct engaged experience that they do, rather than reading about what other people or other countries have done in the actual world.

That’s the potential of Statecraft. To give students a chance to create their own world, so to speak. It gives them something to be proud of because they have to be accountable. 

They can go back and review their accomplishments at the end of every semester. 

ACTIVE LEARNING

The engagement part of Statecraft is the ultimate active learning, as opposed to passive learning, experience.

Passive is when the student sits there and just goes through PowerPoint or they’re supposed to read a book and take an exam. In contrast, Statecraft is active learning. And you can tell because the students get into it and they go above and beyond the call of duty. They spend all hours of the day on it. They talk about it in their other classes; I hear that from the other professors. They say students come from my class and it’s hard to get them to focus on their class because they want to talk about Statecraft. You can tell the difference in the room when students are doing Statecraft because they’re all working on it at the same time. 

EXPERIENCING CONCEPTS

Statecraft is a better way to illustrate key concepts because it’s active.

Anybody can study Political Science concepts and theories but when you participate directly, you get to experience them.

And that’s both for IR and U.S. Gov.

PRODUCTIVE FUN

In the classroom when students use Statecraft, there’s a greater level of interest and expressions that they’re having a good time and they’re having fun. Students like to say, “Statecraft is fun.” 

They say it’s fun on their own. I don’t have to ask them: “Is this fun or not?” They bring it up in the course of conversation and their papers.

As long as they’re engaged, you have an opportunity to teach them concepts. It’s not just empty fun. It’s productive fun.

TOLERATING

During a good semester it makes it more fun for me too. But the thing is, Statecraft can also be very stressful because the students get into it.

If you’re an engaged instructor, it’s like you’re an engaged student. You can’t just turn your back and walk away.

I found a really good article that came out in 2008 – it wasn’t about Statecraft – it was about any type of active learning. If you’re the instructor, you have to tolerate that students are going to be doing stuff out of your control. You’re going to have to tolerate students competing against each other. And you’re going to have to tolerate and try to handle the stress and the emotions that come with students doing that.

DEDICATED CLASSES

My usual format is to have E-rooms where each student has their own computer. So, they’ll come in on, say, a Monday and a Wednesday each week. I’ll use most of, say, the Wednesday for in-class Statecraft. So that’s not only face to face, but they actually have the website booted up on their computers in class.

I’ve had a lot of success blocking out that one class a week when everybody has to be in the room for Statecraft, as a core. 

The website’s 24/7 and the students who are into it pretty much log on at all times. At any hour of the day. If they want to do something extra out of class time, they can.

WATCHING GAMEPLAY

I think it was a good move on my part to turn over that whole second class a week to Statecraft. It gives me a chance to see how the students play the game and I can see them react. 

If they’re going to interact with each other, you want to be there. It is fun to watch them play the game, though. The most important thing is that it’s good they’re learning concepts. It’s good fun.

IR & U.S. GOV COMPARISON

The IR and U.S. Government Simulations are both similar because they have a realistic take on politics. 

The big difference, in terms of substance, is that in IR students role play members of the government in world politics. So the governments compete or cooperate with each other.

In U.S. Government they’re not in groups. They play as individuals. The students know that and they can tell the difference. I think they appreciate it, especially the students who have played both. I had a few of them this semester.

NO FREE RIDERS
IN U.S. GOV

I think it does reduce the free rider issue. When I say Statecraft is a good relative assignment, I mean that it’s almost impossible for students to blow it off compared to every other type of assignment. 

In U.S. Gov, they can’t free-ride on somebody else if they want to get any points or make any moves. They have to do it all themselves. 

That’s a really good difference for the U.S. Gov sim. In Statecraft IR there’ll be a couple of slackers. But like I said, compared to other assignments, Statecraft IR really draws people in.

GROUP EXPERIENCE IN STATECRAFT IR

Students do have to learn how to work in small groups, so that is a positive benefit of Statecraft IR. They need that life experience. 

Whether they’re going to go in their political career or not, they need experience working in small groups where they’re held accountable for their mistakes and they’re rewarded for their successes.

What's the most surprising result?

The biggest surprise result is the energy and the mastery of theory that a lot of students show in the final paper on Statecraft IR. Very good job. It all comes back to the Political Science outcome for me.

What’s surprising is that within the assumption that there’s going to be conflicts between the countries, there’s a lot of variation. So each simulation really is unique. The students just don’t follow one pattern every semester.

Plus, a lot of them take the initiative and they call meetings and they stand up in front of class. And they do stuff without me forcing them to do it. It’s probably the best part. That’s the best surprise when students take the initiative on their own.

A STUDENT STORY

I think the main student story dates from the very start. There was a guy who really liked Statecraft, he was already a gamer so he was really good at Statecraft. The next semester, he couldn’t stay away from my classes that were doing Statecraft, even though he himself wasn’t in those classes. He would come by just to watch. 

Finally I said, “Charles,” (his name was Charles) “Why don’t you help these students and you’ll be their mentor?” So he came by twice a week for classes he wasn’t enrolled in.

That’s where I got the idea to get the better students to be mentors for the rookie students the following semester.

THE MENTOR SYSTEM

We’ve got a course called Special Projects at UHD. If students are good at Statecraft or at least they understand it, I’ll say: “You can mentor the new crop of students for your special project.” As the instructor, I assess that project for them. Works out pretty well for everyone. 

Charles wasn’t the only student to be fascinated by Statecraft. Previous students have always filtered by to watch, or they come in a room and see other students playing Statecraft. 

Students kind of miss it. When they’re doing it, it’s very stressful. When it’s over it turns out they miss it. It’s been like that this whole time. 

Tips from an expert

To the instructors who are afraid: The thing is you have to try it, you have to try Statecraft to learn what it's like. It’s successful for a reason, and a good reason.

DR. JOHN LINANTUD

Experience Statecraft for Yourself

These awesome results are available for your class too! Book your demo today to get a personalized tour and have all your questions answered. Or read on for more information about the International Relations Simulation or International Relations Lite Simulation products.  

Video: See how Statecraft Adds Innovation & Interest in Dr. Krolikowski’s Classroom​

VIDEO

See how Statecraft Adds Innovation & Interest in Dr. Krolikowski's Classroom

Abstract

During the course of the semester, students in Dr. Alanna Krolikowski’s Geopolitics & International Security class complete a seven-week simulation where they represent and act as a fictitious country in an “Earth-like” world. The fate of their country’s well-being and their literal grade is left up to the decision-making capabilities of each student.
 
This video was created by Missouri University of Science and Technology as part of their CAFE Teaching & Learning Showcase video series. They feature different classrooms and instructors who put active learning into practice.

VIDEO DATE

December 13, 2019

INSTRUCTOR INFO

Dr. Alanna Krolikowski  is an Assistant Professor of Political Science in the Department of History and Political Science at Missouri University of Science and Technology.

CURRENTLY RUNNING

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

INNOVATION WITH A SIMULATION

Dr. Alanna Krolikowski
This class is called Geopolitics and International Security and it’s an upper level course that’s intended to introduce students to the foundational concepts in the study of International Relations and International Security and some of the most influential in intellectual traditions. What’s innovative about this course is that part of the way that we do that is by incorporating a simulation into the course.

students are the world leaders

It’s a 7-10 week simulation that takes place in this online environment that has the students each playing the role of the leader of a country in a fictitious Earth-like world made up of 12 countries. And the simulation presents the students with tough choices.

Andrew
So it makes it a little different starting the simulation with having 12 different backgrounds of — we have an Aerospace [major], we have some Political Science majors.

theory vs. practice

Ben
I thought that I could act a bit more optimistically than I was able to. A lot of the things that work in theory don’t really work unmitigated in practice. 

DECIDING WHERE TO INVEST RESOURCES

Amanda 
And right now I have the 2nd highest quality of life in our little world because I have been able to devote all of my resources in order to improve the quality of life by buying different welfare structures and schools and other cultural aspects. Like I bought a couple operas…

Nelson
Many countries–They decided to put all their resources into building museums, art galleries, schools…Blah, who cares? So I decided to pull my resources into building an army. We do have a police state. We follow Human Rights, we follow the law…

STUDENTS DEFINE THEIR OWN GOALS

Dr. Alanna Krolikowski
It’s absolutely fascinating to see how students define their goals for the sim. Some students want for example their country to become a cultural superpower. Other students want their country to be a leader in environmental technology, or “green technology” and other students are bent on world domination, and really want their country to take over a lot of territory.

It’s mesmerizing to see students identify those goals for themselves and then develop strategies by which they’re going to systematically, turn by turn, pursue this long term strategy for them in the international system.

A GAMER STRATEGY

Randy
I play a lot of strategy games and the goal to with those is if everybody’s going to be peaceful– if you go aggressive you’re likely to steamroll over everyone. If you go aggressive and other people are aggressive you’re likely at least hold your own but if you’re peaceful and other people are aggressive you’re probably going to lose. So my strategy from the get-go when I saw I wasn’t going to have a lot of resources was: “Well I need to be aggressive and I need to be the one dictating terms and conditions: I need people to react to me rather than me reacting to other people.” So that’s the kind of place I went for.

DEMONSTRATES COURSE CONCEPTS

 Ben
The simulation as well has been really well integrated into the curriculum of the class; like today we were talking about international cooperation once we were done with the Hong Kong stuff, and she talked about international cooperation on various climate change efforts in the past but also the example of our international cooperation like within the sim against the NVC enemy that he was talking about…

I think she’s done a really good job of weaving the Sim elements real-life examples; both current and historical, and the actual sort of theory of international relations in the text book. 

RESEARCH COMES TO LIFE

Dr. Alanna Krolikowski
My research in Political Science focuses on International Relations and my position is in Policy for Science, Technology, and Innovation. A big part of what I look at is the US-China relationship, and in particular the trade of high-tech items between the two countries. A big part of that research project is understanding how and why policymakers negotiate the trade offs that are presented by that kind of trade: How they balance the competing policy priorities of protecting national security, on the one hand, but fostering commerce on the other… And that aspect of my research I actually see reflected in the simulation on a pretty regular basis. 

What this simulation exercise does convey I think very vividly for student participants is just how closely tied international security issues are to international political economy, or international trade issues and we see that the boundary between those two types of considerations in real-world decision-making or in simulated decision-making is really really blurry. 

ONE LEADER CAN CHANGE THE WORLD

Andrew
I really learned how, for one, different leaders can really change how things happen; so in the real world relationships between leaders can have a big impact and it’s the same way in here. There’s some people you just naturally trust. There’s people that you have relationships with outside of the Foreign Affairs and then you come together and that plays a part. There’s people that you just know they’re going to attack you or you can’t trust and that’s kind of how it goes.

HOOKED ON IT!

Nelson
So I know I was walking into this class and I didn’t know much about Geopolitics our National Security; I didn’t think I would really like get the grasp of it but Dr. K is really like hooked me on this. 

THIS IS LEARNING

Dr. Alanna Krolikowski
So when I hear them tell me that they look at news headlines differently now having been in the role of a decision maker in a country that faces both the security challenge and an economic challenge for example, or hearing them tell me that they’re more sympathetic to one group of actors than they would have been in the past, I think is very very gratifying.

Because literally changing the way you think about a topic is what learning is. So I think that it’s in those kinds of experiences and when students are able to articulate that, that we really see evidence of the value of active learning.

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Creates Network Connection, Contextualizes Lessons, & Connects Decisions to Outcomes

case study

Creates Network Connection, Contextualizes Lessons, & Connects Decisions to Outcomes

Abstract

After four years using Statecraft IR, Dr. Benjamin Tkach says that “it’s an important piece to get students excited about international relations.” Students are digital natives, so using technology as a teaching tool helps demonstrate lessons in a unique, engaging way.

For him, the top benefits of Statecraft are:

Plus, the lessons students learn working in groups are valuable because they have life applications. Group dynamics can sometimes be a challenge, but navigating interpersonal conflict in a simulated world is a healthy way to learn important lessons students can take with them to real-world scenarios like the workplace where stakes are much higher.

INTERVIEW DATE

Spring 2021, April 22nd

INSTRUCTOR INFO

Dr. Benjamin Tkach is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at Mississippi State University. His primary research focuses on privatization of security and non-state actors’ involvement in conflict. Additional research areas include US foreign policy and nuclear security.

He’s been teaching for eight years and using Statecraft for four years. During that time, he’s used it in two different situations: at a small liberal arts college and now in large classes at a Research One institution.

CURRENTLY RUNNING

Dr. Benjamin Tkach Photo

Statecraft is incredibly valuable long-term in establishing the utility of the class, establishing the classroom environment and making sure that the important lessons of IR almost become real for the student.

DR. BENJAMIN TKACH

4 years of statecraft

Four years ago, I found Statecraft at a conference where I took a class on simulations in international relations. Now I’ve probably ran the simulation in a total of seven different classes over the years; this semester will make eight run-throughs. At Mississippi State I teach the same course in the spring and the fall so I do it two times a year. I start it in weeks five to eight and we go through its completion.

It’s designed within my course to highlight different theoretical concepts each week.

LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY

A major benefit of Statecraft is on the tech side: the user interface and the software system that underlines it is unique to Statecraft and has merit on its own.

It gives students another mechanism for learning and engagement that can’t be replicated by anything else I do.

ENGAGING DIGITAL NATIVES

One aspect of IR, and really political science in general, is how abstract it is. And so obviously, we try to contextualize it in classrooms and try to give examples using simulations and learning mechanisms to keep it interesting. 

The way that students learn now is in short bytes: it needs to be five to eight minutes of engagement if we’re talking about an online context; and the engagement has to be non-passive. That era where you stand on a stage and just pontificate is not the best way to engage the lessons of international relations. 

Statecraft gives students an opportunity for engagement that’s not human to human. As we think of the growth of technology and the digital native component of students that are coming into classrooms, having something that is more consistent with how they engage other aspects of their lives is helpful.

GROUPING STUDENTS IN A HUGE CLASS

One feature that I like about Statecraft is the foreign policy quiz. It groups students that have similar views of how the world works, which is a dimension they don’t tend to think about. 

Once the groups are formed around week three, I use them for their breakout groups, study sessions, projects and offline games.

That gives students exposure to other students that they may otherwise not meet because these are huge classes. I find that very valuable. 

Plus, it helps make sure students stay on track with other assignments that are not group related, and they check in with each other. With COVID, just having another group of people who are willing to check on you and want to engage is helpful.

Top BENEFIT #1: NETWORK CONNECTION

Students are isolated, especially during COVID. Here in Mississippi we have a lot of first generation students, we have a lot of students who are not necessarily comfortable in the university environment. I can use Statecraft to make me more approachable. Having a way for me to engage and connect with them at the group level is helpful. 

I might know something is going on with a particular student and I can’t approach it because it’s just through observation. It’s unlikely that I’m going to get that student to come to my office hours, or even respond to a one-on-one email.

But if I can engage them in the Statecraft group, it brightens them up and it humanizes me. As those interactions then start to increase, then they’re going to be much more comfortable contacting me or asking questions in class.

Statecraft is time efficient in building those connections with students and having something that allows me to engage groups where they’re going to be much more comfortable. 

Statecraft reflected real-world dynamics with trade and international agreements. Obviously, on a different scale, the trading process happened much how it would in the real world. There were negotiation and coercion involved in some trades. Statecraft contributed to the class experience and learning environment in many ways. Especially with COVID, it was very hard to meet people. However, Statecraft back and forth conversations allowed our class to meet and converse outside of the classroom. In my case, I made two really good friends through it and our conversations started off with a lot of trade negotiations. It also taught the lessons we were learning and I was able to understand the game and the class the further it went on. It connected what we were learning to us actually being able to use it through the simulation. Just like real-world that the more you are involved typically means the power that your nation had and reflects participation and engagement in the class. 10/10 experience.
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Student Quote
In response to Dr. Tkach's end-of-course questionnaire

top BENEFIT #2: CONTEXTUALIZes LESSONS

The second component that I like Statecraft for in terms of learning is contextualizing the lessons. There are key terms and concepts in international relations that are embedded within Statecraft that are very abstract, but they’re hugely important ideas. Overarching concepts such as anarchy, shadow of the future, cooperation, and uncertainty. 

I use the sim to point out these major concepts and start conversations: “Okay, here’s what’s going on between these countries. How does it tie to our theory, and then how does it reflect in Statecraft?”

TIES ASPECTS TO THE REAL WORLD

In terms of the gameplay itself, there’s numerous aspects that tie to the real world: big concepts like anarchy and shadow of the future. 

Part of the reason I run it in the middle portion of the course is that it allows realization of some of the other aspects, such as international law or trade or conflict. 

Statecraft allows domestic politics, it allows international actors or a host of different types of international actors to be engaged in the process of the international community. So it provides those lessons and those identifiers. 

DEMONSTRATES LESSONS OFFLINE

Statecraft also helps when I take its lessons offline as course exercises. I have a Scattergories-style popular trade game in which country groups must look at products in their house. I want them to go look and think critically about where their items in their dwellings come from. 

What it pushes students to do is realize how trade impacts their daily lives in Starkville, Mississippi. We end up with just dozens and dozens of unique countries and unique products from each of those countries.

That is one example of how the lesson of Statecraft ties to the different theories of trade. Plus, because it’s competitive, and students enjoy that aspect of it, they really usually get into it. 

making a personal connection

Statecraft is incredibly valuable long-term in establishing the utility of the class, establishing the classroom environment and making sure that the important lessons of IR almost become real for the student.

So much of what happens in IR is “over there.” It’s outside of most students’ daily engagement; not just the news, but a general feeling that “Oh, this has nothing to do with me.” 

What Statecraft allows is: “Yes, it does, here’s how it is and here’s my engagement.” Statecraft facilitates that and I think it’s very beneficial in that, which is one reason why I use it.

Statecraft modeled real life political scenarios that were mentioned in lectures, which helped paint a picture of what each aspect of world politics is about and how it works. Statecraft contributed to the class by giving us the opportunity to work together within our groups as well as throughout the full class. Overall, statecraft helped me so much with the ideas and concepts we learned about in class by allowing me to see it in a "real world" situations.
Generic Avatar
Student Quote
In response to Dr. Tkach's end-of-course questionnaire

TOP BENEFIT #3: CONNECTING DECISIONS to OUTCOMES

In Statecraft, Students can attach the consequences of decision making to an outcome. For example, simulating how states are structured, their domestic features, the features that they pick, as well as the resource constraints that each state is dealt. 

Being able to see how these different pieces connect in the decision making process with an outcome against real competitors is one of the great strengths of Statecraft. 

It’s not against AI, it’s not just against simulation, it’s against those people over there, right? They may have seen each other or vaguely know each other. Then all of a sudden “those people” took Sapphire Island. They didn’t expect that. Now they’re suddenly interested. Suddenly they start to think: “Okay, our decisions in this have real consequences for the operating of the state.” 

CHOICES IMPACT THE WORLD

It can be difficult for those groups to process when, for example, another group says “We’re not going to invade Sapphire Island” and then they  choose to.

Those dynamics are critical because it connects both cases in the international system and identifies that making a choice not just impacts you but impacts the network, in this case, the Statecraft simulated world.

This aspect of connecting decision making with outcomes is one significant strength of Statecraft that would be very difficult to simulate in any other environment.

STUDENTS HAVE TO MAKE DECISIONS

Some students struggle to make confident decisions. The nice thing about Statecraft is that students have to make decisions so they can grow their decision-making skills.

There’s a realistic aspect to this because it does contribute to their grades, but it’s also built into the nature of the simulation. It helps them be able to think through the “if” scenario of what happens when they make the decision, plus actually take action by clicking through and implementing it. 

It's not Fair!

One of the aspects of public goods is the free rider problem, and Statecraft does an excellent job of framing and demonstrating that. Students wonder: “Well, why isn’t this getting solved?” 

Usually have your type-A personality who’s the president who comes and says, “Why can’t any of these other countries cooperate and get this done? What am I supposed to do?” You’re going to fail. Unless your country does it on its own, it’s not going to happen. They respond: “Well, that’s not fair!” 

No, it’s not fair. That’s what I’m trying to communicate. There’s a reason we haven’t solved some of these international issues and here’s one of several aspects. 

WELCOME TO THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEMS

One scenario is if there’s no violence; sometimes this is because they’ve strategically decided to gain points as a class for not having any kind of violent action other than against the pirates and some of the games. I’ve seen states that agree to that, hang on to it for three or four terms, and then invade either a neighbor or Sapphire Island. And the class is in an uproar, and we have to sit down and have a conversation with the class about behaviors and people are upset. 

I have to say: “Well, you didn’t make some kind of treaty.” Yeah, they’re dishonest, fine. Fair enough. But did they violate any of the rules of the game or any rules that you yourself built? The answer to that is NO. Welcome to the international systems.

WHAT IT REALLY MEANS TO BE PACIFIST

The other area of connecting decisions to outcomes is when simulations are violent. That could mean multiple invasions or a country that gets conquered completely. 

Students connect and start to recognize the importance of concepts and values. They want to be pacifist: “Well we’re pacifist, we didn’t have a defense force.” 

You said you were going to rely on the international community to help you, and they did nothing. You also got conquered. That’s your state choice. 

There’s not much to be said to that. They learn that being a pacifist doesn’t mean you don’t have a military per se, you just don’t use it offensively. 

THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES

The severity of seriousness in one class led to the use of nuclear weapons. One country had had it with the behavior of another country.

As it would have it, the country that used the nuclear weapon was not in the top three top performing countries because the international community responded.

The other classmates were like: “That seems way out of line.” They took action against them. Trade routes dried up and other disadvantageous outcomes occurred.

There are consequences: The students used a nuclear weapon. Now they’re going to have to repair the world and  try to rebuild the lack of trust amongst the actors after that behavior. 

So those kinds of things do happen with Statecraft when things fall apart, so to speak. But even that situation is helpful because of what students can learn from those engagements.

Statecraft mirrored real world international dynamics in several ways. Firstly, it demonstrated the "prisoner's dilemma" problem in that no state knew definitively what other states would do each turn. Secondly, it demonstrated that repeated interactions can overcome the desire to "defect," as constant interaction between states inspired more cooperation than discord. Thirdly, it demonstrated the difficulty of collective action problems, as only several states pooled resources and technologies to create the Globe of Frost, but all states benefitted from it. Statecraft improved the class experience and learning environment by highlighting many of the above issues in a simulated manner. It helped to turn the ideas discussed in class into actual strategies in a mock international system, which improved understanding and retention.
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Student Quote
In response to Dr. Tkach's end-of-course questionnaire

Learning to function in groups

Being able to function in different groups with different people that you might not be familiar with, or people that you have not met before is important. 

Obviously, if you’re engaging in international dynamics, the unfamiliar is something that we have to be able to navigate and do well.

WHEN GROUPS FAIL

Interesting outcomes I find do happen when groups really struggle to coordinate within their country. As well as the foreign policy quiz generally works, sometimes groups still don’t work. Sometimes there’s a strong personality, or sometimes someone didn’t take the quiz very seriously. And so they get put in a group where they have different IR perspectives and attitudes.

When that group starts to fail, I will meet with them one-on-one. They’ll ask: “Well, can we just change groups?” No. No, you can’t.

“I don’t understand, this other group gets along and they all want to accomplish the same thing.”

In the United States of America, how often do all the politicians agree on what we should do in foreign policy? How often do they agree on domestic politics?

It turns out that frequently nation states may not agree with themselves on what the policy should be.

The issues don’t usually escalate after I’ve engaged and communicated. Those groups usually take two or three turns to figure out that they are not functioning well. And in Statecraft, two or three turns is a lifetime. They’re significantly disadvantaged by that lost efficiency. Overall, it doesn’t really impact grades because there’s so many other opportunities for points. 

A lifelong lesson

More importantly, it’s a lifelong learning lesson for those students: if you’re assigned a group and you’re given tasks, you have to figure that out. There isn’t running to an arbitrary authority and saying, “Oh, we just can’t work together. We can’t figure it out. We can’t do it.” 

For that group those lessons are realistic and long-term. That’s what happens in real life. You work at a company or you work in a small business, and sometimes you have to work with people that may grate on you or may not fit you well. You still have to get your tasks done.

A HEALTHY PLACE TO LEARN HARD LESSONS

Since Statecraft is a simulated world, I feel it helps students take small steps towards dealing with those difficult group dynamics scenarios.

Doing this in the digital realm takes pressure off of the engagement compared to a scenario like an important work presentation.

It’s an undergraduate classroom situation. We can figure out a solution and a strategy together. That’s a healthy and easy way for students to learn an important long-term lesson that comes directly out in the functionality Statecraft provides me in the classroom.

Worth the time investment

Using Statecraft doesn’t save me time because I maximize its use; I want to make sure that the student experience is the best it can be. What’s important is that it’s a useful educational pedagogical tool for student learning. It definitely doesn’t cost me any more time.

In my way of using it, I put a lot of effort into making sure that it’s running consistently. I respond to groups when they are in the classroom, I follow up on emails and engagements when I see certain patterns or certain behaviors out of place. I want to make sure that it runs smoothly. 

I don’t think you have to do that; you can just let it run. In fact, early on Statecraft was just push-and-play; give them some time in class, give them time to debate. You don’t have to grade anything. It comes out, it’s well managed, the help desk is very effective. That’s a perfectly legitimate way to use Statecraft, but there’s so much more that this tool can do for me. 

If I had to replicate some of the learning opportunities within Statecraft, I’m not sure how I would do it, and I’m pretty confident however I did it would take more time than using Statecraft. So in that way, it probably does save time.

STUDENT PRAISE

And after my first semester here at Mississippi State, I saw my undergraduate coordinator in the hallway. He mentioned that students were talking about my class and the simulation. These students had commented:

“Hey, Statecraft is different. This is something that we enjoy. This is something fun. This is something that helps us learn. We don’t have this in any other class that we’re taking. Dr. Tkach is really demanding but this is a fun aspect.”

I don’t I push my class or Statecraft, and I don’t advertise it. I’m terrible at self promotion, but students engage with it and when someone asks “How are your classes?” Statecraft is one of the first things, if not the first thing, they mentioned.

Statecraft is an important piece to get students excited about international relations.

DR. BENJAMIN TKACH

Statecraft was a wonderful simulation because it absolutely reflected the real world dynamics of international relations. First, major concepts such as sovereignty became apparent immediately. I enjoyed having complete control over what happened within my countries borders without having other countries able to directly interfere. Next, I enjoyed getting to communicate with other countries regarding issues such as international trade and collective goals. Countries that made allies definitely saw the benefits. Trade became important within the simulation and those that used their comparative advantage and traded heavily could certainly benefit in terms of overall resources. Additionally, it was interesting to watch countries come together in attempt to address matters such as terrorism, climate change, and human rights issues, which are aspects that we face in the real world today. In particular, we faced a collective action problem as some countries wanted to free ride or were simply too poor to help on certain issues. Finally, Statecraft allowed me to grasp the concept of anarchy far better than before. It was clear that there was no central power in the simulation and this led to each country needing to battle for security. It became very clear that countries would need to be smart and competitive in order to gain power and wealth over its opponents, because ultimately, all countries were fighting to be successful in the same categories.
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Student Quote
In response to Dr. Tkach's end-of-course questionnaire

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A Robust, Effective Online Simulation that Increases Engagement​

case study

A Robust, Effective Online Simulation that Increases Engagement

Abstract

Dr. Hollinger’s classes have been designed around simulations paired with textbooks for years. Originally, he used an in-person simulation he created. When classes suddenly went online, he had to pivot quickly for the new format, and decided to use Statecraft as his new simulation solution. He’s been impressed with what a robust, effective tool it is for an online environment. Plus, it saves him time compared to running a simulation manually.

His students really get into the simulations, even staying after class to play. He sees students naturally making connections to the textbook material and even picking up other unplanned lessons. They’re always surprised to discover that cooperation is the most effective strategy. Dr. Hollinger has set up a unique game configuration strategy that rewards them for peaceful collaboration and also lets them play “risk” at the end of the game just for fun.

For Dr. Hollinger, the best thing about the simulations has been the increased student engagement. This is his third semester using Statecraft Simulations in multiple classes: “Adapting Statecraft has been effective. Now in any online course I teach I’ll use Statecraft.”

INTERVIEW DATE

Spring 2021, February 22nd

INSTRUCTOR INFO

Dr. Keith Hollinger holds a  PhD in governance and globalization, an MA in Political Science and a BS in economics with a concentration on International Economics. He’s been teaching since 2010 and is currently a Senior Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Education for Polytechnic Social Sciences at Arizona State University. Dr. Hollinger has completed at least five full sim run-throughs of the IR and IO sims in the past year. 

CURRENTLY RUNNING

Dr. Keith Hollinger photo

The best thing about Statecraft is the student engagement. My students stay after class to play. I always have 100% participation, and I always have 100% attendance.

DR. KEITH HOLLINGER

WHY STATECRAFT?

I’ve run simulations for years. I built my own intended for face-to-face interactions. What happened was: when we transitioned to Zoom learning, I wasn’t able to deploy my simulation. I use different colored poker chips for resources, it’s not intended to be online. 

In early 2020 everything was “normal” and the University went on spring break. I took a camping trip, was gone for six days and when I came back the whole state was on lockdown. 

Suddenly I had one day to transition my class online. My classes are designed around a simulation paired with a textbook, so I adopted Statecraft as a stopgap. 

I grabbed Statecraft, linked it up with my current syllabus, and just kept rolling. I had some familiarity with it from a conference demo, so I wasn’t afraid to launch it with one day’s notice. 

STUDENT RESPONSE

The students get into it. I actually have situations where I use part of the class for lecture and I can look at them and tell they’re saying, “Just shut up and let us go back to the simulation.” They really get into it.

 I can’t use a master Zoom room because my students do not leave class. Last semester, I had students who would stay online up to four hours after class. Not one single group, many students from all the groups would stay. 

THE ONLINE FORMAT

I set it up so students have designated playing time. They break out in their teams twice a week, and then we have big international debates and negotiation as a full group. Since my students don’t leave class when it’s over, I have to assign a new Zoom host. I say: “Okay, when you decide to leave, assign a new host until everyone’s gone. Make sure you keep the room open for everyone.” I assign a new host and go off to teach my next class while I know my other class is still going on.

This simulation is so much more robust for an online environment. 

Even with the Zoom environment, it’s very robust. It helps to coordinate it in Zoom because I can get them locked away into rooms where no one else can hear what they’re doing. Although it does hinder their spying.

LESSON CONNECTIONS

The lesson connections just come out naturally. The way the textbook is designed, they read, they stop, they write a little bit about a concept. These are the core concepts of the field for that topic.

Of course, they’re going to see the concepts in the simulation, because they’re describing the macro processes, macro systems. That’s what they’re recreating in the simulation, so it’s an obvious link for them. I think it’s extremely effective. 

TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES

I have students use the memos to relate what aspects of their textbook they’re observing and experiencing in the simulation. Then they have a textbook shared writing, where I ask them to talk about the simulation in terms of the textbook with each other.

Whatever the content is for the textbook chapter, I focus on that in the simulation.

I’ll give you an example: I have two classes right now whose chapters align in the textbook. They’re both dealing with global terrorism. I challenged them last class to see if they could find a solution to global terrorism in the simulation. Right now they’re actually applying the chapter in both classes, trying to solve the global terrorism problem. 

Through the application the students are able to pick up all kinds of other little aspects that you wouldn’t think to teach in a lecture class. 

For example, when dealing with the terrorists, they also learned about minority politics. Or with the melting glacier climate crisis I can focus on the sustainable development aspect. I challenge them to come up with a sustainable development plan and propose it to the other countries for a treaty.

COOPERATION FIRST

Students are always shocked to learn that cooperation at the international level is more efficient and effective at meeting goals for everyone involved, regardless of their government type. 

They notice as soon as they go into some form of intense competition all their resources are consumed. The lesson is: yes, be competitive… but be cooperative first.

MYSTERY & RISK

I set it up so that students don’t know when the simulation is going to end. I build in 10 turns extra, so that it goes past the end of the semester right now. They can roughly figure it out because the textbook ends. This is a generation of gamers. They know how to win the game, and they’ll figure it out early from looking at the awards at the end.  

Once I give awards and they receive their grade points, I have a tradition: they get to go to war. Now it’s just for fun. They can use whatever resources they built up to play risk and destroy everything.

So they build these awesome cooperative systems, and then they use those countries to fight it out, just for a game. They think it’s a lot of fun. It gives them an incentive. 

They want to cooperate just enough to make sure that everything gets achieved and no one goes to war before grading. They also want to maneuver themselves so that they’re dominant; they know there’s an endgame war coming. They know that they’re building up for this war, and they don’t know who’s going to be on top. That adds a lot of uncertainty. It makes it more realistic, because isn’t that possibility what countries are always preparing for?

TIME SAVINGS

Running my original in-person my simulation was extremely time consuming. I did everything manually with spreadsheets and bags full of poker chips in the room. Statecraft absolutely saves me time administering the simulation.

I have brief lectures and discussions to make sure they’ve gotten the main points. I’ll administer a quiz on the most important components in class. I make sure they’re getting the material, I answer any questions. Then they go into the breakout rooms and they are in negotiations, and I just cycle through the rooms to manage negotiations. 

It saves a lot of course prep time because they’re actively engaged in the application. It’s a helpful Simulation.

TOP BENEFIT: ENGAGEMENT

The best thing about Statecraft is the student engagement. My students stay after class to play. I always have 100% participation, and I always have 100% attendance.

Since I have these dedicated playing times, my students are afraid to miss class. Because things happen, and then they get lost… They’ll miss one class, and then they won’t miss any more. They let their teams know they’re very engaged. If they’re not going to be in class, they make sure that they send out whatever their decisions will be, their opinions and they set up a proxy, and let me know.

It’s really improved student engagement and retention. Adapting Statecraft has been effective. Now in any online course I teach I’ll use Statecraft.

Experience Statecraft for Yourself

These awesome results are available for your class too! Book your demo today to get a personalized tour and have all your questions answered. Or read on for more information about the International Relations Simulation or International Relations Lite Simulation products.  

Builds Community, Creates Learning Connections & Aids in Assessments ​

case study

Builds Community, Creates Learning Connections & Aids in Assessments

Abstract

Dr. Kristin Vekasi used Statecraft International Relations for the first time this semester in her 150+ student Intro to World Politics course.

A top benefit was that the simulation helped create community in a large all-online class that could have felt impersonal. Students at least got to know six or seven other classmates in their simulation groups really well and it created laughter plus fun inside jokes for the class.

The automated component and helpful Statecraft materials also helped ease her workload. In a class that has students who are both political science majors and others who take it for general education, the broad range of backgrounds makes it difficult to assess students. In Statecraft students enter at the same level so it was much easier to assess what they had learned.

Since her class was so large she had two different simulation groups. Despite nearly-identical situations they had dramatically different results, which was very interesting and created teaching opportunities.

INTERVIEW DATE

Fall 2020, December 16th

INSTRUCTOR INFO

Kristin Vekasi, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the University of Maine Department of Political Science, in the School of Policy and International Affairs. She has been teaching for nine years and this was her first semester using Statecraft IR in her Intro to World Politics lower division 100-level course. It’s a large 150+ student course that has political science and international affairs majors but also students from across the university who take it as a general education class. 

CURRENTLY RUNNING

Dr. Kristin Vekaski Headshot

In a big class like this that has students outside of the major my students have a really broad range of backgrounds. It makes it difficult to assess what I had given them.

With Statecraft they all came in at the same place and I was able to actually assess: “Ok, how were you able to apply this theory in this way?” That was awesome; I really, really liked that element of using the simulation​.

DR. KRISTIN VEKASI

WHY STATECRAFT?

I enjoy and value using simulations in the classes that I teach. It was my first time teaching a class this large. I have some simulation activities that might have worked in a live classroom setting but for a large all-online class that wasn’t going to work. So I looked into a bunch of different options. 

I found Statecraft and liked how it had components that were group-oriented and would also build interaction and community for students who would never actually meet one another, and who felt isolated this semester. I really liked that community component. 

It would be too difficult, I decided, for me to be able to monitor some of the other longer-term simulations I considered in online capacity when I had 150 students in the class. 

I really liked how Statecraft is very automated but also really interactive; it eased the burden on me. It isn’t just the students interacting with the computer and getting automated feedback. It is a human endeavor with an automated component. That was initially compelling for me.

BUILDING COMMUNITY ONLINE

It worked out really well. My class was broken into two groups and each group had a live zoom call one day a week. In this live class I would do activities related to whatever we were studying: discussions, discussion questions, maybe a mini-lesson. Then the students would have 20 to 30 minutes with their Statecraft group. 

So every week, at least in class (and I know they did a lot out of class as well) they would be with the same people week after week after week. In this really big class where they didn’t get to meet a lot of people this semester, they at least knew 6 or 7 students pretty well. That was great. 

Overall it led to some really fun back and forth, especially on zoom. The students would be ragging on each other in the chat as we were talking and it created good inside jokes for the class. Again, that led us to build community that we wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise. 

TOP THREE BENEFITS

LEARNING SUCCESS INDICATORS

They had weekly quizzes where they had to write a short answers. For example, we had been talking about norms in international relations and they were able to apply that concept in the simulation. When I asked a question like: “In your Statecraft simulation what is one norm that you think has emerged, have there been any rogue states?”

Students would respond: “Oh well, I know that this was a norm, here’s a norm and I know that it was a norm because of this and this person violated it and we saw this reaction.”

It gave me a way to assess whether they were able to apply concepts outside of the exact sentences that were within the textbook. I saw them make connections.

BIG CLASS ASSESSMENTS

In a big class like this that has students outside of the major my students have a really broad range of backgrounds. Some of them will be really familiar with, say, post World War II history, or are WWI buffs… and then others are asking: “There was something called the Cold War… what is that?” This broad background range makes it hard for me in terms of designing exams. It makes it difficult to assess what I had given them.

With Statecraft they all came in at the same place and I was able to actually assess: “Ok, how were you able to apply this theory in this way?” That was awesome!

I really, really liked that element of using the simulation.

PARALLEL WORLDS

I had two parallel worlds that didn’t interact with each other. Sometimes I would briefly share what was happening in the other world in the other class, just in a sentence or two. But they were never in the same, not even in the zoom room, and they got the same information from me every week.

Despite that the worlds diverged a LOT. They were so different, it was a very interesting result! One of the worlds was very cooperative, and worked cooperatively on technology and scientific innovation. They established a league of democracies and they worked diplomacy. That’s where they were successful, but that group didn’t manage to solve some of the collective security problems. They didn’t manage to eliminate terrorism, for example.

Then the other group, when the simulation ended they were in a full-blown entangling alliances WW1 situation. However they did manage to eliminate terrorism as well as the pirates.

So I wondered if it was because they were just different personalities? But the classes, you know, 70+ people in each group is a lot! And they were assigned randomly to the different groups.

It was very interesting… given different initial starting conditions you can go really different directions. That was fun and surprising for me!

TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES

It definitely created teaching opportunities. When we did our debriefs at the end of the semester I debriefed each group on the other simulation as well. We talked through things like domestic regime types and the importance of the individual leader personalities in foreign policy making. 

It also prompted a conversation about neighbors because we had the different maps and they chose different regime types. So there were questions like: How much of a security threat is your neighbor vs someone is further away? How do neighbors affect your initial foreign policy strategy? It was an interesting lesson.

FUN FACTOR

I think the vast majority of students enjoyed it. Being on zoom calls is kind of a drag. It made that element a lot more fun for a lot of students.

I know some really really got into it, there were a few that didn’t and it stressed them out… but I think anything would have stressed those students out. I could tell that the very engaged students who always had their cameras on found it really interesting and had a lot to say about it.

CHALLENGES & SOLUTIONS

I didn’t have good logistics for memos at the beginning of the semester, so that was really challenging. Initially it was difficult for me to easily know week by week what had happened. I had some challenges with the memos because there were a lot. I tried to give students a break. I always had them writing me on Monday morning saying “Oh I forgot to submit my memo, can I still do it?”
I had to say: “Well, you can’t. That’s not the way the system is designed.” 

So created a work-around to accept late memos. I ended up using our university learning management system. Plus I had to develop a strategy to decide which memos to read: for example, figure out who was the president and always read their memos.

Next time I’ll do memos via my Learning Management System and try to make policies clearer. I got better at that as the semester went on, and I learned how to use the interaction log. The next time I’ll be better at my memo strategy.

WORDS OF WISDOM

To deal with the policies challenge I mentioned: I would use the conditional release material in my learning management system to make students read and agree to policies. So the first day, or maybe the second week of Statecraft, I would put up an “Expectations of Statecraft” quiz that they had to take before they could access the next bit of material. It would say things like: “I understand that I have to write a memo every week and this is when it’s due.” A checklist making those expectations really clear in a way that can’t be missed.

Another recommendation: using Statecraft materials should be incorporated right from the beginning. I didn’t figure this out until about halfway through the simulation. The quiz questions or short essay questions or that sort of thing; use them from turn 1 or 2. 

THE HELP TEAM

I worked with the customer service team and they were incredibly responsive. When I had questions they were always answered.

Joe came to both of my classes and that was great. I wish I had done that earlier, it helped students a lot.

Maybe not on the first day, but a week after I introduced it I would ask someone from Statecraft to come speak to the class the next week when they’re all confused and just starting out.

I am not going to be teaching this class for another few semesters because of a sabbatical but I wish I was because I want to do it again! I will do it again.

DR. KRISTIN VEKASI

Experience Statecraft for Yourself

These awesome results are available for your class too! Book your demo today to get a personalized tour and have all your questions answered. Or read on for more information about the International Relations Simulation or International Relations Lite Simulation products.  

Worth It: Sim Creates Emotional Connections to Course Material​​

case study

Worth It: Sim Creates Emotional Connections to Course Material​​

Abstract

When Dr. Cigdem Sirin’s fully online asynchronous course moved from a 7 to a 16-week format, she felt the need to add something to her curriculum to create engagement and excitement. She decided to give Statecraft a try, but had some concerns. Would it work?

Fortunately, she was pleased with the results! She saw increased engagement and peer connection in the virtual world. The simulation created a way for students to apply what they were learning and make connections to course material. The dramatic situations created emotional responses that foster empathy for real-world problems countries experience. She’s confident the high engagement and emotional connection will also equate to long-term knowledge retention. Plus, Statecraft support took care of all of her technical concerns. 

At the conclusion of the sim, she is glad she gave Statecraft a chance. The benefits for she and her students outweighed the costs.

INTERVIEW DATE

Fall 2020, November 18th

INSTRUCTOR INFO

Dr. Cigdem Sirin is an Associate Professor of Political Science and the Director for the Center for Faculty Leadership and Development at the University of Texas at El Paso. She’s been teaching for 12 years. This was her first semester using the Statecraft International Relations (IR) Simulation. 

CURRENTLY RUNNING

Dr. Cigdem Sirin Photo

At the end I was very pleased, I liked it! The way students wrote their weekly memos I could see that they enjoyed the simulation and they did engage with their peers.

The risk paid off. I am happy that I took a chance with the simulation because it really gave me that missing engagement piece in a remote environment.

DR. CIGDEM SIRIN

WHY STATECRAFT?

I had two main motivators:

First, I felt the need to find creative, innovative ways to engage the students and create interaction. I’m teaching this IR course fully online and fully asynchronous. In a pandemic we all feel very isolated, we lack the human contact that would happen in a face-to-face class. In a simulation like this they’re part of a team. They not only have to interact with their team members but also engage in negotiations and discussions with other teams. It’s the perfect platform to give them peer-to-peer interaction.

Second, my class had a shift from a 7-week compact format to a 16-week full-term format. I thought it would feel monotone if I dragged the same 7-week content out for 16 weeks. I wanted something to fill that time gap.

I wanted Statecraft to be an extra bonus for students that would augment my existing material and introduce excitement. 

RISKS & REWARDS

The Statecraft simulation worked very well!

I was dreading it, to be honest. While I was finalizing my syllabus before the semester began, I thought: “Do I really want to do this simulation for the first time? What if it doesn’t work? What if it’s not good? What if we don’t have enough support?”

I took a risk! Every time you try something new in your course you’re taking a risk, especially if the course is doing well already.

One of my concerns was that there would be technical glitches and I would end up playing the role of tech person. But that didn’t happen. Statecraft support was great. Joe is amazing. He even came to the live information session that I created.

At the end I was very pleased, I liked it! Every week I asked students to provide simulation memos, like little journals. The way that they wrote those memos I could see that they really enjoyed the simulation and they did engage with their peers.

The risk paid off. I am happy that I took a chance with the simulation because it really gave me that missing engagement piece in a remote environment.

LET’S HAVE FUN!

This is a game, it’s a lot more fun than interacting through discussion posts! 

Of course there is an incentive for them to be invested since a portion of their grade will depend on their actions in the simulation. But I told them that our first and foremost priority is to have fun; to use this simulation as a fun opportunity to learn.

I set the ground rules at the beginning: “Let’s have fun; keep it cool.”

Setting this tone kept them engaged and it did keep it fun.

LEARNING SUCCESS INDICATORS

I asked questions for the simulation memos like: “How is your country doing right now? What strategies did you apply? Are there connections to the course material?” I really liked reading student responses when they said things like: 

“Oh, look! This is the security dilemma that we just read about. Oh, look! This is prisoner’s dilemma. Oh, look! This is hegemony; this is bandwagoning; this is power balancing.“ 

I loved hearing these words because these things do happen in the real realm of international relations and they are making those connections.

APPLICATION OF COURSE MATERIAL

A top benefit is the application of course material. Students were able to draw connections and then get excited as they saw themselves manifest the course concepts in a simulated world. 

They kept saying, “I like how we are applying what we learn.” 

They are not just reading about how to ride a bike, they are actually “riding a bike” in a sense. I like that application component of the simulation. 

REAL EMOTIONS, REAL ENGAGEMENT

Emotions are real. Even if it’s a simulation, emotions are real. The more students get into the simulation, the higher the emotions.

Just this week in one of my countries the president got impeached. Yes, she got removed from office and she said “This was because of my power-hungry colleagues.”

I talked to the students involved and they said “Don’t worry, professor, it’s part of our master plan.” They were planning an unexpected surprise attack and it was part of their scenario. Imagine: what if it was a real life impeachment? They didn’t think the president of their country was doing a good job and so they successfully removed the president!

These dramatic situations can happen. Some students may take it way seriously, and it may be on the verge of a real-life tension. So you have to check in on your students, monitor the situation and act as mitigator sometimes to make sure that everybody still understands this is a game and there shouldn’t be personal attacks.

IT’S NOT FAIR!

Part of the simulation experience is replicating what actually happens in real life international relations. In the memos one student said “Well they’re ganging up on us and they’re sharing technologies, and it’s not really fair.” You know what? International relations is not fair.

Think about G7, or the European Union. I gave the example of Turkey, my country of origin. Turkey has wanted to be part of the European Union for a long time. It still has its bid for member status but I don’t see a wedding in their near future. Of course they want to be part of the European Union; it’s an organization where countries share technologies and have free movement of people. That’s just one example of how some other countries may think “It’s not fair! They have this nice quality of life, this nice coalition, this nice set-up and I’m losing from it.” G7: again, it’s the same situation where a bunch of developed nations are taking a much bigger share of the world resources. The other countries may be working hard but they cannot compete, so look what happens.

The students said, “We were going to use our resources to purchase big projects but now that we lost to this gang of nations, we are just going to use it for military.” That’s exactly what happens, right? Radicalization of some countries in the world: they see that there’s no channel for them to do well, so what do they do? They go to black markets, they go rogue.

CREATES EMPATHY

The simulation exposed why some nations are forced to be more militaristic and stay less developed. Now the students better understand that path. 

Their emotions get activated: they’re mad at the other students doing these things… but they’re replicating exactly what happens in the real realm of international relations.

This personal experience with frustrations and challenges creates empathy. That is my research area, so I’m really big on gamification. Serious educational games like this are great tools to create empathy.

KNOWLEDGE RETENTION

I think the simulation will facilitate knowledge retention in the long run. 

For example, now they clearly see the benefits of cooperation. They’ve personally experienced that if it’s an all-conflict, all-out war, Hobbesian type of world, that would be a horrible state of chaos. Now they understand the concept of anarchy with the absence of a central government enforcing decisions in the international realm. It makes them appreciate the value of cooperation and international institutionalism, plus what a big challenge it is for countries.

Many of them have told me, “Now we understand how hard it is to achieve cooperation in foreign policy and international relations.” 

ONLINE challenges & benefits

This class is fully asynchronous so it was hard for my students to find a common time to meet on a regular basis. I was impressed, though, the students did find a way to make it work. 

Next time I’m teaching this course, ideally I could have it be a hybrid synchronous/asynchronous online format with set meeting times. Having set time reserved that students could use for Statecraft activities would make life easier. 

Despite this challenge, the simulation does offer the benefit of having the interaction that you usually lack in a fully online environment. 

WORDS OF WISDOM

The collective action problem is part of the risk of team-based learning. The benefits are very high, but there’s always the risk that some will try to exploit the situation and be a free rider. 

Peer evaluations are important to monitor the situation; that would be a piece of advice I can offer to other instructors. By supplementing the individual memos with the peer evaluations, you send the message that this is not a team project where everybody gets the same grade; everyone will be graded individually on their participation.

Within the simulation there are protections embedded, plus if you instill these key monitoring mechanisms you can overcome that hurdle.

You also have to set ground rules from the very beginning because there will be a lot of interaction; including interaction that you cannot trace. They will be having both public and private meetings. Some things will be posted as manifestos or public exchanges, but many interactions happen behind the scenes. You just want to monitor the situation. Log in on a regular basis and engage with the students. 

favorite features

I’m happy that I took that risk, it’s a good simulation!

DR. CIGDEM SIRIN

Experience Statecraft for Yourself

These awesome results are available for your class too! Book your demo today to get a personalized tour and have all your questions answered. Or read on for more information about the International Relations Simulation or International Relations Lite Simulation products.  

Improves Engagement, Forces Critical Thinking & Creates Connection

case study

Improves Engagement, Forces Critical Thinking & Creates Connection

Abstract

Instructor Nadia Jilani-Hyler found Statecraft when looking for a way to increase engagement in a summer class with long hours. The students “had an absolute blast” and she discovered how useful a simulation can be as a teaching tool. 

Using a Statecraft simulation not only achieves her goal of increasing engagement but also requires critical thinking, which is hard to teach. As she plays the role of political advisor, she sees her students struggle with the “grey area” in the simulation. Their questions and stress demonstrate that they are experiencing lesson topics in a personal way and actually learning. The students who step up and take on leadership roles can be surprising. Often it’s not the “straight-A” students who most excel in the sim; it’s the students who can navigate ambiguity and get excited about a game learning format. 

This year with the move to an all-online class format the simulation has been a huge help by creating a sense of connection for students in large 200+ student asynchronous digital classrooms.

INTERVIEW DATE

Fall 2020, November 12th

INSTRUCTOR INFO

Nadia Jilani-Hyler has been a political science Lecturer at Augusta University in Georgia for the past five years. She has used both the Statecraft International Relations (IR) simulation and the Statecraft U.S. Government simulation in at least five classes. She was a beta tester for the U.S. Government simulation in 2018.

Instructor Jilani-Hyler is currently running the
U.S. GOV LITE SIMULATION IN THREE CLASSES

Dr. Nadia Jilani-Hyler Headshot

I like that the simulation encourages critical thinking because I want my students to be informed citizens who are able to navigate the government system. I approach the class as a way to teach them that they know enough to make decisions. To show up and vote. To volunteer for a campaign.

NADIA JILANI-HYLER

WHY STATECRAFT?

I started using the IR Simulation from Statecraft when I was teaching an International Relations summer class that met five days a week in long three-hour blocks. I wanted something that would break up the lectures and still be engaging material.  

The students absolutely loved it, they had a blast. It made me realize how useful simulations can be in the classroom.

When I started teaching American Government for the first time here at Augusta University I sought out a simulation I could use. First I tried “World of Politics” which is a set of digital sim materials I had to administer. It was really clunky and so much work I gave it up after one semester. 

Then in 2018 I saw the U.S. Government Sim mentioned on the Statecraft website. When I talked to Joe he said it was in beta testing and I was so eager to find something that I asked “Well, can my students do the beta testing!?” I’ve used it almost every semester since then. 

DOES THE SIM MAKE YOUR JOB EASIER?

Yes! Playing the U.S. Government Simulation is a type of experiential learning that teaches students aspects of how American Government works. 

If they’re playing the role of a member of congress, for example, they realize by playing the role how complicated BEING a member of congress is. That your time is split between trying to pass legislation and seeking reelection. That both of those things are connected in some ways but are also disparate in a lot of ways too.

The intricacies and complexities between varying interests are very difficult to just talk about in a lecture or read about in a textbook. In the sim the students actually experience this complexity.

gamifying learning

It’s almost like each student has a piece of a puzzle that they have to put together to solve the terrorist problem, for example. They have to be good, diligent communicators to be able to avert that crisis. While also trying to keep public opinion in their court, not only for the president’s reelection but also in case they want to use strategies like bulk data collection and military tribunals and things like that. 

The sim enhances student’s understanding of American Government even if they don’t necessarily realize it. They just think that they are playing a game.

LEARNING SUCCESS INDICATORS

The students get very stressed out by the difficult decisions they have to make and they are not sure what the right answer is. When they email me asking me what to do, I respond “This is how our elected officials have to be feeling! They don’t necessarily know the right answer; they’re having to guess the right answer a lot of the time too!”

The student’s stress, their struggles and their questions are big indicators that they feel the impact of the simulation and are learning lessons in a way they wouldn’t get from a lecture.

CREATES CONNECTION

My large classes are asynchronous with all 220 students online. Making these classes more engaging and giving the students some sense of connectedness was really important to me.

For most of these students, it’s their very first semester and their introduction to what college is going to be like. Most of them don’t know each other. They’ve been thrown into a very strange new environment and on top of that COVID19 is happening.

Imagine going to a party and you don’t know anybody; how can you get to know the other people in the room with you? One thing that you can do is play a game! 

Statecraft is that icebreaker party trick: a game that I can use to get the students talking together and interacting with each other.

ENCOURAGES CONVERSATION

They can voice their opinions or take a stance on things like military tribunals or bulk data collection, which are real world issues, but it’s a fake world in which we’re applying them. That gives them a little bit of anonymity that feels very protective when you’re discussing online.

The simulation gives students something that’s not the real world to talk about; it’s a safe opportunity for them to speak out more.

TEACHES CRITICAL THINKING

The critical thinking aspect is a major benefit of the simulation. Critical thinking and problem solving are difficult to teach, especially in an intro-level American Government class. 

I like that the simulation encourages critical thinking because I want my students to be informed citizens who are able to navigate the government system. I approach the class as a way to teach them that they know enough to make decisions. To show up and vote. To volunteer for a campaign. 

NEW LEADERS ARISE IN THE GREY AREA

Augusta University is a Science and Health oriented school, so most of my students are majoring in scientific fields and they’re used to black and white answers, constants. From day one I teach my students that politics isn’t that! It’s the opposite of black and white. It’s a grey area.

I love that there is a lot of grey area built into the sim. It can push some of my straight-A students—who are used to rote memorization and things being black and white—to a point where they can’t make a decision because they aren’t sure which one is the “right” decision. Sometimes the “best” students in the class feel out of their element playing a game like this so they might not be the ones who really excel at it.

The students who end up stepping up, taking on leadership roles and truly engaging are sometimes a surprise. It might be the students who have been struggling who have finally found something that they can engage with and that excites them. That’s an aspect of the sim experience that’s really interesting.

THE TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES

I frequently end up playing the role of political advisor for my students. When they do have questions about what the right move is going to be I typically won’t tell them “This is the right move…” but I will say “Ok, well, these are your options and let’s talk about what all the possible consequences of your options are in relation to your goals and what you want to accomplish.”

I usually launch the sim after we’ve covered the three branches of government or at least the two branches that are playing in the game. That means we’re playing while we’re talking about elections, campaigns, and the media impact on politics. 

I can pull the game into lectures and say “Just like my media players are learning the media can have a profound impact on what’s happening in the world by choosing to run a story or not run a story…” for example

FAVORITE TECH & TOOLS​

THE STATECRAFT EXPERIENCE

My experience with the Statecraft Customer Service team has been fantastic. Ross was assigned to my class this time and he’s always there responding to student concerns and questions. If there seemed to be a glitch he would react to it immediately. Having that kind of support was huge, especially with 220 students.

I’ve had a really positive experience with Statecraft going back many years and I hope that they continue to update and improve these sims.

WORDS OF WISDOM

My advice for a teacher launching Statecraft for the first time is: Be engaged yourself! It probably could run without you, but you’re not getting the full understanding of how your students are engaging with it if you’re not engaging yourself.

Experience Statecraft for Yourself

These awesome results are available for your class too! Book your demo today to get a personalized tour and have all your questions answered. Or read on for more information about the U.S. Government Simulation or U.S. Government Lite Simulation products.  

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