Interactive US Government and Politics Simulation
Works with any US Government or American National Government Textbook
Statecraft Interactive U.S. Government Simulations allow students to play all of the major positions of the U.S. political system as they work to pass bills, get elected, run campaigns, set foreign policy, conduct budget negotiations, and work to challenge or defend the constitutionality of bills and executive orders in federal court.
Students are automatically assigned to roles through their signup survey and are prompted, given feedback, and incentivized to navigate the American political system while an exciting story unfolds, inspired by real U.S. historical scenarios that highlight the course learning objectives. This simulation serves as an excellent Introduction to U.S. Government Textbook Supplement and is one of the most effective Teaching Tools for U.S. Government Courses.
Great for Intro to American Government, AP U.S. Government and Politics Courses, or Public Administration Courses
Length of Simulation & Class Time
The Interactive U.S. Government Simulation contains 5 individual Periods where students make decisions, with Period 0 being a Tutorial for students to establish a basic understanding of the simulation. Each Period can last about a week but can be condensed into 1 to 3 days (a general rule of thumb is that each period requires about 1.5 to 3 hours of work from the students). We recommend establishing a 7-day per Period schedule with a specific class day each week for students to hold meetings and negotiations in class or over web conferencing.
Period 0
Period 0 is a tutorial week that gets students acquainted with their role, student profile, and basic abilities in the simulation. Period 0 is a low-stakes scenario that can give students a small sim point boost heading into Period 1.
Periods 1 – 4
At the beginning of each Period in the U.S. Government Simulation, students receive a Period Briefing based on their role along with grading incentives that motivate them to act and take actions similar to their real-world counterparts. They gain key information that pertains to a larger storyline that connects students and facilitates collaboration and problem-solving within the U.S. political system. Instructors have access to each of the four Period Briefings for all roles in the instructor dashboard.
Suggested Base Knowledge of Students
No base knowledge is required; however, to maximize the learning experience for students, we recommend the simulation be started after students learn the basics of the course, such as “What is Congress?”, “What is the Executive Branch?”, and “What is the Bill of Rights?”. This makes the simulation an ideal Introduction to U.S. Government Textbook Supplement.
Time of Year to Use
Instructors use the simulation throughout the school year to engage their students. Many use it in the middle of the semester term to provide a connection with concepts before their final exam or as a final simulation debriefing presentation and essay assignment.
Class Assignments
Some assignments to attach to the simulation:
- Role Research Assignment: When registering, students are prompted to identify their level of extroversion and responsibility. They also choose their top 5 roles, and after submitting, the simulation takes all students’ information into account to assign roles. Prior to registering, students can research and provide reasons why they chose their top 5 roles in this simulation.
- Memos: Reflection is key in students’ understanding of their education, and Statecraft Simulations are no exception to the rule. Instructors can provide students with a list of memo prompts from which they can choose the one that applies to their unique experience on a weekly basis.
- Debrief Presentation: This presentation is designed to illuminate, for the entire class, key concepts that are experienced intensely by students. For example, members of Congress will most directly experience the pressures of seeking reelection and passing legislation, and these questions prompt members of Congress to share these experiences with others. It is recommended that you spend at least 30-60 minutes of class time focusing on debriefing after the simulation has concluded for the semester, and the debriefing presentation is a great guided exercise to facilitate this.
Student Engagement Tracking
To keep track of students’ decisions, there are multiple outlets for instructors to take advantage of:
- Weekly emails go straight to the instructor’s inbox and describe an overview of sim play, a list of students who are performing well, and a list of students who might need more encouragement.
- Within the instructor dashboard, there is a Student Events tab that lists every action a student takes and can be perused to gain an overview of the direction of the sim.
- Instructors can log into each student’s dashboard and read their messages and chats to see how students are interacting.
Grading
The following grading criteria is a basic recommendation and can be customized to fit your classroom needs:
- 5% – Simulation Performance: Students’ simulation performance score is out of 100 points possible and is based on their achievement of in-game goals. For example, members of Congress will earn points for reelection and achievement of policy goals. Details of students’ goals and an updated performance score throughout the simulation will be available on the student simulation dashboard and viewable by instructors. Students who achieve a score of 71-75 (out of 100), which implies satisfactory (though mediocre) performance, will receive full credit (5%). Higher scores will earn students up to 2.5% (0.5% per every 5 additional Sim Points) extra credit toward their course grade.
- 5% – Role Research Assignment: Students research the roles and submit an assignment that includes their top 5 roles, descriptions, duties, and why they are interested in each role.
- 10% – Simulation Participation: Students can connect the course materials more meaningfully to their U.S. Government class by writing weekly memos. Each completed memo per Period can count as 2% of their overall grade.
- 15%-25% – Debriefing Presentation: The debriefing presentation puts students into presentation teams with a representative from Congress, the Executive Bench, the Media, and an interest group. Students present on their 360-degree perspective of major simulation events. For example, part of the paper may ask them to describe conflicts between the President and Congress in the U.S. Government simulation and relate these to the Constitutional powers given to each branch of government. Students can explain their perspective from the simulation and answer questions as the class reflects on key moments in the simulation that influenced major simulation event outcomes. (Highly recommended, students love it)
- 10%-25% – Debriefing Paper: A paper that accompanies the debriefing presentation over the same topic. Students turn in their paper after they debrief the class on their chosen U.S. Government topic.
The Statecraft U.S. Government Simulation is a great addition to an Introduction to U.S. Government Course and serves as an excellent Introduction to U.S. Government Textbook Supplement, covering over 50 topics along with the essentials of U.S. Government Online textbooks.
US Government Syllabus Example – Example of how Statecraft is incorporated into a US Gov class
Instructor Manual – Manual for instructors to get started and setup their simulation
US Debriefing Assignments – 360 degree american political system presentation assignment.
Tying Concepts to Class Guide – These lecture outlines cover topics that are commonly included in international relations and global politics courses. They provide suggestions for how the instructor can use examples from students’ experiences in Statecraft to illuminate key concepts and theories
The Ultimate Active Learning Tool for Engagement & Academic Honesty
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.
Demonstrate Course Concepts
Students become part of the U.S. Political System so they experience first-hand how U.S. Government works. In order to succeed in the simulation, they’ll have to apply course-related knowledge.
Engage Students
Game-like play sucks students into the simulation where they must take ownership of their learning experience. They’re empowered to excel to their own personal limits and shine. Engagement enhances the knowledge acquisition process and makes it fun!
Save Time
The simulation is easy to set up and runs itself. You have a new tool to draw connections to course concepts and spark dynamic conversations. All-unique simulation scenarios every semester promote academic honesty. Instructor tools do tasks like grading for you.
effective, fun & helpful
Executive and Legislative:
President, Speaker of the House, Senate Majority Leader, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair, House Majority and Minority Whips
Media Members:
Journalist, Reporter or Editor for the New York Times, Fox News, and CNN
Defense & Security Positions:
CIA Director, Director of National Intelligence, Secretary of Defense, Army Chief of Staff, Chief of Naval Operations, Air Force Chief of Staff
Interest Groups:
ACLU President, Executive Director and PR Director
Students have goals that correspond to their position and they accumulate points through accomplishing these goals every week. Some goals are competitive and others are collaborative. This dynamic requires students to work strategically with their classmates while pursuing their personal agenda; because that’s how real life works! Regardless of their role or title every student has the potential to dramatically affect the outcome of the game through their strategic moves.
"STUDENTS MAKE CONNECTIONS TO THEIR OWN LIVES"
ROLE spotlight: president of the aclu
One student will be assigned the role of President of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Since the goal of the ACLU is to make sure citizens’ rights are protected, in this role they’ll be working to sway public opinion and Congress’ votes on major bills and influence executive actions. Students in this role have the ability to lobby Congress, file lawsuits, mobilize the public, and work with the media to generate favorable coverage. They’ll have additional goals like increasing ACLU membership and generating positive press coverage for the organization.
Tour the President of the ACLU Student Interface:
Political Influence
- I have the ability to endorse or condemn candidates and their decisions.
- I can either help or hurt their ability to be reelected.
- I need to do this in order to influence certain bills passing or failing that match my position goals.
Position Goals
- As President of the ACLU, I can view my position goals here to see how I can gain Simulation Points (SP).
- This period I gain points if the bill banning enhanced interrogation becomes law.
Simulation Events
- I can see all of the ACLU events plus events caused by other students' actions
- The simulation events are curated for my position.
This is the President of the ACLU Student view; depending on the student’s role the action options they see will vary.
Abilities
- Experience Points (XPs) are my ability points that I earn from accomplishing goals.
- I'll spend my XPs to perform actions such as launching lawsuits, purchasing advertising, and mobilizing the public.
Legal
- I can file lawsuits against the Federal Government for breaching American Civil Rights.
- Winning lawsuits can increase my membership and give me access to more elite attorneys.
- Should I appeal a case from District Court to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court? The higher the case goes the more Sim Points (SP) I can gain.
Media
- I can give stories to the media that may influence public opinion and put political pressure on Congress to take actions that match my goals.
- I can draw attention to the success of the ACLU and increase membership.
Time-Saving Instructor Tools
Student Assignments
Statecraft automatically assigns students to roles based on a brief assessment designed for optimum role fit and student collaboration during the initial signup process.
Automated Student Prompting, Feedback & Calculations
Professors report an average of 13% time savings by using simulation tools that automatically prompt students, issue feedback, and guide outcomes.
Automated Grading
The Statecraft system tracks all choices and outcomes and automatically reports final grades to the instructor in an excel exportable format for your convenience.
how it works
Easy Set-up & Launch
- Launch the simulation the second half of your semester
- Run through an easy 3-minute configuration to set the number of students and get the code for students to use to activate their simulation
- When students sign up with the code they’ll pay for the simulation
- You can have a minimum of 5 students per simulation with a maximum of 40; for larger classes you can run multiple simulations simultaneously
- Students take a brief assessment and the system assigns them a role that aligns with their personality and interests
- Each role has personal goals to advance one's virtual "career" as well as organizational and/or national objectives
Playing the Simulation
- Everything is prompted by the system; it tallies points for performance and participation and calculates grades for you at the end of the simulation
- The simulation runs live 24-7 so students can play anytime without you needing to schedule class time or a computer lab.
- You’ll play for five weeks with turns or “periods” every week
- Period 0: students learn about their position abilities and goals, current simulation events and how they gain simulation points
- Period 1 and 2: they gain new abilities and goals as they see the impact of their Period 1 choices and must make major decisions with important consequences
- Periods 3 and 4: students deal with the repercussions of their decisions and continue working towards their position goals
- The goal is to maximize points and complete their goals before the end of the 4th period when the simulation concludes
The Instructor's Role
- Watch as the students collaborate and compete with one another to be successful and gain the most points
- Act as an executive consultant to help guide students and answer factual and strategic questions
- Statecraft help desk will assist students with any technical questions or troubleshooting
- Use the simulation events as learning opportunities to draw connection to course concepts
- If needed you can use your master account to make executive decisions, such as vetoing a bill
Ending the Simulation & Grading
- The simulation culminates in a final election where all the student's choices, strategy and alliances play out with ultimate results
- There are currently over 100 outcomes possible for the simulation! Every class experience is completely unique
- The system will offer instructors students' final points to be considered in their course grade
- Students can still receive a good grade for participating fully in the simulation even if they technically “fail” at their role’s goals
- Instructor tools include paper assignments and class debriefing questions that are recommended after the conclusion of the simulation
- In the debriefing students are grouped and present their version of “what happened” so the class and the instructor gain insight into all perspectives
- Instructors often count the debrief exercise towards the final grade and report it to be a valuable and revealing class activity
If you’re looking for even more detailed information, see the Resources page for the instructor manual, sample syllabus and other helpful documentation.
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Course concepts covered
The multidimensional Interactive U.S. Government Simulation program covers the entire U.S. Government (or American Government) class curriculum. Using the simulation creates new opportunities to demonstrate how course concepts come to life. Students are experiencing lessons first-hand, making it an excellent Introduction to U.S. Government Textbook Supplement, so they’re more engaged and develop personal opinions about what they’re learning. Instructors report having more productive lessons and more interesting conversations with students, making it one of the most effective Teaching Tools for U.S. Government Courses.
How a Bill Becomes a Law
Role of Interest Groups
Relationship Between Media and Government
Institutional Checks and Balances
Constitutional Powers of the
President vs. Congress
Role of Political Parties and Ideology
Civil Liberties vs. National Security
Civil-Military Relations
Judicial Process
Federalism
Reasons the U.S. Government Simulation is so effective:
- An innovative way to teach concepts beyond traditional lectures
- Concepts become personal and experienced by students
- Students are engaged and participating both inside and outside of class
- Engagement enhances the knowledge acquisition process
- Students take ownership of their experience and are empowered to shine
- Teaches career skills like leadership, teamwork, negotiation and strategic thinking that help them become more employable
- Students must apply course knowledge and do context-based problem solving to succeed
- Working in teams on common goals fosters student collaboration and relationship building even in large lecture classes
Results you’ll experience:
- Heightened student engagement & greater attendance
- Quality student questions and requests for strategy consultation
- Students are able to discuss course concepts intelligently and develop strong opinions that spark interesting class conversations
- More camaraderie among the students, social connections, sense of community
- Students will form study groups and you’ll hear students speaking about topics such as the checks and balances of the bill of rights outside the classroom
- Your class popularity will increase due to previous student recommendations
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