Teaching Critical Thinking in Political Science

Edited by Jonathan Olsen, Department Chair and Professor of Political Science and Vivienne Born, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Department of Social Sciences and Historical Studies, Texas Woman's University, USA

‘Olsen and Born leverage the knowledge and experience of diverse educators to provide a compelling and comprehensive guidebook for teaching critical thinking in the modern college setting. Teaching Critical Thinking in Political Science offers concrete, evidence-based advice for best classroom practices, pedagogical strategies, and bringing hands-on learning experience to students in a variety of educational settings, from small seminars to large lecture halls. This book is a must-read for anyone hoping to prepare students for a rapidly changing environment and give them a truly transformative college experience.’

• Contents1 Teaching critical thinking in political science: an introduction 1Jonathan Olsen and Vivienne BornPART I WRITING/ACTIVITIES TO PROMOTE CT2 Introduction to Part I – writing/activities for promoting CT 13Jonathan Olsen and Vivienne Born3 Writing pedagogy to accelerate student success asdisciplinary writers and thinkers 16Michele Calderon4 Critical complements: combining writing and groupdiscussion activities to help students engage with empiricalevidence 36Sarah Maxey and Steffen Blings5 How to value critical thinking in the political scienceclassroom 47John LaForest PhillipsPART II SIMULATIONS6 Introduction to Part II − simulations 63Jonathan Olsen and Vivienne Born7 Simulations and jurisprudence 67Robbin Smith8 Simulating the European Union 79John McCormickPART III CT AND COUNTERING COGNITIVE BIAS9 Introduction to Part III – CT and countering cognitive bias 90Jonathan Olsen and Vivienne Born10 Critical thinking and media literacy in an age ofmisinformation 93Terry Gilmour11 Using internet memes to combat cognitive bias 105Dominic D. Wells12 The ALDAMA method: teaching the relationship betweenreligion and politics in Middle East courses and the Iran case 116Marina Díaz-Sanz and Lucía Ferreiro PradoPART IV FOSTERING CT IN DIFFERENT CLASSROOM SETTINGS13 Introduction to Part IV – fostering critical thinking indifferent classroom settings 129Jonathan Olsen and Vivienne Born14 Short in-class activities to promote critical thinking 132Charity Butcher15 Designing critical thinking activities for the large lectureclassroom 142Jennifer Danley-Scott16 Critical thinking in political science: some reflections onconceptualization, measurement, and the future 156John Ishiyama