May 1, 2012
Partisan Bias in Grading?
Mark clearly has a liberal bias. I am a Christian, moderate Republican and think that everyone’s personal views, including mine, influence my thoughts on ethical issues. Mark graded me down because I acknowledged that my personal beliefs influence my policy decisions. (Anonymous, 2006)
That RateMyProfessor.com post directed at Mark Carl Rom, an associate professor at Georgetown University, sparked a genuine interest in partisan grading bias that eventually led to a fantastic paper presented at TLC and again at MPSA. Co-authored with Paul Musgrave, a doctoral student at Georgetown University’s Department of Government, “Political Bias in Grading: The Impact of Caricature Bias on Student Grades” stimulated lots of discussion at both conferences.
Here’s the gist of their study design: They recruited a panel of undergraduate
Read MoreMay 1, 2012
Add New Assignments to Your Course
Soomo has so many sweet assignments that we can’t fit them all into our standard collections. So, for your perusing pleasure, we’ve added a Quick Start Guide for Adding Assignments to our handy library of Quick Start Guides. The new guide will walk you through the process of using our easy-to-edit platform to add assignments from our catalog to your Americans Governing, Between Nations, or Comparing Governments course. You can even create your own custom assignments. Now if only there were a quick start guide for Christmas shopping and family reunions!
Apr 26, 2012
Teaching IR Through Games and Films
At the ISA conference in San Diego, I attended a fascinating panel called, “Gaming and Films in the Teaching of International Relations.” Participants presented papers on the various films, books, and games they use in their classrooms to illustrate key concepts in IR. The biggest takeaway for me was how innovative professors can be in reaching out to students to help them better understand the discipline.
Bethany Barratt, Associate Professor at Roosevelt University, presented one of my favorite papers which focused on using the Harry Potter series of novels to teach about
Read MoreApr 26, 2012
Spotlight: New Policy Assignments
Soomo is pleased to announce the publication of three new public policy assignments for our Americans Governing collection of online homework assignments. The new assignments, listed below with catalog descriptions, were authored by Assistant Professor Cynthia Newton of Wesley College. Click on the assignment titles to take a closer look, and email Maureen at the Polisci Desk to have them added to your Americans Governing or Central Ideas in American Government course.
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Campaigns and the Public Policy Agenda
The positions expressed by political candidates reveal the policy directions they will pursue if elected. This assignment explores some congressional and presidential candidates’ campaign promises from recent elections.
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What is Policy Analysis?
A think tank is an organization, institute, corporation, or group that conducts research and engages in advocacy regarding public policy. This assignment explores some major think tanks and their roles in the policymaking process.
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Policy Positions
Interest groups have a substantial impact on the policymaking process. This assignment explores the positions and political advocacy of some well-known organizations that seek to influence government policy.
Apr 25, 2012
What Does China Censor?
Ever wondered exactly what the Chinese government censors for internet users? This great infographic, from Information Is Beautiful, breaks down both the search phrases and websites that are “no-no’s” in China. The information is from 2008 data and offers a cool insight into censorship in Chinese Internet culture.
From this infographic, I also discovered greatfirewallofchina.org, which allows users to check whether or not a website URL is censored in China. I found it entertaining to enter URLs from a few blogs I read to see if they were allowed in China or not. Only 1 of the 5 blogs I read daily passed the censorship test–The Monkey Cage. I also thought it was interesting that the New York Times website is not censored, but of course Facebook is.
Tell us, do you ever discuss Internet censorship in China with your students?
Read MoreApr 21, 2012
Is Anyone Reading SoTL Research?
Thomas Doleys, Assistant Professor at Kennesaw State University, presented a provocative paper at SSSA a few weeks ago. The paper, “Is Anyone Listening? Measuring Faculty Engagement with Published SoTL Scholarship in Political Science,” provides a look at who is using published SoTL research and for what purposes.
The introduction gets right to the point. “The evidence is clear: now, more than ever before, political science faculty have something to say about pedagogy. But, is anyone listening? Specifically, is anyone reading the substantial and still-growing volume of published SoTL scholarship in political science?”
To answer the questions raised, the article provides the tentative results of 465 survey responses from political science faculty. Over half of the respondents reported that
Read MoreApr 20, 2012
Does Your School Use Blackboard?
Attention! Attention! If your school uses Blackboard as its CMS then we have a deal for you! Thanks to our awesome Tech team, Soomo offers a Blackboard building block that accomplishes two tasks:
1) Single Sign On
Students simply click a link inside their Blackboard course and are directed into the Soomo title their professor has chosen (Central Ideas in American Government, Americans Governing, Between Nations, or Comparing Governments) without needing to sign on again.
2) Gradebook Synchronization
When students complete an assignment in their Soomo course, the scores are pushed over to your Blackboard gradebook to facilitate simple grade management.
This building block enables a seamless experience for your students and helps alleviate confusion about login credentials. If you are interested in using this techno-magic, just contact the poliscidesk@soomopublishing.com and we’ll do the work of communicating with the Blackboard wizards at your school.
Read MoreApr 20, 2012
Blended Learning in Political Science
Earlier this month at the SSSA annual meeting in San Diego, I heard an interesting presentation on “Blended Courses in Political Science” by Dr. Sam Fisher, Associate Professor at the University of South Alabama. In his research, he surveyed political science faculty about their experiences teaching blended courses. Of the 21% who taught blended courses in political science, over 70% used the online portion of the class to post documents, refer students to web links, and engage students in forums or discussion boards. Podcasts and video lectures were much less popular. For the face-to-face portion of the class, 81% said they spent at least some of the time “providing traditional lectures covering textbook material” and 72% reported
Apr 3, 2012
Teaching Social Contract Theory with Postapocalyptic Fiction
Looking for a way to get your students interested in social contract theory? Trying to find some way to work a discussion of The Hunger Games into your class? If so, Postapocalyptic Fiction and the Social Contract: “We’ll Not Go Home Again” by Claire P. Curtis may interest you. As the title suggests, Curtis uses social contract theory as a framework to examine postapocalyptic novels and short stories.
In a review of it published in the most recent volume of Perspectives On Politics, Soomo user Joseph Lane, Jr. (Hawthorne Associate Professor at Emory and Henry College) says that the “book should be of particular value to those
Read MoreApr 3, 2012
Spotlight: Making the News
What is the job of a journalist really like? And how do television news stories differ from newspaper articles or radio features? Soomo’s two-part original documentary takes viewers behind the scenes with radio, television, and newspaper reporters to explore how news stories are prepared for publication.
We added two Americans Governing assignments that feature this brand-new documentary. Making the News – Part 1 focuses on story selection and news gathering, and Making the News – Part 2 follows up with editing and publication. Email the PoliSci Desk to have the assignments added to your course!
Want to find out what happens next? Watch Part 2 now.
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