A new paradigm for Political Studies: competence-based teaching and learning
Abstract
For some decades, students and scholars of Political Science have debated methodological differences, paradigmatic differences, and policy differences as they relate to curricula. Today, the real challenges facing the teaching of Political Science have less to do with content and much more to do with form and process. The next transformation in teaching and learning must address what kind of political scientist we wish to be, which kind of Political Science we need to create. Our argument advances in three moments. First, we sketch contemporary contexts for analyzing teaching and learning, musing about old and new paradigmatic/methodological debates and the new social-technological contexts of undergraduate learning. Second, we discuss conceptions of competencies in the U.S., Europe, and in relation to a specific Political Science program in Brazil. Third, we dare to sketch a “metaprofile” of the “good political scientist”, modeled on the work of the ALFA Tuning Project of the European Commission and reflections on related Brazilian and Latin American experiences.
Published online: 30 June 2015
Downloads
References
Abrami, Philip C., Gretchen Lowerison, and Eva M Bures. “Introduction to the Special Issue on Postsecondary Instruction: The Old Science of Phrenology and the New Science of College Teaching.” Educational Research and Evaluation: An International Journal on Theory and Practice 10, no 4-6 (2004): 289-301.
Alex-Assensoh, Yvette M. “Teaching Critical Analysis Skills with Analysis Briefs: What They are and How They Work.” PS: Political Science & Politics 41 (2008): 189-192.
Anderson, Lisa. “Too Much Information? Political Science, the University, and the Public Sphere.” Perspectives on Politics 10 (2012): 385-396.
Araújo, Cícero, and San R Assumpção. “Teoria Política no Brasil Hoje.” In Horizontes das Ciências Sociais no Brasil: Ciência Política, edited by Carlos Benedito Martins and Renato Lessa, 51-58. São Paulo: ANPOCS, 2010.
Barr, Robert B., and John Tagg. “A New Paradigm for Undergraduate Education.” Change, November/December 1995.
Beneitone, Pablo, César Esquetini, Júlia González, Maida Marty Maletá, Gabriela Siufi, and Robert Wagenaar, eds. Reflections on and Outlook for Higher Education in Latin America. Final Report – Tuning Latin America Project 2004-2007. Bilbao: University of Deusto and University of Groningen, 2007.
Beneitone, Pablo, César Esquetini, Júlia González, and Robert Wagenaar, eds. Meta-perfiles y perfiles. Una nueva aproximación para las titulaciones en América Latina. Bilbao: University of Deusto, 2014.
Berggren, Heidi M. “Problem-Based Learning and Improved Learning Outcomes in ‘The Politics of Welfare Reform’.” Journal of Political Science Education 7, no 4 (2011): 434-453.
Berman, Marc G., John Joanides, and Stephen Kaplan. “The Cognitive Benefits of Interacting with Nature.” Psychological Science 19, no 12 (2008): 1207-1212.
Breuning, Marijke, Paul Parker, and John T. Ishiyama. “The Last Laugh: Skill Building through a Liberal Arts Political Science Curriculum.” PS: Political Science & Politics 34 (2001): 657-661.
Brown, Adam R. “Wikipedia as a Data Source for Political Scientists: Accuracy and Completeness of Coverage.” PS: Political Science & Politics 44 (2011): 339-
Burnhein, Robert. “Information Literacy—A Core Competency.” Australian Academic & Research Libraries 23, no 4 (1992): 188-196.
Butler, Christopher K. “Comparing Curricula and Assessment Processes of B.A. Programs in Political Science.” Paper presented at the APSA 11th Teaching and Learning Conference, Philadelphia, February 7-9, 2014.
Butler, Daniel M., Richard J. Butler, and Jesse T. Rich. “The Equalizing Effect of the Internet on Access to Research Expertise in Political Science and Economics.” PS: Political Science & Politics 41 (2008): 579-584.
Cáceres, César Esquetini. Ensino Superior na América Latina: reflexões e perspectivas sobre Administração. Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto, 2014.
Cárdenas, Diego E. R. Ensino Superior na América Latina: reflexões e perspectivas sobre Psicologia. Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto, 2014.
Carr, Nicholas. “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Atlantic Monthly (2008).
_____. The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2011.
Connor, Charles E., Howard Egeth E., and Steven Yantis. “Visual Attention: Bottom-Up versus Top-Down.” Cognitive Biology 14 (2004): 850-52.
Cox, Sean Michael. “In the Pits: Teaching from the Bottom Up.” PS: Political Science & Politics 36 (2003): 75-76.
Craig, John. “What Have We Been Writing About?: Patterns and Trends in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Political Science.” Journal of Political Science Education 10, no 1 (2014): 23-36.
DeStefano, Diana, and Jo-Anne LeFevre. “Cognitive Load in Hypertext Reading: A Review.” Computers in Human Behavior 23, no 3 (2007): 1616-1641.
dos Santos, Wanderley Guilherme. “A Ciência Política na América Latina (notas preliminares de autocrítica).” Dados 23, no 1 (1980): 15-27.
Driver, Darrell, Kyle Jette, and Leonard Lira. “Student Learning Identities: Developing a Learning Taxonomy for the Political Science Classroom.” Journal of Political Science Education 4, no 1 (2008): 61-85.
Evans, James A. “Electronic Publication and the Narrowing of Science and Scholarship.” Science 321 (2008): 395-399.
Felix, Loussia P. M. “O Projeto ALFA Tuning e a área de Direito: competências como eixo da formação na perspectiva latino-americana.” Notícia do Direito Brasileiro 13 (2006): 197-222.
_____. Educação Superior na América Latina: reflexões e perspectivas em Direito. Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto, 2014.
Fitzgerald, Jennifer, and Vanessa A. Baird. “Taking a Step Back: Teaching Critical Thinking by Distinguishing Appropriate Types of Evidence.” PS: Political Science & Politics 44 (2011): 619-624.
Gardner, Howard and Katie Davis. The App Generation: How Today’s Youth Navigate Identity, Intimacy, and Imagination in a Digital World. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013.
González, Julia, and Robert Wagenaar. Tuning Educational Structures in Europe – Final Report – Pilot Project Phase 1. Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto, 2003.
González, Julia, and Robert Wagenaar. Tuning Educational Structures in Europe–Universities Contribution to the Bologna Process. Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto, 2005.
Groth, Terrie R. “Diagnosing and Treating the Radical Malaise.” Paper presented at the XVIth International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association, Washington, DC, April 4-6, 1991.
_____. Brasília.” Paper prepared for delivery at the 2000 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, DC, August 31-September 3, 2000.
_____. “The Case for Competency-Based Teaching and Learning in Political Science.” Paper presented at the APSA 11th Teaching and Learning Conference, Philadelphia, February 7-9, 2014.
Hamann, Kerstin, Philip H. Pollock, Philip H., and Bruce M. W. “Who SoTLs Where? Publishing the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Political Science.” PS: Political Science & Politics 42 (2009): 729-735.
Hartlaub, Stephen G., and Frank A. Lancaster. “Teacher Characteristics and Pedagogy in Political Science.” Journal of Political Science Education, 4, no 4 (2008) 377-393.
Hutchings, Pat, Chris Bjork, and Marcia Babb. “The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: An Annotated Bibliography.” PS: Political Science & Politics 35 (2002): 233-236.
Jackson, Maggie . Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age. Amherst, NY: Prometheus, 2008.
Johnson, David W., Roger T. Johnson, and Edythe Johnson Holubec. “New Circles of Learning.” Change, 1994.
_____. Cooperation in the Classroom. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1998.
Kandel, Eric R. In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind. New York: Norton, 2006.
Kehl, Jenny. “Indicators of the Increase of Political Science Scholarship on Teaching and Learning in Political Science.” PS: Political Science & Politics 35 (2002): 229-232.
Klingberg, Torkel. The Overflowing Brain:Information Overload and the Limits of Working Memory. Translation by Neil Betteridge. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Lamounier, Bolivar. “Pensamento Político, Institucionalização Acadêmica e Relação de Dependência no Brasil.” Dados 23, no 1 (1980): 29-57.
_____. “A Ciência Política no Brasil: Roteiro para um Balanço Crítico.” In A Ciência Política nos Anos 80, edited by Bolivar Lamounier, 407-433. Brasília, DF: Editora UnB, 1982.
LeDoux, Joseph. Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We Are. New York: Penguin, 2002.
Lessa, Renato. “O Campo da Ciência Política no Brasil: uma Aproximação Construtivista.” In Horizontes das Ciências Sociais no Brasil: Ciência Política, edited by Carlos Benedito Martins e Renato Lessa, 13-49. São Paulo: ANPOCS, 2010.
McClellan, E. Fletcher and Brianna Maurer. “After Wahlke: New Models for Organizing the Undergraduate Political Science Major and the Prospects for Reform.” Paper presented at the APSA 11th Teaching and Learning Conference, Philadelphia, February 7-9, 2014.
Montaño López, Ana María. Ensino Superior na América Latina: reflexões e perspectivas sobre Educação. Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto, 2014.
Niederhauser, D. S., Reynolds, R. E., Salmen, D. J. and P. Skolmoski. “The Influence of Cognitive Load on Learning from Hypertext.” Journal of Educational Computing Research 23, no 3 (2000): 237-255.
Nielsen, Jakob. “F-Shaped Pattern fo Reading Web Content.” Alertbox, 2006. Accessed April 17, 2015. http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html.
_____. “How Little Do Users Read?” Alertbox, 2008. Accessed May, 6 2015. http://www.useit.com/alertbox/percent-text-read.html.
Niyíri, J.C. “Thinking with a Word Processor.” In Philosophy and the Cognitive Sciences, edited by R. Casati. Vienna: Hölder-Pichler-Tempsky, 1994.
Powner, Leanne C. “Teaching the Scientific Method in the Active Learning Classroom.” PS: Political Science & Politics 39 (2006): 521-524.
Reinalda, Bob. “The Bologna Process and Its Achievements in Europe 1999–2007.” Journal of Political Science Education 4, no 4 (2008): 463-476.
Reis, Fábio W. “O Grifo É Nosso! Academia, Democracia e Dependência.” Dados 23, no 1 (1980): 59-77.
Robinson, Andrew M., and Karen Schlegl. “Student Use of the Internet for Research Projects: A Problem? Our Problem? What Can We Do About It?” PS: Political Science & Politics 38 (2005): 311-315.
Rodríguez, Darío C. Educación Superior en América Latina: reflexiones y perspectivas en Historia. Bilbao: University of Deusto, 2013.
Roper, Steven D. “European Education Reform and Its Impact on Curriculum and Admissions: Implications of the Bologna Process on United States Education.” Journal of Political Science Education 3, no 1 (2007): 51-60.
Rouet, Jean-François, and Jarmo J. Levonen. “Studying and Learning with Hypertext: Empirical Studies and Their Implications.” In Hypertext and Cognition, edited by Levonen Rouet, Andrew Dillon, and Rand J. Spiro. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 1996.
Slagter, Tracy H., and Druscilla L. Scribner. “Interteach and Student Engagement in Political Science.” Journal of Political Science Education 10, no 1 (2014): 81-92.
Small, Gary, and Gigi Vorgan. iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind. New York: Collins, 2008.
Small, Gary, TD Moody, P Siddarth, and SY Bookheimer. “Your Brain on Google: Patterns of Cerebral Activation during Internet Searching.” American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 17, no. 2 (2009): 116-126.
Souva, Mark. “Fostering Theoretical Thinking in Undergraduate Classes.” PS: Political Science & Politics 40 (2007): 557-561.
Spina Forjaz, Maria Cecília. “A Emergência da Ciência Política Acadêmica no Brasil: Aspectos Institucionais.” Revista Brasileira de Ciências Sociais 35 (1997): 101-120.
Thornton, Stephen. “From “Scuba Diving” to “Jet Skiing”? Information Behavior, Political Science, and the Google Generation.” Journal of Political Science Education 6, no 4, (2010): 353-368.
Trent, John E. “Political Science 2010: Out of Step with the World? Empirical Evidence and Commentary.” Paper prepared for the 21st International Pòlitical Science Association World Congress, Santiago, Chile, July, 2009.
_____. “Should Political Science Be More Relevant? An Empirical and Critical Analysis of the Discipline.” European Political Science 10 (2011): 191-209.
Van der Wende, Marijk C. “The Bologna Declaration: Enhancing the Transparency and Competitiveness of European Higher Education.” Higher Education in Europe 25, no 3 (2000): 305-310.
Wächter, Bernd. “The Bologna Process, Developments and Prospects.” European Journal of Education 39, no 3 (2004): 265-273.
Wexler, Bruce E. Brain and Culture: Neurobiology, Ideology, and Social Change. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2006.
Williams, Michelle Hale, Kymberly Anne Goodson and W. Gary Howard. “Weighing the Research Paper Option: The Difference that Information Literacy Can Still Make.” PS: Political Science & Politics 39 (2006): 513-519.
Williamson, Jonathan and Alison S. Gregory. “Problem-Based Learning in Introductory American Politics Classes.” Journal of Political Science Education 6, no 3 (2010): 274-296.
Winner, Langdon. “Technologies as Forms of Life.” In Readings in the Philosophy of Technology, edited by David M. Kaplan. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2004.
Wolfe, Angela. “Implementing Collaborative Learning Methods in the Political Science Classroom.” Journal of Political Science Education 8, no 4 (2012): 420-432.
Young, Iris Marion. “Political Theory: An Overview.” In A New Handbook of Political Science, edited by Robert E. Goodin and Hans-Dieter Klingemann, 479-502. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.
Authors are required to sign and submit a copyright transfer agreement after acceptance but before publication of their manuscript. To that effect, they receive, from the Managing Editor of Tuning Journal for Higher Education, a standard copyright assignment form designed along the following lines:
1. Authorship:
The author who signs the copyright transfer agreement must be the sole creator of the work or legally acting on behalf of and with the full agreement of all the contributing authors.
2. Copyright and Code of conduct:
a) Authors warrant that their work is original; has not been previously copyrighted or published in any form; is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; its submission and publication do not violate TJHE Ethical Guidelines for Publication and any codes (of conduct), privacy and confidentiality agreements, laws or any rights of any third party; and no publication payment by the Publisher (University of Deusto) is required.
b) Authors are solely liable for the consequences that may arise from third parties’ complaints about the submitted manuscript and its publication in Tuning Journal for Higher Education (TJHE).
c) Authors grant to the Publisher the worldwide, sub-licensable, and royalty-free right to exploit the work in all forms and media of expression, now known or developed in the future, for educational and scholarly purposes.
d) Authors retain the right to archive, present, display, distribute, develop, and republish their work (publisher's version) to progress their scientific career provided the original publication source (Tuning Journal) is acknowledged properly and in a way that does not suggest the Publisher endorses them or their use of the wortk.
e) Authors warrant that no permissions or licences of any kind will be granted that might infringe the rights granted to the Publisher.
3. Users:
Tuning Journal for Higher Education is an Open Access publication. Its content is free for full and immediate access, reading, search, download, distribution and reuse in any medium or format only for non-commercial purposes and in compliance with any applicable copyright legislation, without prior permission from the Publisher or the author(s). In any case, proper acknowledgement of the original publication source must be made and any changes to the original work must be indicated clearly and in a manner that does not suggest the author’s and or Publisher’s endorsement whatsoever. Any other use of its content in any medium or format, now known or developed in the future, requires prior written permission of the copyright holder.
1.jpg)
1.jpg)
.jpg)
1.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
