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Pura Vida: Using Study Abroad to Engage Undergraduate Students in Comparative Politics Research

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2005

Kirk S. Bowman  and
Ashley Jennings
Kirk S. Bowman
Affiliation:
Georgia Institute of Technology
Ashley Jennings
Affiliation:
Georgia Institute of Technology
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Extract

Political science undergraduate students often have a difficult time understanding the processes and methods of social science research. The foci of courses in comparative politics such as Latin American Politics or European Politics are typically descriptive information, concepts and theories, and an overview of the principal debates and research findings. This stands in sharp contrast to undergraduate pedagogy in the natural sciences, where laboratory sections supplement classroom activities. For example, biology students learn the basics of the discipline in the classroom, and simultaneously use the tools and methods of scientists in the lab to replicate elementary experiments. This multi-method approach not only reinforces the students' understanding of biological concepts, but also gives them an appreciation for how their professors spend their time and the challenges, pleasures, and limitations of academic research.

Type
The Teacher
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 38 , Issue 1 , January 2005 , pp. 77 - 81
Copyright
© 2005 by the American Political Science Association

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