Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Carpenter, Dick M.
• Dunn, Joshua M.

Titel

Simulated Complexity: A New Classroom Simulation to Teach about Campaign-Finance Laws

Ist Teil von

• PS, political science & politics, 2018-04, Vol.51 (2), p.445-450

Ort / Verlag

New York, USA: Cambridge University Press

Erscheinungsjahr

2018

Quelle

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Classroom simulations have become an increasingly popular instructional method in political science to increase student engagement, interest, and learning. This article describes a simulation designed to teach students about the complexities of campaign-finance systems, particularly disclosure requirements. In the simulation, students work in groups to convince others how to vote on a pending ballot measure. After spending more than $200 on materials, groups then must register as ballot-issue committees and comply with state campaign-finance laws, including tracking contributions and expenditures and completing all required forms. The simulation ends with a debrief. Results from several years of debriefs are presented to discuss how students perceive the complexities of campaign-finance laws. Dominant themes include surprise by students in the complexities of these laws and the effects they have on political speech and association.