This article argues that classroom simulations of real-world electoral institutions are a powerful pedagogical tool for political science students.
🔎 What the project set out to do
A series of in-class electoral simulations were introduced into a course on political parties and elections in the United States to help students see how institutional rules shape political outcomes.
🧠How the simulation was run (Fall 2021; updated Spring 2023)
- Multiple electoral simulations were implemented during the Fall 2021 semester, with the most comprehensive exercise modeled on the Iowa Democratic caucus.
- The mock Iowa caucus was significantly updated and re-run in Spring 2023.
- The classroom exercise followed the formal procedures used at the actual Iowa caucuses, recreating the procedural complexity of the real event.
📚 What students actually did
- Participated in discussions and debates about which candidate to support.
- Followed caucus procedures to deliberate and publicly realign support.
- Reached a final decision for their simulated precinct, mirroring real-world caucus outcomes.
💡 Key findings and learning outcomes
- The simulation helped students understand the complex rules and procedures that structure the real-world Iowa caucuses.
- The exercise also helped students form reasoned conclusions about the virtues (and trade-offs) of those institutions.
- Overall, facilitating mock elections structured by real institutional rules proved a potent way to aid student learning about electoral institutions.
🔗 Why this matters for teaching political science
- Experiential simulations that mirror institutional rules give students concrete, practice-based insight into how institutions shape behavior and outcomes.
- Such simulations are a scalable classroom technique for courses on parties, elections, and institutional design.
