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.