Protracted conflict presents students with an unfamiliar and often puzzling context. Why do negotiations sometimes succeed, while at other points, actors are unable to reach agreement on key issues, even in the face of deadly costs? In this article, I introduce an extended role-playing simulation designed to enhance student understanding of…

Simulations are traditionally divided into three phases, namely preparation, interaction, and debriefing. This article argues that the first phase has been neglected. The preparation phase is indeed widely seen as necessary but merely instrumental to the interaction phase of simulations rather than as a self-contained activity that may also…

This article reflects critically on simulations. Building on the authors' experience simulating the Palestinian-Israeli-American Camp David negotiations of 2000, they argue that simulations are useful pedagogical tools that encourage creative--but not critical--thinking and constructivist learning. However, they can also have the deleterious…

On March 18th 2011 an independent jury of experts convened in Antwerp, Belgium, to select the laureate of the first Evens Prize for Peace Education from a shortlist of eleven organizations from all over Europe. After a long day of intense discussions, the jury agreed unanimously to award the prize to the "Escola de Cultura de Pau"…

Simple role-play simulations can not only demonstrate the dynamics of a conflict but also create awareness of multiple perspectives even among populations relatively set in their opinions. To teach my student population of military officers, I utilize simple, nongame simulations of multisided Middle East conflicts that not only facilitate learning…

There is a nascent literature on the question of whether active learning methods, and in particular simulation methods, enhance student learning. In this article, the authors evaluate the utility of an international relations simulation in enhancing learning objectives. Student evaluations provide evidence that the simulation process enhances…

Describes objectives and student activities of a simulated peace conference which the author has used successfully in a course on Middle East politics at the University of Maine in Orono. (AV)

This document is designed to provide students with an opportunity to share feelings and clarify their own values given the facts about nuclear technology. Using this short curriculum, students should be able to: (1) explore their associations with nuclear issues; (2) analyze guidelines for conflict resolution in personal situations; (3) analyze…

The use of simulation in teaching international relations is examined by evaluating how a simulation approach helped students in three institutions of higher education understand international terror. The project involved 97 students from three colleges and universities, and people with expertise in the community including campus police, the…

This four-day unit is designed for use in social studies and/or literature classes at secondary (7-12) and community college levels as a general introduction to conflict on personal, group, and world levels. The unit introduces students to and familiarizes them with the characteristics and mechanisms of conflicts at all levels and with basic…

Classroom activities for examining effects of war and contemplating world peace are derived from the story of Sadako, a Japanese girl who died as a result of atomic bomb radiation. Making paper cranes, as Sadako did, and participating in schoolwide programs are suggested for primary, middle, and upper grades. (SLD)

A simulation designed for an introductory college-level international politics and comparative foreign policy course is described. Regional Crisis requires student decision-maker diplomats, grouped in teams, to respond to a Middle Eastern crisis that has substantial potential for escalation. In response to an initial crisis scenario, student teams…

Analyzes two questions: challenges for peace educators and goals of peace education at the end of the millennium. Discusses the meaning and content of peace education and methods of teaching peace studies. Argues for increased multicultural awareness, envisionment of peaceful alternatives to present society, and increased racial and gender…

Much has been said and written about different learning styles in recent years. Some people have responded with evangelical enthusiasm, others exercise a more cautious approach, whilst a few disregard it completely. Certainly, there are problems in allowing learning style "audits" to shape our teaching strategies entirely. But one…