Category Archives: Activities

Putting your cards on the table

Posted on May 14, 2013 by

Since it’s the final week of the teaching semester, I’ve been getting feedback on my modules, both through the standard module evaluations (run by the university) and in-class discussion. As always, it makes for a fascinating interaction. Instead of discussing … Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Classroom Behavior, Seminars, Simon Usherwood, Skills | Leave a comment

Getting formative feedback for yourself

Posted on May 7, 2013 by

My email inbox has several reminders that we are in the season of module evaluations. At Surrey, we run this centrally, with students completing forms online on each module and over a wider range of questions and I’m assuming that … Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Feedback & Reflection, Simon Usherwood | Tagged | 2 Comments

Make like MacGyver

Posted on April 23, 2013 by

During the past week I’ve been engaging with some very different groups of people. On the one hand, I’ve spent time with some people talking about public communication and on the other, I’ve attended a workshop on using stories in … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Activities, Exercises, Simon Usherwood, Skills | Tagged | 1 Comment

Surprise! A Simulation on Statelessness

Posted on April 11, 2013 by

Each week students in my introduction to international relations course are required to lead a discussion on a ‘current issue’ in international politics.  Next week, the Institute for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies at my university is hosting a conference … Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Amanda Rosen, Conferences, Exercises, Games, Getting Them to Talk, International Relations, Presentations | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Thatcher as a teachable moment

Posted on April 9, 2013 by

As you’ll have noticed, Margaret Thatcher died yesterday. Rather than add to the mountain of comment on her legacy/’meaning’/etc. I want to talk instead about how her death is a classic example of a teachable moment. Over the past 24 … Continue reading →

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Climate Change Games, Pt. 1: Climate Challenge

Posted on April 3, 2013 by

Having finished my series exploring Poverty Games out there on the internet, I want to turn to another topic that can be difficult to teach and where games may help. Climate change can be a tough subject to teach, particularly … Continue reading →

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Poverty Games Pt. 4: Spent

Spent is a fantastic interactive simulation for teaching about poverty in the US.  The premise of the game is that you are a recently unemployed and homeless single parent, down to your last $1000.  You have to find an apartment … Continue reading →

Image | Posted on March 18, 2013 by | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Poverty Games Part 3: Free Rice

Posted on March 8, 2013 by

Free Rice is a game where playing really does make a difference: sponsored by the World Food Programme, players answer questions in exchange for grains of rice which are then donated in real life through funding provided by ad sponsors.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Amanda Rosen, Games, International Relations, Reviews of Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Susherwood…!

Posted on February 10, 2013 by

It’s the last morning of TLC, but I’m not going to be there because of flight commitments (and I’m sulking about getting beaten by Amanda in Innovation last night). As last time, it’s been such a rich experience that I … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Activities, APSA, Conferences, Exercises, Games, Simon Usherwood, Skills | 1 Comment

Money/mouth (again)

Posted on February 7, 2013 by

Let’s put this one down to jetlag (since I’m in my Long Beach hotel room at 5am, having spent an hour doing this), but I’m making good on my previous post. On my ‘How To Do Simulation Games’ website, I’ve … Continue reading →

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