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Active Learning Teaching Techniques in Political Science: Story Telling and Collaborative Exercises

Political Theory
Methods
Theoretical

Abstract

“Stories have the power to direct and change our lives” (Nel Noddings, 1991, p. 157) This article reports the result of experiment in ascertaining the effectiveness of storytelling and collaborative technique in teaching of Political Science. In many colleges and institutions, still lecture method consists the centre piece of the instruction, where students passively absorb pre-processed information and rarely do they effect significant change in the passive nature of learners. This is critical to disciplines of social sciences and humanities. Among the two techniques, both storytelling and collaborative methods lifts learner from one level to another and leaves student inquisitive and interested about further study. During the classes it showed that all those students who participated in storytelling and collaborative exercises, did better in standard evaluations in comparison to traditional method. Paper introspect the experience of learner in under graduate class, through both techniques, which were used in teaching of political theory. Experiencing the techniques, learner realises that collaborative exercises bring our own knowledge, ideas, beliefs and practices at learning situations, embodying different levels of elaboration. Learning, which is based on the notion that understanding is not a fixed or unchangeable element of thought but experiences can contribute to its forming and re-forming. Paper sheds light on these two known pedagogies as more successful in active learning teaching of Political Theory in undergraduate law class.