Date of Award

Summer 8-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

STEM Education & Professional Studies

Program/Concentration

Instructional Design and Technology

Committee Director

John Baaki

Committee Member

Brandon Butler

Committee Member

Miguel Ramlatchan

Abstract

Political science faculty members have often used simulations to promote civic engagement and build political efficacy in students. However, the use of political simulations with community college students has not been studied as extensively as it has with their four-year counterparts. Through the interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) methodology, this study examined the experiences of nine political science faculty members who use simulations with community college students to understand how instructional designers might better support their civic engagement and design efforts. Faculty members who participated in the study use simulations as constructive social interactions; as comprehensive learning experiences integrating preparation, facilitation of perspective taking, and assessment; and as vehicles for students’ civic empowerment. Faculty members develop original simulations through iterative design and student feedback, often adapting aspects of the design based on students’ needs. Simulations can present curricular, ideological, and practical challenges for faculty members to navigate within both their institutions and larger communities. Instructional designers can serve faculty members by helping them define the simulation’s scope, structure, level of control, and degree of realism to document their process. Additionally, instructional designers can curate repositories of original simulations to share between institutions, which often rely on part-time adjunct faculty, and facilitate the conversion of simulations into different modalities.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

DOI

10.25777/ax9j-7w39

ISBN

9798293844302

ORCID

0000-0002-9266-1353

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