Enlivening Political Science Courses with Kolb's Learning Preference Model

Abstract

M ost political science professors hope their courses will produce graduates with well-developed critical-thinking and problem-solving abilities, but many report frustration at not being able to meet this goal with all, or even most, of their undergraduate students. Among the many possible reasons for this frustration is a mismatch between the professor's learning preferences, which may determine his or her teaching style, and the students' learning preferences, which may affect their level of comprehension of material covered in the course. Learning preference mismatches may cause students to perform below their potential, earn political science the reputation of being a difficult, or worse, arbitrary subject, and reduce the professor's enthusiasm for teaching. Once these mismatches are identified and understood, they can be easily counteracted, usually without substantial course reorganization.