Central
European University A Program
for University Teachers, Advanced Ph.D. Students, Researchers and Professionals
in the Social Sciences and Humanities Summer University
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Central
European University A Program
for University Teachers, Advanced Ph.D. Students, Researchers and Professionals
in the Social Sciences and Humanities Summer University |
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6 - 17 July, 1998
Course Director: Mark
A. Boyer (University of Connecticut, USA)
Resource Persons: Brigid Starkey (University of Maryland, USA)
Teaching Negotiation Across the Internet is a two-week CEU Summer University Course focusing on the use of computer-assisted simulations to teach international relations at the undergraduate and masters levels. The ICONS simulation approach links college classes from around the world over the Internet. Each group of students represents a different real-world country in simulations during the academic year. Simulations cover topics ranging from multiple issue simulations (five weeks in duration) to more topically (e.g., water politics issues) and regionally (e.g., the European political landscape) focused exercises (three weeks in duration). This course also focuses on other active learning approaches to teaching international negotiation and bargaining in college classrooms and examines such factors in the negotiation process as the impact of culture, personality styles of negotiators, strategy and tactics of negotiation, and problem-solving approaches to conflict resolution. Course Outline
These sessions focus on how to develop
and use active learning approaches (e.g., case teaching, simulation, and
other “task oriented” approaches to classroom teaching) in a variety
of courses and college settings. Participants develop some of their
own materials for future use, focusing on specific problems or situations
that they confront. This section culminates in an extensive discussion
of the ICONS simulation approach as a well-developed example of active
approaches to the teaching of international relations. This also
includes a thorough introduction to research resources for international
relations available on the World Wide Web.
This section focuses on an increasing understanding of negotiation theory, approaches to conflict resolution, and how these concepts can be taught in college classrooms. Given the emphasis of the first portion of the course, emphasis in this section concentrates on how faculty members can teach theory in ways that enable students to understand its practical applications. Active learning approaches are ideal for demonstrating the interaction of theory and practice to students. Simulation The last portion of the course engages participants in an actual ICONS simulation over the World Wide Web. Participants are assigned teams in a simulation created by the program staff and gain experience in the use of the ICONS model. Participants will leave the workshop with the ability to use the ICONS simulation in their own settings. Background to the ICONS Approach Since the early 1980’s project ICONS
has addressed longstanding problems in college education, such as the lack
of relevance of university curriculum to the changing workplace, the isolation
of students from faculty members, and a singular, passive definition of
"learning." In an ICONS simulation, cross-cultural awareness comes
not only through the experience of playing the roles of high-level foreign
policy decision-makers, but also through the ability of the Internet to
link the negotiators to peers at institutions around the world. The
ICONS approach makes use of cutting edge Internet-based communications
technologies to link students otherwise isolated from one another.
It also provides international relations instructors with the opportunity
to engage their students in ways not possible in a project housed at a
single institution. It offers students hands-on experience
in international negotiation that until recently, was reserved only for
the actual practitioners.
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