Professor brings Model U.N. simulation to classroom

"Thank you, delegate. We will now begin the debate. Ukraine, you have the floor for three minutes."

No, this is not an excerpt from a United Nations meeting, just a regular day in Professor Jim Buxton's political science Model U.N. topics-class.

Buxton, a professor in the political science department at the University of Rhode Island, has been teaching some form of this simulation Model U.N. class since he was a teacher at South Kingstown High School.

Buxton said he believes that interactive learning is the best way to teach students about current international relations between countries.

"The Chinese have an expression: ‘I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I know,'" he said. "By actually simulating the U.N. and having to identify with a particular country, students learn it and it actually sticks."

Buxton came to URI after former political science department head Gerry Tyler asked him to teach the same Model U.N. simulation her son was involved with at South Kingstown High School. He has been at URI for three years, and has taught this particular class four times.

The interest in the class is steadily growing, according to Buxton, who said the class started with 15 people in its first semester. Now, roughly 35 people are enrolled in the spring 2012 section.

Several students within the class said they took it because they heard good things about it in the past.

"I think he [Buxton] keeps people more engaged than most professors in most classrooms," senior political science major Phil Nicastro said.

Buxton said seeing students' growth is the most rewarding aspect of teaching the class.

"Seeing the kids go from being deer-in-the-headlights in regard to debating to being active participants is really something I enjoy," he said.

Sophomore political science and economics major Karim Azizi said he finds the interactive style useful as well.

"You understand more about international issue and the way the international system works because of this class."

Despite positive feedback from students, Buxton said the class also comes with some challenges, explaining that because there is no international relations major, many students do not have as much background in international politics as he would like.

"A second problem is that there are hardly any schools in Rhode Island that teach any sort of global studies class where they learn about modern global issues," he said. "One of my pet peeves is I think there needs to be more global education in Rhode Island."

Buxton said most other states give more secondary education students exposure to these types of issues than Rhode Island, where 60 percent URI students go for elementary and high school, according to the school admissions page.

As a result, Buxton said he begins the class with "fairly user-friendly topics" like capital punishment and drug trafficking before moving on to more complicated subjects like Darfur.

Buxton added that no matter how knowledgeable students may be about the topics, there is always an opportunity for some laughs along the way.

"I enjoy the way people's personalities can come into play, and there's room for a good deal of humor too," he said.