Students also write a final essay comparing their roles in the simulation and the actual roles operating in government. Hitchcock, from Noblesville, has been a teacher for 31 years and has directed American government, U.S. history and international relations classes. He holds bachelor of science and master of arts degrees in U.S. history from Ball State. He promotes active student involvement as a means of stimulating student learning about Congress. Each of his classes participates in a model Congress simulation, with one class simulating the House of Representatives and the other the Senate.
Students are also divided into political parties and develop party platforms.
Students research and write bills, and committees discuss bills and hold hearings on them, and then report them to the floor of their respective bodies where they are debated and voted upon. In addition, Mr. Hitchcock has organized more than 30 week-long trips to Washington D.C. centered on providing internships in the offices of members of Congress and in committees. Kuntz, from Indianapolis, has taught government, sociology and service learning during her 30-year career. She strives to develop skills of inquiry and participation in her students, to enable them to be active contributors in a democracy. She organizes a mock Congress for each of her classes, in which one class serves as the House of Representatives and another as the Senate.