This course teaches a fundamental understanding of roles of state government and how it functions. In order to maximize students' learning from one another, Professor LaPorte added a significant collaborative learning component to his course. The class is divided into ten groups of five students at the beginning of the semester. These learning teams work together throughout the semester on four short term projects and one final, larger project. Since the short term assignments feed directly into the final project, students receive constant feedback on their work throughout the semester so that they can improve on it for the final written and oral presentation.
Students learn about state politics by becoming experts about the processes in one particular state.
By applying what they have learned in their reading about state constitutions, demographics, and other factors that affect state policy, the information becomes more meaningful and memorable.