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Biographical Brief
Chuck Kennedy is an instructor of Political Science at Penn State York. He is a former Peace Corp Volunteer (Sierra Leone, West Africa, 1963-65) and a graduate of St. Francis College (B.A. 1963), University of New Mexico (M.A. 1969). He has worked toward his Ph.D. at West Virginia University.
- Chuck Kennedy was Director of the Governor's Action Center (GAC) form 1977-79, he directed a staff of 57 and a budget of $1.1 million. The GAC functioned as an Executive Ombudsman, investigating citizens' complaints about government. He directed the Action Center as a 24-hour per day Rumor Control/Public Information Center during the Three Mile Island Crisis in Pennsylvania in 1979.
He was Special Assistant to the Secretary of State in West Virginia. In this role he was responsible for all press relations and the direction of Secretary of State James R. McCartney's election campaign in 1976.
- Kennedy has taught at Penn State York since 1982. He a former Assistant Professor at Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania. He has published numerous educational simulations: Convention, Budget, Votes, Constitution, American Letters, Independence, Delegate and Committee.
He was appointed to the Schreyer Institute for Innovative Learning in 1995 for his creative use of education simulations. In 1996, he as appointed to Project Vision for his efforts with computer simulation.
Kennedy has written several articles and delivered papers on his "Reinventing Teaching in the Classroom of the Future: The Political Science Laboratory".(1)
POLITICAL SCIENCE 1 AMERICAN NATIONAL GOVERNMENT welcomes the students to the world of electronic interactive learning. It is offered as part of Penn State's Project Visions.
The course focuses on an analysis of public policy, political institutions and the nature of leadership in the contemporary United States. Various policies will be examined in the context of the U.S. political culture, the constitutional framework, and the structural, functional relationship within the U.S. national government. There will be thorough analysis of the concepts of power, influence, leadership, decision-making, conflict and consensus.
The Political Science classes at Penn State York have been transformed into a Political Science Laboratory emphasizing the innovative techniques of "active and collaborative" learning.
The various techniques of active collaborative learning have included:
- The major emphasis has been extensive use of simulations, as many as four per semester. See simulations in the Political Science Laboratory. This methodology has led to a project with Dr. Kyle Peck and the "Learning Systems Design Workshop" to evaluate the effectiveness of this technique, as opposed to classes taught in a traditional manner at other campuses. See Political Science Laboratory for major results of the study. This educational technique has been featured at Penn State's President's Colloquium" in 1996 and the Continuous Quality Institute's EXPO '97.
- In conjunction with Penn State's Project Vision, a class was designed and developed with exclusive use of Computer Simulations and Games The Project Vision course also emphasizes extensive web surfing projects. See Web Surfing Projects I and Web Surfing Projects II, useful web sites for political science and governmental research are listed in Selected Web Sites and Politics on the Net.
- "Mentor and Learn" projects actively involve the students in the learning process by requiring them to organize, implement and evaluate various simulation projects in area grade and high schools. The college students serve as advisers and mentors to the participants. These projects include Police Patrol , Communism Returns to the USSR , SIMYORK, Votes, and SimLab.
- A "civic responsibility" component enables the students to actively address and research various political, social, and economic issues. The students will be actively involved in field research and community involvement as essential elements for meaningful learning. See Community Action Activities (I, or II or III)
- In conjunction with the Schreyer Institute for Innovations in Learning, a distance learning project has been conducted between Penn State York and Penn State Worthington Scranton. Simulations involving extensive negotiations were conducted between two classes at the two campuses. All negotiations were conducted via e-mail and the four formal class sessions were conducted via teleconference using Penn State's Picture Tel facilities
Current Activities: Two current activities are the BULLETS & BALLOTS simulation with Penn State Worthnton Scranton and the URBAN SPRAWL colloquy with area high school students
Textbook for Political Science 1: American National Government taught by Charles L. Kennedy through the use of simulations.
The textbook is American Government & Politics Today, 1995-96: Interactive CD-ROM Edition. By Stefen W. Schmidt, Mack C. Shelley, II, and Barbara A. Bardes, West Educational Publishing, 620 Opperman Drive, P.O. Box 64779, St Paul, MN. 55164-0779.ISBN O-314-04729-8.
This format is an opportunity to read, hear, watch, and interact with American government. See and hear Martin Luther King, Jr. deliver portions of his "I have a Dream" speech... See and hear Linda Brown discuss school segregation 40 years after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case... An interactive feature shows you immigration patterns for the previous 70+ years and challenges students to project future immigration patterns for four different groups... In addition to the basic text, the CD-ROM contains photos, graphics, animations, audio interactive exercises, quizzes that provide instant feedback and 45 minutes of video clips that bring your textbook to life.
If you wish to use a conventional textbook, it is:
American Government & Politics Today: The Essentials - 1996-97 Edition. By Stefen W. Schmidt, Mack C. Shelley, II, and Barbara A. Bardes, West Educational Publishing, 620 Opperman Drive, P.O. Box 64779, St Paul, MN. 55164-0779.ISBN O-314-04729-8.
For assignments, activities, and schedule - see SYLLABUS.