Flexibility
Model Diplomacy is flexible enough to meet a variety of needs. If you are busy (and who isn’t?) you can make a few essential decisions while choosing and building your case, and the website will do the rest. For those of you who like to tinker and customize, we have included tools and suggestions to help you mold Model Diplomacy to your needs.
Choosing a Case and Building a Simulation
Your first big decision is which case to simulate. The case library includes brief summaries and guidance on the major concepts addressed by each case, and you can click through to preview cases in more detail. Once you have decided which case makes best fits your curriculum and your students’ preparation and interests, there are a few more decisions for you to make.
Basic vs. Advanced
Nearly all Model Diplomacy cases come in basic and advanced versions. The primary difference is that basic cases are shorter: both the council guide (Section 1) and the case (Section 2) are 2,000 to 2,500 words each instead of 7,000 to 8,000 words. Basic cases are also designed to present the case in a more narrative fashion, skipping over some of the more theoretical elements of the problem. The core role-play experience does not change between the two versions.
Basic cases are easier to read and are therefore good for younger students and students with less background knowledge of the case topic, and should definitely be used in classes with English-language learners. Advanced cases are good for older students, students with a background in international relations, and students who can handle a greater quantity of background material. If you only have a few days for your simulation, the basic version is probably a better bet simply because students will be able to read it and prepare more quickly.
NSC vs. UNSC
While all cases are available in NSC versions, which focus on U.S. foreign policy, some are also available in UNSC versions, which look at problems from a global perspective. Both versions of a given case are comparable in length and complexity; simply choose which one best meets your educational goals.
Assessments
Model Diplomacy offers short-answer assessments on the council guide (Section 1) and the case (Section 2), along with a tool for you to view your students’ answers and grade them right on the Model Diplomacy website. When building your case, you can choose whether you want to use the assessment feature, and you can view a preview of the short-answer assessments to help you decide.
There are also detailed writing assignments for the position memo (Section 3) and policy review memo (Section 4). These cannot be turned on or off while building a simulation, but you easily ask your students to skip them (see “Customization” below).
Assigning Roles
The way that you assign roles, and whether you, the instructor, play a role, can markedly change the way the simulation runs. Learn more here.
Pacing
The next set of decisions you will want to make is related to the pacing and deadlines for the simulation.
Below are three suggested timetables for running a Model Diplomacy simulation. Of course, you can adapt them to your needs. No due dates are set in the Model Diplomacy website—you should communicate them to your students in whatever way you normally would.
1. If you only have one class period, with a few days for students to prepare, you can run a brief simulation.
- Give your students a few days to read Section 1 and Section 2 independently, ahead of the role-play. If you are really tight on time, consider the basic rather than the advanced version of your chosen case—there is less reading. You can optionally assign the short-answer assessments to check students’ knowledge of these sections.
- Have the position memo (for NSC cases) or draft clauses (UNSC cases) due the day of the role-play. The assignments help make the role-play successful—we strongly encourage you to include them.
- Assuming you have a sixty- to ninety-minute class period, save ten to fifteen minutes at the end for a wrap-up discussion (Section 4) and devote the remainder of the time to the role-play. You may want to make the opening statement shorter so there is more time for discussion. (If you have shorter class periods, you can split the role-play across two class periods.)
- Assign the policy review memo to be completed independently after the wrap-up.
2. If you have two or three class periods and a week to ten days for students to prepare, you can run a full, realistic simulation that takes full advantage of all that Model Diplomacy has to offer.
- Give your students a few days to read Section 1 and Section 2 independently, ahead of the role-play. Spend some time in class discussing and answering questions about Section 1 and Section 2 ahead of the role-play. You can optionally assign the short-answer assessments to check students’ knowledge of these sections.
- Have the position memo (for NSC cases) or draft clauses (UNSC cases) due a day or two before the role-play. If you are simulating an NSC case, this gives the president time to review the position memos before the role-play.
- Budget about two hours for the role-play, followed by about half an hour for the wrap-up discussion (Section 4). The role-play can be split across two days if necessary, and it can be helpful to schedule the wrap-up discussion on a different day than the role-play. This gives participants time to reflect and, in an NSC simulation, gives the president time to write up a presidential directive for students to review.
- Assign the policy review memo to be completed independently after the wrap-up.
3. If you have two or three class periods and several weeks for students to prepare, you can use a full, realistic Model Diplomacy simulation as the basis for a broader study of foreign policy decision-making.
- Give your students a week or more to read Section 1 and Section 2 independently, ahead of the role-play. Spend some time in class discussing and answering questions about Section 1 and Section 2 ahead of the role-play. If your curriculum includes studying the National Security Council, the United Nations, or the case you’ve chosen, you can integrate these Model Diplomacy readings with your other curriculum resources. You could also require students to complete additional research using the suggested readings in Sections 1 and 2 and complete a writing assignment or presentation to the class on what they learned.
- Have the position memo (for NSC cases) or draft clauses (UNSC cases) due a day or two before the role-play. If you are simulating an NSC case, this gives the president time to review the position memos before the role-play.
- Budget about two hours for the role-play, followed by about half an hour for the wrap-up discussion (Section 4). The role-play can be split across two days if necessary, and it can be helpful to schedule the wrap-up discussion on a different day than the role-play. This gives participants time to reflect and, in an NSC simulation, gives the president time to write up their presidential directive for students to review.
- Assign the policy review memo to be completed independently after the wrap-up.
Once you have made these decisions and told your students their due dates, you are ready to go. The website will walk them through everything. But if you want to further customize your students’ experience, read on!
Customization
Instructors have the option to annotate pages of the simulation. All students in the class will be able to see these notes. This is useful both for reminders (“pay particular attention to the paragraph on nationalism!”) and for modifying the content (“in our role-play, opening statements will be longer”).
The first two sections, which students read while preparing for the role-play, include additional readings and videos. These additional readings are not necessary to run a productive simulation, but they are great supplements for those looking for a deeper understanding of the topics. If you want to require them of your students, you can use the annotation tool to let them know. Section 1 and Section 2 have short-answer assessments (that you can turn on or off in the simulation manager), but some teachers like to ask students to do a presentation or complete another assignment to further show their mastery of Section 1 and Section 2.
Section 3 offers the most opportunities to customize. In Sections 3.1 and 3.2, which walk students through preparing for the role-play, you can shape students’ preparation with reminders to take into account certain issues, or by making suggestions for additional reading. The part you play (or don’t play!) in the role-play can drastically change the experience. You can shoulder some of the burden to promote a productive discussion, or you can lay that responsibility fully on your students. The page on role assignment explains the choices you can make. You can also reveal additional information, in the form of flash points, during the course of the role-play that changes the situation students face. Flash points, found at the bottom of Section 3.4 and viewable only to the instructor, can force students to think on their feet and add excitement. We provide a suggested format for the role-play (see Section 3.4 of your case), but if you would like it to proceed differently, you can let your students know via the annotation tool.
We also provide a detailed set of instructions for the position memo in Section 3 and the policy review memo in Section 4. If you would like to modify these, you can do so using the annotation tool.