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The 'Briefing Note' as a Pedagogical Tool for Teaching Politics and International Relations

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Title: The 'Briefing Note' as a Pedagogical Tool for Teaching Politics and International Relations
Language: English
Authors: Chagas-Bastos, Fabrício H. (ORCID 0000-0002-3533-9034), Burges, Sean W. (ORCID 0000-0002-7612-5091)
Source: Journal of Political Science Education. 2019 15(2):237-246.
Availability: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 10
Publication Date: 2019
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Teaching Methods, Political Science, International Relations, Skill Development, Problem Based Learning, Learning Processes, Course Content, Assignments, Transfer of Training, Active Learning, College Students, Decision Making, Notetaking, Reports
DOI: 10.1080/15512169.2018.1472001
ISSN: 1551-2169
Abstract: When new graduates begin employment in industries such as government, consultancies, or the nongovernmental sector they are expected to have the skills needed to write politically-informed reports accurately. Teaching how to write briefing notes provides students with an important skill, but also provides an effective instrument for examining integrated comprehension of course content. In this article, we explain why briefing notes are a useful pedagogical device, some guidelines on when to use them and how to structure the assignments, and an indication of where we have found them to be successful instruments for enhancing student learning. We suggest briefing notes are a flexible assessment technique that aligns well with traditional teaching approaches as well as newer techniques such as active and problem-based learning.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2019
Accession Number: EJ1213786
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0136023023;[15ub]01apr.19;2019Apr25.06:43;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0136023023-1">The "Briefing Note" as a Pedagogical Tool for Teaching Politics and International Relations </title> <p>When new graduates begin employment in industries such as government, consultancies, or the nongovernmental sector they are expected to have the skills needed to write politically-informed reports accurately. Teaching how to write briefing notes provides students with an important skill, but also provides an effective instrument for examining integrated comprehension of course content. In this article, we explain why briefing notes are a useful pedagogical device, some guidelines on when to use them and how to structure the assignments, and an indication of where we have found them to be successful instruments for enhancing student learning. We suggest briefing notes are a flexible assessment technique that aligns well with traditional teaching approaches as well as newer techniques such as active and problem-based learning.</p> <p>Keywords: Briefing notes; writing skills; transferable skills; active learning</p> <hd id="AN0136023023-2">Introduction</hd> <p>When they start university studies, undergraduates are not expected to have the skills needed to write politically-informed reports accurately, yet these are precisely the aptitudes demanded of fresh graduates when they begin employment in industries such as government, consultancies, or the nongovernmental sector. A striking aspect of the pedagogical changes that have taken place over the last 25 years to foster critical and analytical thinking skills through active learning (AL; Bonwell and Eison [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref1">4</reflink>]; Shellman [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref2">14</reflink>]), problem-based-learning (PBL; Albanese and Mitchell [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref3">1</reflink>]; Capon and Kuhn [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref4">8</reflink>]; Evensen and Hmelo [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref5">12</reflink>]), and signature pedagogies (Brookfield [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref6">6</reflink>]; Shulman [<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref7">15</reflink>]), is that less attention has been given to learning how to write one of the central instruments for consuming analysis in government and industry: the briefing note. This is odd because teaching students how to write briefing notes not only provides them with an important skill, but also offers instructors a very effective instrument for examining integrated comprehension of course content or a dynamic, shorter alternative to the standard research essay.</p> <p>Briefing notes and policy briefs are communication instruments that can be creatively used to build practical and academic skills in International Relations (IR) and Political Science students. Boys and Keating ([<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref8">5</reflink>], 201) call policy briefs "an innovative method of teaching, learning and assessment for undergraduate students," but label them as "underutilized." Yet the syllabi sampled in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Brazil, and Colombia show almost no use of briefing notes as an assessment device. Nor does there appear to be a substantive treatment of briefing notes in the literature on active learning and problem-based learning approaches. In response to the increasing pressure to engage students in policy-oriented discussions and to give real-world experience to their studies, this article systematizes a way of thinking about the practice of crafting a briefing note as a new option for disciplinary framing and pedagogical evaluation. To do this the article brings together insights from works based on signature pedagogies, problem-based learning and critical thinking, combining them with classic pedagogical innovative tools such as policy briefs (Boys and Keating [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref9">5</reflink>]; Wiley [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref10">19</reflink>]) and simulations (Asal and Blake [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref11">3</reflink>]; Druliolle [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref12">11</reflink>]; Glazier [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref13">13</reflink>]; Smith and Boyer [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref14">16</reflink>]; Switky [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref15">17</reflink>]; Wedig [<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref16">18</reflink>]; Youde [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref17">20</reflink>]). The article begins by explaining why briefing notes can play an important pedagogical role in the teaching of Political Science and International Relations. Attention is then turned the practicalities of setting briefing notes as assessment tasks before outlining how a briefing note assignment might be structured and graded. The article concludes by emphasizing the utility of briefing notes for developing both critical thinking capabilities and valuable transferable skills.</p> <hd id="AN0136023023-3">Pedagogical approach</hd> <p>The primary pedagogical goal of assigning a briefing note in Political Science and International Relations courses is to build transferable skills in students by using active learning as a trigger. Development of this skill set is usually already embedded in the curricula, but not necessarily in a manner that is easily recognizable to students. Syllabi using problem-based learning and active learning strategies are generally focused on a specific area of study or practice instead of wider disciplinary questions or more general skill development. The challenge with problem-based and active learning is to ensure a shared understanding between teacher and student about how the instrument should be used and why it is being deployed.</p> <p>As Capon and Kuhn ([<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref18">8</reflink>], 63) explain, problem-based learning mechanisms can achieve positive effects when the student's experience combines existing knowledge structures with new material to activate a "mental model that the student entertains with regard to the problem at hand." A briefing note can be a very effective device for triggering this sort of active learning process. On a problem-solving level a briefing note requires the student to produce a "big picture" for those interested in specific or more detailed knowledge, showing clearly the chain of thought, avoiding a random presentation of information, and providing organized reports. On the active learning side, once students have their hands on a real policy issues it stimulates them to come up with an integrative approach between knowledge, critical thinking, and solutions for the problem posed.</p> <p>Briefing notes are particularly effective for explaining how parts of the decision-making process occur—i.e., leadership information and intrabureaucracy disputes—and as the practical training of professional skills most students will only acquire through learning-by-doing during the first years of their careers. In this context briefing notes emerge as an effective way of heeding Switky's advice ([<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref19">17</reflink>], 683): "(<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref20">1</reflink>) to put students in the middle of a challenging problem that forces them to grapple with its many facets; (<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref21">2</reflink>) to require students to respond to the problem; and (<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref22">3</reflink>) to equip students with the ability to apply their knowledge to similar problems—past, current, and future." In other words, the connection between the educational environment and the decision-making reality can be understood in similar terms as a simulation, which opens a space where the transferable skill component of active learning is introduced with briefing note assignments.</p> <hd id="AN0136023023-4">Crafting briefing notes: Details of our tasks</hd> <p>In descriptive terms "policy brief," "research summary," and "briefing note" are often used interchangeably in the literature. But they are not the same thing, which is a key point to reinforce to students. A policy brief is a summary document focusing on a policy or research question, providing a short overview of its main characteristics, typically offering some implementation, governance, delivery and financing concerns and options, and concluding with implications for policy, with or without recommendations. It is used to succinctly evaluate policy options on a specific issue for a specific policy-making audience (Boys and Keating [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref23">5</reflink>]; HPSR [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref24">2</reflink>]). A research summary provides a summary of a larger research report and usually mirrors the typical format of a research study, but in an abridged form (HPSR [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref25">2</reflink>]). A briefing note is intended primarily to offer the big picture for those interested in a question, but needing more detailed knowledge to inform the decision-making process. It is the big picture nature of a briefing note that is of interest in terms of examining course content while the technical aspects of drafting a clear, concise, information-rich document fit with ambitions to develop widely transferable student skills.</p> <p>The briefing note exercise can be introduced in a number of different ways ranging from assessed assignments through to an aid facilitating student participation in tutorial sessions. Significantly, the size or style of class is not a determining factor on the utility of a briefing note assignment. Jointly, the authors have applied the exercises in four different countries (Australia, Canada, Colombia, and the United Kingdom) between 2001 and 2017 for classes varying in size from 12 to over 100 students. As set out in Table 1, students were required to write briefing notes over a dozen times in courses covering topics as varied as first-year introductory classes, large second- and third-year survey courses, small upper-year lecture classes, and undergraduate and graduate seminar classes. Subjects ranged from development studies to international relations, areas studies, and comparative politics. In each case the nature of the briefing note was tailored to achieve specific pedagogical outcomes or used as assessed work to operationalize course content and drive transferable skill development in the students.</p> <p>Table 1. Selected courses taught with briefing notes.</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead><tr><td>Course</td><td>Year of study</td><td>Style of course</td><td>Number of students</td><td>Country</td></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td>Introduction to IR</td><td char=".">1</td><td>Lecture</td><td>110</td><td>Colombia</td></tr><tr><td>Introduction to IPE</td><td char=".">2</td><td>Lecture</td><td>35</td><td>Canada</td></tr><tr><td>Current Issues in International Security</td><td char=".">2</td><td>Lecture</td><td>135</td><td>Australia</td></tr><tr><td>Latin American Politics</td><td char=".">3</td><td>Lecture</td><td>44</td><td>Australia</td></tr><tr><td>Latin American IR</td><td char=".">3</td><td>Lecture</td><td>48</td><td>Colombia/Australia</td></tr><tr><td>Politics of Foreign Aid</td><td char=".">4</td><td>Lecture</td><td>45</td><td>Canada</td></tr><tr><td>IR of Latin America</td><td>Graduate</td><td>Seminar</td><td>12</td><td>Canada</td></tr><tr><td>Introduction to World Politics</td><td char=".">1</td><td>Tutorial</td><td>15</td><td>UK</td></tr><tr><td>Development & Change</td><td char=".">2</td><td>Tutorial</td><td>15–20</td><td>Australia</td></tr><tr><td>IPE of South America</td><td char=".">3</td><td>Tutorial</td><td>15</td><td>UK</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>A variation on the briefing note can also be used to address the challenge of students failing to prepare for undergraduate tutorials and seminars, or being too shy to speak in these small group settings. Entry to the class can be made contingent on presentation of a short summary note or series of talking points on the core readings for the tutorial class. The lecturer or tutor did not generally grade these documents, but students were advised that failure to arrive with the briefing note/talking points ready could result in ejection from the class or a participation grade of zero for the session. Two direct benefits came from this approach. First, all students had at least a passing familiarity with the readings for the class. Second, the note provided shy or reticent students with a set of "talking points" they could simply read out to help ease them into more active class participation.</p> <p>There are two primary ways the authors have used the briefing note in upper-year undergraduate and graduate course. The first is to set a briefing note as a single assignment in addition to other short or long essays. Another variation is to use the briefing note as the primary evaluation device—a variation on the take-home exam theme—to test course content comprehension throughout the semester. In either case there is a need to provide students with clear instructions on how to formulate a briefing note as well as a detailing of expectations for the assignment. Here the main challenge is often that the idea of a briefing note is outside of their lived experience at school and in the workplace. Early applications of this tool created a great deal of angst among students grappling with something very new, but potentially accounting for a significant portion of their grade. The central lesson from classroom experience is that basing an entire evaluative method on briefing notes requires extra teaching effort from instructors and tutors to make clear to students how to compose a note as well as the importance of writing style and form. Two main strategies are proposed to grapple with this challenge. First is to provide samples of different kinds of briefing notes, including government documents collected during archival research as well as business intelligence parallels to the briefing note. Second, for lack of a better term, is to prepare a briefing note for students on how to write a briefing note. Irrespective of the approach taken, the key point is to provide as much clarity as possible about the technical, research, and compositional aspects of a good note.</p> <p>In the case of a stand-alone assignment similar to an essay students usually submit a briefing note addressing a specific question assigned the week before it is due. A variation on this theme would be to set the terms of reference for the assignment in the course syllabus, allowing students to plan for the task as the course progresses. Different rules come into play when the briefing note is being used as a type of take-home exam. Here, a shorter time frame is generally given for task completion, often seeing the terms of reference released at a preannounced time 48 hours before it is due. Two functions are served by this approach. First, it mirrors the standard take-home examination model found in most institutions. Second, it emphasizes the transferable skills aspect by preparing students for a future work environment where they will have to perform under pressure.</p> <p>Essay-like briefing notes allow the students wider research autonomy. Briefing notes as examination proxies make it clear students are only expected to draw on course readings, class presentations, lectures, talks by invited speakers, and seminar material, although use of additional research is not proscribed. The idea is to reinforce the understanding of set texts and encourage a more dynamic usage of the course material instead of the usual passive reading throughout the semester.</p> <p>In general, briefing notes were set as an individual assignment, with terms of reference addressing one issue matching with one government agency. However, they might be an alternative to stimulate engaged group work. Terms of reference can be drawn to address interbureaucracy outcomes, with groups of four to six students working together. In these cases, each pair should represent one agency and the manuscript must avoid intra and inter-agency bureaucracy disputes, speaking in one voice in the end.</p> <p>There are two primary evaluation tasks to target when composing the terms of reference for a briefing note assignment. The first is to test the reading abilities of the students. This is not to say that games need to be played with words to trick the class. Rather, the idea is to simulate the sort of circumstances they might encounter in the workplace, which will require them to isolate what is actually being asked of them, not what they might want to read into the task. The logic is much the same as the "word problems" set-in grade school mathematics classes. For example, the terms of reference set for one briefing note assignment in a <emph>Latin American International Relations</emph> undergraduate course in Australia were as follows:</p> <p>During Prime Minister Trudeau's State visit to Washington, President Obama expressed concerns that his successor would not be able to maintain the positive dialogue that he has built with Latin America over the last eight years. With this in mind, he asked if Canada would be willing to resume its role as the quieter calming voice advancing a common hemispheric agenda with the United States of America. The Prime Minister's Office has decided that this will be a Canadian foreign policy priority and has asked Global Affairs Canada for a briefing memorandum summarizing the key contextual aspects of the US-Latin America relationship and the historical factors that continue to impact it. Your job is to write the memorandum.</p> <p>The key phrase, which a surprising number of students missed, is: "a briefing memorandum summarizing the key contextual aspects of the US-Latin America relationship and the historical factors that continue to impact it." This is emphasized by the following sentence "your job is to write the memorandum." Per the second key component of effective terms of reference, it clearly and unambiguously states what is required for success in the assignment, namely a survey of the key contextual factors underpinning US-Latin American relations. Canada, to be blunt, is largely irrelevant to this assignment, as is Australia. What matters is the material covered in the course until this point, which was a survey of 200 years of US-Latin American relations as well as the presentation of several key conceptual tools for thinking through how regional countries treat with their Northern hemispheric neighbor. The second central component is thus a clearly stated question that directly addresses the material the instructor wishes to examine through the briefing note exercise.</p> <hd id="AN0136023023-5">Briefing note structure sample</hd> <p>The traditional role of a briefing note is to concisely, but comprehensively, inform policy makers. A point that often must be emphasized to students is that the goal is not to make policy recommendations, a task that is taken on by the very different policy paper (Boys and Keating [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref26">5</reflink>], 202). Given that briefing notes "are typically written for senior-level decision-makers who have to keep track of many, often unrelated, issues" (Doyle [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref27">10</reflink>]), the language should strive for maximum readability, with a "capsule version of the key points and considerations about an issue" (Doyle [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref28">10</reflink>]). Targeting knowledge in a briefing note is fundamental, seeking to distil "complex information into a short, well-structured document" (Doyle [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref29">10</reflink>]). A central challenge of writing a good briefing note is thus to present complex, detailed information in an ordered, coherent manner that is easily read and can be "absorbed on the fly" by busy decision-makers rushing between important meetings. This implies that a considerable amount of effort needs to be devoted to the quality and clarity of the prose, a requirement that takes students somewhat by surprise. It is consequently necessary to continuously emphasize the importance of revising and editing, actively encouraging students to deliberately think in terms of drafts, starting with a point form outline.</p> <p>The next step is for students to write out what they feel is necessary in long form without worrying about the word count. After this stage a considerable amount of time should be spent editing text down to the word limit, carefully crafting sentences to deliberately deliver layers of meaning that extend beyond a simple recitation of facts. A useful warning for students is that this is not a task that can be properly done overnight, but requires an extended, planned engagement with the writing process. The specific format of a briefing note can vary depending on the government sector, its focal point, or the country. Nevertheless, the fundamentals of the exercise do not change. An added <emph>frisson</emph> can be given to the assignment if the instructor can obtain actual templates from the local civil service and use these as the required format for the assignment. There are some common technical features irrespective of the format of the briefing note.</p> <hd id="AN0136023023-6">Memorandum general instructions</hd> <p>First, this is a document that cannot be a long monograph about a subject, but must instead fit a large volume of complex information into a few pages that can be read and understood quickly. In general, a briefing note has as its word limit, excluding footnotes, approximately 1,000 words. Anything exceeding the length guidelines should not be assessed. All the information should fit into three pages: one for the cover and two for the background sections. Acronyms should be avoided except in rare instances where an organization is commonly known by its acronym—i.e., UNICEF. All monetary amounts should be in local currencies and fully written out in numbers (i.e., $4,520,360). While there may be a temptation to use bullets, this is not generally a wise approach for students still grappling with effective, crisp writing in paragraph form. When the use of bullets has been suggested students have tended to rely on them too heavily, resulting in a document more closely resembling a draft outline than a useful briefing note.</p> <hd id="AN0136023023-7">General instructions for each memo heading</hd> <p>A good briefing note is a tiered presentation of information. Each successive element provides progressively more detail through four stages. The <emph>cover page</emph> of the note is crucial and presents a "stand-alone" picture of the issue. The importance and the role of the cover page needs to be carefully explained as it is often not intuitively understood. To be effective, it should be a maximum of one page and should be limited to what is strictly necessary; subsequent pages will provide more detail. The cover page should focus on three main elements:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> A title giving a clear indication of the subject and purpose of the note in a single line;</item> <p></p> <item> Subject: a very short paragraph of less than four lines indicating the subject of the note with slightly more amplitude than the title;</item> <p></p> <item> Summary: the essential elements of the memo, which in and of itself provides sufficient information for the reader to appreciate the issue. The summary should be clear as to why the reader needs to be aware of this information. It should not exceed eight lines of text.</item> </ulist> <p>The following two pages cover three main sections: background, analysis, and conclusions. In the background section the writer should make clear what are the strategic challenges and why they matter to the reader's organization. It should provide relevant facts about the issue the reader needs to know. This is followed by the analytical section, which highlights any special considerations relevant to the issue. If the subject requires no immediate action but could be the subject of a future memo, say so in this section. Finally, the note concludes with a conclusion, which provides a one-paragraph summary of the current state of the issue, including what further developments are anticipated, if any, and the time frame.</p> <p>The need for references or an annotated bibliography will depend on the nature of the assignment. If used as a variant of a research essay, full referencing is appropriate, and is indeed sometimes found in internal government documents. When setting briefing notes as proxies for mid-term exams references are likely not necessary because the assignment is tightly focused on a known set of material. Expectations on referencing need to be made very clear to the students.</p> <hd id="AN0136023023-8">Assessment methods</hd> <p>Student learning is influenced by how assessment methods are crafted. This is especially important for problem-based and active learning approaches where there may be no right answer. The proposition behind the briefing note assignment is that assessment methods should allow instructors to achieve three main goals: (a) teach a transferable skill; (b) test knowledge; (c) induce students who have not done the work to do so and develop an integrative understanding of the course material. The marking reference sheet for a briefing note is consequently based on four main criteria: (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref30">1</reflink>) adherence to formatting instructions; (<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref31">2</reflink>) content; (<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref32">3</reflink>) robustness of analysis; and (<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref33">4</reflink>) clarity and flow of prose. In many respects, the approach to marking briefing note assignments is largely the same as with any other written work and the contents of a grading matrix can certainly be varied to match instructor preferences. What does seem to be important is spending some additional time in class explaining to students why elements such as "adherence to format" and "clarity of prose" were important not just for the assignment, but also for their future professional development. Again, this also involves emphasizing to students that they allow themselves adequate time for revision and redrafting of their memo.</p> <p>When used in second-year classes where students are still developing writing and analytical skills, it may be useful to set two or three briefing notes in the semester and gradually increase the expectations for the technical elements of the assignment as familiarity with the requirements of the task grow. As is standard practice in most institutions, it is advisable to provide written feedback on individual notes and a general presentation with comments in the first class after the graded notes are returned. In our experience across four different countries there was little indication that national cultural characteristics or different teaching styles interfered with use of the briefing note as a pedagogical device.</p> <p>Although briefing notes generally avoid policy recommendations and have a primary purpose of simply informing policy makers, this does not mean there is an absence of critical thinking in their research and drafting. In theoretical terms the key teaching point is aptly captured by Robert Cox's ([<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref34">9</reflink>]) observation that knowledge "is always <emph>for</emph> someone and <emph>for</emph> some purpose. ... [a]ll theories [or more generally, knowledge] have a perspective. Perspectives derive from a position in time and space, specifically social and political time and space" (p. 67, original emphasis). One aspect of the assignment is thus to encourage students to think about how power is exercised over decision-making through the flow and presentation of information. The reflective part of the lesson with this assignment is that there is no such thing as "just the facts," and that decisions are constantly made about what matters. Writing a briefing note involves hard choices about what to include and what to exclude, decisions that inevitably tilt the reader in a particular direction. The most common feedback received on these assignments revolve around these very questions with students preoccupied with how to decide what to include and how to present it. This is one of the key pedagogical points to the task. Students must critically confront their own assumptions and, in more sophisticated papers, use the selectivity inherent in composing a briefing note to guide the reader towards a specific understanding of an issue.</p> <hd id="AN0136023023-9">Further pedagogical considerations</hd> <p>This article brings an under-utilized pedagogical tool—the briefing note—to the foreground and provides some useful advice on how it can be used in the teaching of Political Science and International Relations. The authors have tested and applied this approach successfully in different cultural contexts and with small and large classes—as these can be challenging environments for teaching and learning.</p> <p>If critical thinking is to be developed, it requires timely and constructive feedback through a series of assignments designed to build student competency (Buskist and Benassi [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref35">7</reflink>]). Such pedagogical processes enable students to gain in-depth knowledge and pushes them to improve their critical engagement skills with complex political and policy issues. An essential feature of critical thinking is challenging the idea of adopting a purely dispassionate position when analysing the world. Learning critically means being able to promote analysis from your own point of view and, at the same time, being considerate to other views of the world. In a broader sense, this assignment should be viewed as constituting part of a liberal arts curriculum that goes beyond technical professional training, seeking to show students how confronting the political functions that these notes serve might benefit their careers. Here the briefing note serves multiple purposes. First, it allows for the standard testing of knowledge and skills that is a very important part of a university education. Second, it builds student communication skills by teaching them a new format commonly used in the working world and by requiring them to work hard on their abilities as a writer. Finally, there is a subversive element to this assignment alluded to above and that is developed through a "learning by doing" approach. Writing a briefing note forces students to confront how the collection and presentation of information in a technocratic manner can be used for political ends, be they conscious or unconscious. This, in turn, helps foster deeper critical reading skills by developing an understanding of how the process of writing can be deliberately or accidentally political.</p> <ref id="AN0136023023-10"> <title> References </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" idref="ref3" type="bt">1</bibl> <bibtext> Albanese, Mark and Mitchell Susan. 1993. " Problem-Based Learning: A Review of Literature on its Outcomes and Implementation Issues ". Academic Medicine 68 (1): 52 – 81.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib2" idref="ref21" type="bt">2</bibl> <bibtext> Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (HPSR). World Health Organization. 2011. HPSR Syntheses: Policy briefs, Research summaries, Briefings notes, Systematic Reviews and White Papers. Available at: [ <ulink href="http://www.who.int/alliance-hpsr/resources/synthesis/en/">http://www.who.int/alliance-hpsr/resources/synthesis/en/</ulink> ], accessed on 26 October 2017.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib3" idref="ref11" type="bt">3</bibl> <bibtext> Asal, Victor and Elizabeth L. Blake. 2006. "Creating Simulations for Political Science Education". Journal of Political Science Education 2 (1): 1 – 18.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib4" idref="ref1" type="bt">4</bibl> <bibtext> Bonwell, Charles and James Eison. 1991. Active Learning: Creating Excitement in the Classroom. Washington, DC : ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib5" idref="ref8" type="bt">5</bibl> <bibtext> Boys, James and Michael Keating. 2009. "The Policy Brief: Building Practical and Academic Skills in International Relations and Political Science". Politics 29 (3): 201 – 208.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib6" idref="ref6" type="bt">6</bibl> <bibtext> Brookfield, Stephen 1990. The Skillful Teacher. San Francisco : Jossey-Bass.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib7" idref="ref35" type="bt">7</bibl> <bibtext> Buskist, William and Victor A. Benassi (eds.). 2011. Effective College and University Teaching: Strategies and Tactics for the New Professoriate. Thousand Oaks, CA : Sage.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib8" idref="ref4" type="bt">8</bibl> <bibtext> Capon, Noel and Deanna Kuhn. 2004. "What's So Good About Problem-Based Learning?". Cognition and Instruction 22 (1): 61 – 79.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib9" idref="ref34" type="bt">9</bibl> <bibtext> Cox, Robert W. 1996. Approaches to World Order. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Doyle, Susan. 2017. Writing for Government and the Public Sector (ENGL302). University of Victoria. Available at: [ https://web.uvic.ca/∼sdoyle/E302/index.html ], accessed on 25 October 2017.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Druliolle, Vincent. 2017. "There is No Debriefing Without Prior Briefing: Writing a Briefing Memo as a Preparatory Activity to Make the Most of the Pedagogical Potential of Simulations". Journal of Political Science Education 13 (3): 355 – 363.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Evensen, Dorothy and Cindy Hmelo (eds.). 2000. Problem-Based Learning: A Research Perspective on Learning Interactions. New York : Routledge.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Glazier, Rebecca. 2011. "Running Simulations without Ruining Your Life: Simple Ways to Incorporate Active Learning into Your Teaching". Journal of Political Science Education 7 (4): 375 – 393.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Shellman, Stephen. 2001. "Active Learning in Comparative Politics: A Mock German Election and Coalition Formation Simulation". PS: Political Science & Politics 34 (4): 827 – 834.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Shulman, Lee. 2005. "Signature pedagogies in the professions". Deadalus 134 (3): 52 – 59.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Smith, Elizabeth and Mark Boyer. 1996. "Designing In-Class Simulations". PS: Political Science & Politics 29 (4): 690 – 694.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Switky, Bob. 2014. "Simulating a Foreign Policy Dilemma: Considering US Humanitarian Intervention". PS: Political Science & Politics 47 (3): 682 – 686.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Wedig, Timothy. 2010. "Getting the Most from Classroom Simulations: Strategies for Maximizing Learning Outcomes". PS: Political Science & Politics 43 (3): 547 – 555.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Wiley, Karen. 1991. "Teaching Policy Analysis Using a Briefing Format". PS: Political Science & Politics 24 (2): 216 – 218.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Youde, Jeremy. 2008. "Crushing Their Dreams? Simulations and Student Idealism". International Studies Perspectives 9 (3): 348 – 356.</bibtext> </blist> </ref> <aug> <p>By Fabrício H. Chagas-Bastos and Sean W. Burges</p> <p>Reported by Author; Author</p> <p></p> <p>Fabrício H. Chagas Bastos is a Research Associate with the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Melbourne. His research interests focus on inequality, poverty, and social identity (recognition and status), merging International Relations with Social Psychology seeking to understand the role of Latin America and the Global South within the 21st-century international order. His articles have appeared in Policy Studies and Latin American Politics and Society.</p> <p>Sean W. Burges is a Senior Lecturer in International Relation in the School of Politics and International Relations and Deputy Director of the Australian National Center for Latin American Studies, both at the Australian National University (ANU). His research focuses on Brazil and North-South and South-South relations through a Brazilian and Latin American lens. He is a winner of the 2018 Luciano Tomassini Latin American International Relations Book Award offered by the Latin American Studies Association (LASA).We are, respectively, the former Director of the Graduate International Studies programme at the Universidad de los Andes in Colombia and the current Convenor of the Bachelor of International Relations at the ANU.</p> </aug> <nolink nlid="nl1" bibid="bib14" firstref="ref2"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl2" bibid="bib12" firstref="ref5"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl3" bibid="bib15" firstref="ref7"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl4" bibid="bib19" firstref="ref10"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl5" bibid="bib11" firstref="ref12"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl6" bibid="bib13" firstref="ref13"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl7" bibid="bib16" firstref="ref14"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl8" bibid="bib17" firstref="ref15"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl9" bibid="bib18" firstref="ref16"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl10" bibid="bib20" firstref="ref17"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl11" bibid="bib10" firstref="ref27"></nolink>
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  Data: The 'Briefing Note' as a Pedagogical Tool for Teaching Politics and International Relations
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Chagas-Bastos%2C+Fabrício+H%2E%22">Chagas-Bastos, Fabrício H.</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3533-9034">0000-0002-3533-9034</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Burges%2C+Sean+W%2E%22">Burges, Sean W.</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7612-5091">0000-0002-7612-5091</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Journal+of+Political+Science+Education%22"><i>Journal of Political Science Education</i></searchLink>. 2019 15(2):237-246.
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  Data: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teaching+Methods%22">Teaching Methods</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Political+Science%22">Political Science</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22International+Relations%22">International Relations</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Skill+Development%22">Skill Development</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Problem+Based+Learning%22">Problem Based Learning</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Learning+Processes%22">Learning Processes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Course+Content%22">Course Content</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Assignments%22">Assignments</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Transfer+of+Training%22">Transfer of Training</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Active+Learning%22">Active Learning</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+Students%22">College Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Decision+Making%22">Decision Making</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Notetaking%22">Notetaking</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reports%22">Reports</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1080/15512169.2018.1472001
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  Data: When new graduates begin employment in industries such as government, consultancies, or the nongovernmental sector they are expected to have the skills needed to write politically-informed reports accurately. Teaching how to write briefing notes provides students with an important skill, but also provides an effective instrument for examining integrated comprehension of course content. In this article, we explain why briefing notes are a useful pedagogical device, some guidelines on when to use them and how to structure the assignments, and an indication of where we have found them to be successful instruments for enhancing student learning. We suggest briefing notes are a flexible assessment technique that aligns well with traditional teaching approaches as well as newer techniques such as active and problem-based learning.
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