Preparatory Process

At the beginning of the fall semester, teachers and students are provided with sets of readings that explore the year's subject matter. The written materials provide an overview of the topic and represent a collection of the most current, occasionally controversial, and stimulating material which is available on the subject. Each high school is also assigned a Tufts student as a mentor who will work with the high school delegation throughout the year -- either by meeting with the students, for those in the Boston area, or by e-mail, for those outside of the Boston area. The Tufts students help the high school students understand the readings as well as act as resources and coaches in their preparations. The depth of the interaction between the university and high school students helps make Inquiry unique as well as effective.

Sarah Arkin leading the IMF/World Bank/U.N. committee meeting

By the middle of November, each school receives its delegation role and specific readings for the April simulation. The delegation is also divided into subcommittees, which will provide the basis for much of the discussions at the simulation. It is during the preparation for the simulation that most of the real work takes place. The high school delegations prepare position papers that are submitted to their Tufts mentors and become a key element in their discussions.

An explicit aim of Inquiry is to encourage cooperation and partnerships among students and schools with different backgrounds -- public, private, and parochial. The simulation topic and roles are purposefully designed to fulfill this goal. The high schools are encouraged to interact with the many other participating schools throughout the year, discussing issues, current news related to the simulation topic, etc. One example of this was in 2001, when the topic was Race and Class, The New York Times hosted the New York City schools for presentations and lectures with its editors and reporters from its Pulitzer Prize-winning series on How Race Is Lived in America.

Also, in Indianapolis, Inquiry received a three-year grant to assist the participation of public schools from the city as well as to begin a collaboration with the education department at IUPUI to provide on-site mentors who would collaborate with the Tufts mentors. As Inquiry continues to grow, it will develop more activities that make these interactions integral to the experience.

The interaction prior to and during the simulation is intended to foster collaboration rather than competition, allowing students to grapple with the issues without the pressure of winning. All students receive recognition for their efforts; there are no awards distributed.

Students caucusing during the simulation

Following the seven-month period of intensive interaction between students and teachers and among the students themselves, Inquiry culminates in a four-day role-playing simulation on the Tufts University campus in Medford, Massachusetts. The purpose of the simulation is to allow students to use what they have learned by putting it into action. The scope of this program is nationwide, but the simulations themselves are limited in size to maximize the opportunities for the students to participate (starting in 2003, two simultaneous simulations began running).

At the simulation, the delegations representing individual nations, international organizations, or regional special interest groups meet to explore and resolve a set of complex issues and questions. In the program's history, students have been asked to grapple with such questions as: How should Egypt respond to increasingly militant religious extremists? As a sovereign member of the international community, what are your responsibilities, if any, to the displaced peoples of Bosnia? As the South African government, should you support amnesty to expose the truth of the apartheid years? Have sanctions imposed on the Former Yugoslavia and Chechnya empowered illicit economies and criminals?

The three days of deliberations consist of plenary sessions and subcommittee and delegation meetings. This is truly learning by doing, not by watching. The emphasis is on small-group negotiating and having students listen to the views of others, set forth their own, and find creative, albeit realistic, outcomes to the real-life problems posed.

Students type a press release during the 2003-04 simulation

The weekend simulations have proved to be exciting, stimulating and grounded in realistic concerns. In 1994, students entered into discussions and negotiations on The Future of the Former Yugoslavia. On the second morning of the simulation, the invasion of the safe haven of Gorazde took place -- adding, as one high school teacher noted, more real life to the negotiations than anyone could have imagined. The results of the students' deliberations closely mirrored those enacted by the international community the day after the simulation. An exciting addition to the 1994 simulation was that EPIIC was able to bring student leaders from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to participate and interact with the students. Several months later, students from North Andover High School wrote that their preparations on the war in the former Yugoslavia significantly informed their understanding of the ongoing conflicts between Armenia and Azerbaijan and between Russia and Chechnya.

International issues are currently taught mainly in static environments using a text, discussion and interaction within an individual classroom. Technology has the power to transcend these boundaries and reinvent the relationship between student and teacher, as well as the unique potential for increasing the productivity of learning. The Inquiry program uses this technology in a variety of ways: e-mail interaction between Tufts and the schools as well as among the schools themselves; sharing resources; research and data collection; and the new initiative this year, producing an electronic discussion, around which on-line chats will be organized. Having both university and high schools students develop their Internet skills and knowledge is a highlight of the program.