Breaking News! Using Current Events in the Classroom to Enhance Learning

There were five minutes left in class when news of the Russian invasion of Ukraine broke. The Zoom chat was soon flooded with students’ reactions to this news. We had been discussing the World Trade Organization (WTO), so I posed the question: what are the implications of the invasion for the WTO? One student interpreted my question as a reprimand for “distracting” the class with this news and apologized! I quickly corrected this misunderstanding, and we spent the remainder of the class discussing the invasion—not necessarily in relation to the WTO. 

Bringing current events into classroom discussion is challenging. Pedagogical guidance suggests that an effective way to incorporate current events is to relate them to the substantive class discussion. While this may not always be possible for truly “breaking” news, I reflect on how I used current developments in the war in Ukraine as a means to enhance student learning and engagement in a course on global governance. 

 

Current Affairs and International Relations 

Current affairs pose a particular challenge for International Relations (IR) instructors. Many students’ attraction to IR stems from a keen interest in current events of global importance. Naturally, they hope to discuss and learn about the latest international developments during class. However, most IR courses are designed to provide a strong understanding of the subject matter, often drawing on history. For example, the Global Governance course structure entails focusing on a specific international organization (IO) each week, delving into its origins, history, governance structure, evolution, performance, and current challenges. The material deals primarily with past, rather than current, events. 

Instructors face the challenge of juggling current events with substantive course content. They must avoid the danger of “today’s news” taking over the class, at the cost of other material that needs to be covered. But what if we flip this problem on its head: Instead of balancing substantive material with current events, could we think of integrating the two? How can we square the circle and more fully incorporate current events into classroom instruction to enhance student learning and engagement? 

 

The War in Ukraine, One Week at a Time 

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 presented me with a unique opportunity to systematically embed a current event into the course. In the spring and summer sessions of 2022, each week, I would share with the students some optional resources that related the week’s topic to the war in Ukraine and organize an in-class exercise around these resources. 

The course design—focusing on a different IO every week—made this easy. For instance, in the week on the International Criminal Court, we discussed the Office of the Prosecutor’s investigation into potential war crimes in Ukraine. The session on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was soon after news of Finland and Sweden signing NATO accession protocols broke—this provided good material to discuss NATO’s response to the Russian invasion. 

Integrating current events into courses supports a more active, student-centered learning experience. Personal and real-world relevance feeds students’ intrinsic motivation to learn. Rich participation in the war-focused breakout activities demonstrated the promise of increased student engagement. The activities not only satiated students’ yearning to talk about the war in Ukraine; they also enabled students to discover and share new insights. For instance, during the week on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and global governance, I asked students to post an article about the war-related efforts of an international NGO of their choice. We followed this up with an in-class discussion of their findings. This allowed students to immediately apply concepts relating to the role of NGOs in global governance to their actions on the ground. 

Through this approach, we not only gained knowledge about weekly developments in Ukraine but also engaged in critical analysis. The current affairs discussions did not cut into lesson plans, but rather enhanced students’ achievement of the learning outcomes through real-time application of concepts. They amplified, rather than replaced, the planned lecture material. 

 

Diversifying Activities to Increase Diversity of Perspectives 

One challenge that I encountered in the discussions around the war in Ukraine was an apparent lack of diversity in student perspectives on IOs’ engagement with the conflict. Most, if not all, students seemed to fall on the side that strong actions against Russia combined with strong support for Ukraine were the appropriate responses for IOs. 

Comparative assessment of IOs’ effectiveness was rooted in these differences. For example, the United Nations Security Council’s minimal response garnered less favorable evaluations of organizational performance than the European Union’s sanctions on Russia. While this stance is not problematic per se, its predominance detracts from alternative perspectives. For instance, some might contend that stronger involvement of IOs during the active stage of the conflict may lead to further violence. From a learning perspective, diversity in viewpoints challenges students to think differently and question conventional wisdom. 

One way to tackle this issue is through class debates. Dividing the class into groups and asking some to argue for greater IO involvement and others to argue against such involvement would force all students to think carefully about the implications of IO actions. This might offer a more rounded perspective on the event. In future courses, I intend to add debates on current events to the activity portfolio. 

 

Current Events and the Student Learning Experience 

After a semester of discussing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with a different topical context each week, student learning and satisfaction appears to have been high. In their feedback, several students mentioned that they most enjoyed the focus on current events, especially discussing a pressing international conflict as it unfolded. They felt that juxtaposing the Ukraine war with the IOs we were studying enhanced their understanding of global governance. 

While it may not always be possible to adopt such a semester-long strategy, this experience of discussing the war showcases the value of incorporating contemporary developments into courses. It might be more feasible to bring in news if it pertains to the particular session topic. But allowing for space in the lesson plan for such discussion holds benefits for student learning. My hope is to never again have a student feel they were “distracting” the class by breaking relevant news during a live session! 

Suggestions for Further Reading 

Gonchar, M. (2014, October 7). 50 ways to teach with current events. The New York Times Learning Network. https://archive.nytimes.com/learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/07/50-ways-to-teach-current-events/ 

Higbee, J. L. (2002). Addressing current events in classroom discussions. Research and Teaching in Developmental Education, 18(2), 85–90. 

Kingsbury, M. A. (2021). The pedagogy and benefits of using current affairs journals in introductory International Relations classes. Journal of Political Science Education, 17(4), 614–622. https://doi.org/10.1080/15512169.2019.1660986