Campaign Trail Immersion: Diving Into the Deep End of Presidential Primary Experiential Learning

• In Event: Pedagogical Strategies and Challenges in Higher Education

Abstract

This paper explores an innovative 2024 Winter Term course that took students into the field in the crucial first presidential primary states.

"The Presidential Campaign Trail Starts Here: The First Two Primaries" followed the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates in the first two primary states of the 2024 presidential race - South Carolina and New Hampshire.

Through immersive experiences like volunteering on campaigns, reporting on events, and interviewing diverse voters, students gained first-hand insight into the electoral process while developing civic awareness and engagement. The paper will discuss course design, assignments, outcomes, and lessons learned that can inform similar courses focused on experiential learning.

We will also present our findings from students gathering research through first-hand experiences, comparing how these states approached the primary elections. We believe the data points to New Hampshire keeping its "First-In-The-Nation" status in future presidential primaries.

Our presidential primaries course epitomizes immersion into the field with direct embedding in crucial campaign states leading up to contentious elections. Readers will glean insights into implementing similarly ambitious civic education projects crossing disciplinary boundaries.

Authors

• J. Israel Balderas, Elon University

• Jillian Auditori, Elon University