IN-PERSON MADRID FOCUS ON PEDAGOGY. SECTION B

Abstract

We know that active learning activities promote deep learning. Reacting to the Past is a cross-disciplinary pedagogy that leverages this understanding. Reacting games are extended role-playing scenarios based on critical moments in the past (ex: the Crusades, Treaty of Versailles, Rwandan Genocide among many others). Content touches on cultural, historic, political, economic and sociological topics, developing student awareness of how complex issues are best addressed through multiple perspectives. Students put themselves in the shoes of key decision makers and try to achieve those actors’ objectives in difficult and complicated situations. Students are informed by background materials and literature from the period, and develop skills such as speaking, writing, critical thinking, problem solving, leadership, and teamwork as they collaborate and compete in-character with their peers. This paper explores the educational transformation of students in a class simulating the Colombian Peace talks (2012). The simulation puts students at the heart of the negotiations, where diplomats, international mediators, and civil society members must navigate the delicate balance between justice and reconciliation. As negotiators, students engage in confidential talks, weighing demands for land reform, disarmament, and political participation while facing pressure from the public. Meanwhile, members of the public forum—victims, activists, and former combatants—debate the future of their country, influencing the peace process through advocacy, polling, and direct testimony. This simulation challenges students to grapple with real-world dilemmas of transitional justice: How do you end a civil war without granting impunity? What compromises are necessary for lasting peace? And what happens when the people must vote on a treaty shaped behind closed doors?