#POLI30242 Psephology Matters and Elections Count! Using New Social Media to Teach Electoral Politics in the UK

Student satisfaction and the transformation of teaching delivery methods are important themes in UK higher education, particularly with the advent of premium fees and a more rigorous student market. Nowhere are these themes more pressing than in political science teaching in British universities. Furthermore the advent of new social media in recent times has provided an opportunity to democratise learning in some respects – although there remains the challenge of opening up new forms of learning without undermining the essential relationship between teachers and learners. The paper argues that political science in general, and those courses that concern themselves with the practice of democracy and voting behaviour in particular, ought to be in the forefront of innovative and participatory approaches to learning and teaching. This paper uses a case study of Technology Enhanced Learning from the UK. Students on the final year undergraduate course Elections and Voters at the University of Manchester have been encouraged to use twitter as an interactive learning tool for the past three years.