This paper describes a concept mapping teaching exercise that was implemented in different stages at both the graduate and undergraduate level. First, a small group of graduate students worked to construct a concept map that illustrated the connections between published work as they prepared to take their qualifying examinations. A similar assignment—visually depicting connections between course readings—was implemented between the midterm and final exam in a large-section online undergraduate course. In the undergraduate course, there was noticeable improvement between midterm and final essay responses in which students compared and contrasted readings, and students reported perceptions of it as a valuable exercise. Structured interviews with both undergraduate and graduate students further confirm that concept mapping can improve learning outcomes at both levels of instruction. The project reveals important differences in the way that both sets of students approach relational exercises involving readings and suggests ways of using concept mapping to enhance students’ retention of the material.

There is optimism that the growing number of women in political office will reorient the focus of international politics toward more social and humanitarian issues. One basis for this optimism is the argument that women legislators hold distinct foreign policy preferences and act on them to affect changes in policy. However, we know little about gender differences in the behavior of individual legislators on these issues. This study investigates the behavior of individual legislators of the United States, one of the most important actors in international politics, in the context of development aid. Analyzing a diverse set of legislative behaviors in the U.S. Congress, we find no evidence that women legislators behave any differently than men with regard to these issues. Beyond its contribution to our understanding of the making and future of American foreign policy, this study contributes to broader debates about women’s representation and foreign policy.