Dr. Meg Edwards (Truman State University) and Dr. Daniel Whelan-Edquist (Hendrix College) hosted a special session for Faculty Advisors and Permanent Representatives to discuss teaching tips for Model UN. Dr. Brian Endless (Loyola University, Founder of American Model United Nations) moderated.

Club or Class?

Both hosts and moderator prefer teaching a course to running a club, having found that the class setting allows them to set more rigorous standards than a club. They noted that a significant challenge with MUN as a class is the eagerness of students to repeat the experience alongside their unwillingness to repeat the credit, resulting in an inexperienced delegation year to year. Whelan-Edquist has implemented additional options for returning students: they may take the course at the 300-level as a mentor to newer participants, and may return as a Permanent Representative for additional years with an independent study. He has found that the inclusion of a permrep, along with their years of MUN experience, increases cohesion within the delegation. Edwards also uses returning MUNers to mentor new students in building their presence and confidence in any room, not only committee rooms. She intentionally mixes returning representatives among the delegation.

Audience participants noted that clubs tend to have the opposite concern: so many members return that it can be difficult to find newer additions, and when the experienced members eventually graduate, the club fizzles out. Endless suggests implementing a rule that all members must find their replacement. 

Preferred Structure

Both Edwards and Whelan-Edquist prefer to begin their semesters with a focus on United Nations structure, and add in rules and procedures early on to ensure this understanding is woven into the country-specific research their students spend the majority of the course delving into. Endless has a different approach: he teaches a separate class on the United Nations to cover background and procedures and uses his Model UN class to teach students to be diplomats.

Edwards assigns her students Issue Reports, which later build into position papers while strengthening students’ research skills. Her pre-assigned questions include:

How does your country view this issue? What does your country think should be done regarding this issue? Be specific and cite examples of your country’s opinion on this topic. Include sources.

How does this issue fall within the purview of your committee? How can the mission of this committee guide possible solutions? Are there limitations placed on addressing the issue in your committee?

Closer to conference, Edwards assigns a Strategy Report to encourage students to make specific determinations in their approach to voting and interacting with other Member-States. Such questions include:

Cite specific agreements/votes that define your country’s position on this topic. Describe the decision.

What important/significant quotes did you find about these votes/treaties? Include sources.

What countries have you consistently voted with? What countries have you consistently voted against? Cite examples of countries you have worked with on this issue.

Determining Committee Pairings

Whelan-Edquist conducts several team building and icebreaker exercises so that each student has an opportunity to talk about their work style and approach to the conference, which allows students to pair off in successful partnerships. He also requires students to know both topics in the simulation so that they can participate in all at-Conference proceedings equally. He uses a student-written daily summary to allow pairings to hold each other accountable. 

Advice for New and Small Delegations

For schools just getting started with Model UN, Endless recommends setting realistic expectations of participants to avoid overwhelming them, and purchasing MUN in a Box as an easy resource to help with getting the hang of MUN basics. Whelan-Edquist uses this and recommends adding additional topics and crises as needed when students require extra practice. Whelan-Edquist also recommends sitting in on a Model UN conference to get a crash course on Model UN’s structure. Edwards advises flexibility and not being too hard on yourself as an advisor or on your participants, and suggests, if your delegation has several solo representatives, partnering them with the representative(s) in a related committee so they can build their confidence and knowledge base together.

All three believe that Model UN is transformational for confidence, professional development and public speaking, and that students who participate in Model United Nations are better prepared to face any stressful or unexpected circumstances they encounter.

Next Permanent Representative and FA Meetings: 

Sunday, 23 November 3:15 pm – 4:15 pm: AMUN Rules and Simulations 

Sunday, 23 November 4:15 pm – 4:45 pm: Hotel Issues

Monday, 24 November 10:00 am – 11:00 am: General Issues

Monday, 24 November 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm: Special Sessions – Building Tomorrow’s Leaders: A Guide to Hosting High School Model UN