Advisors
As we all shift to this new “virtual world,” we know it’s important to have the resources you need to support your students. Below, you’ll find the 5 simple steps to help you engage your students in Model UN. We hope to see you at a conference soon!
How To Engage Students in Virtual Model UN
1.Familiarize yourself with the basics.
Many teachers and advisors have never done Model UN before! If this is you, don’t feel alone! What all advisors have in common is an appreciation for how an experiential-based, relevant, and collaborative academic learning opportunity has the potential to challenge and inspire their students. You can get a basic understanding of Model UN through our Intro to Model UN resource.
2. Register for a Model UN conference.
Once a Model UN team has come together the next step is to find a Model UN conference and register for it! There are hundreds (if not thousands!) of Model UN conferences that take place around the world each year. A few lists can be found here:
UNAGB Model UN Conferences: We run 10 conferences a year and are committed to supporting advisors and delegates in an educational and fun experience for all. This is a great place for first-time teams/clubs to start.
New England Moderators Association: Each year this association of Model UN Advisors compiles a list of high school and collegiate Model UN conferences. This is locally sourced by a voluntary association of Model UN advisors in New England.
Best Delegate Conference Database: This list a middle school, high school, and collegiate conferences around the world!
Once your team is registered, follow the instructions for how to prepare for the conference.
3. Help your delegates get ready for their upcoming conference.
When you register for a conference you will receive your country assignment. This includes a list of countries + committees that your students will be representing. Assign your students to countries and then your students can start the heart of conference preparation - research!
Rest assured, UNAGB conferences (and many other conferences) provide a topic guide and resource bank to help students with this step.
Through research students are able to write a 3-4 paragraph position paper that they will submit to conference organizers ahead of the conference. At UNAGB conferences each position paper receives feedback from the chairs and the best position paper in each committee room receives an award!
UNAGB provides support materials for writing this position paper. This allows advisors to act as a coach and “guide-on-the-side” as students engage in research and writing.
Additionally, it is helpful for students to have a sense of what to expect and how to engage in each step of the Model UN simulation. Virtual Model UN is new for most delegates so we hope that the resources on the delegate page of this site can support with this step.
If your delegates still have questions, not to worry! There will be a short tech training at the start of every UNAGB conference where students can ask questions. For non-UNAGB conferences you may wish to email questions to the moderators in advance.
4. Engage more of your students through Model UN.
Many experienced advisors appreciate the way that Model UN is an ideal project-based learning experience. They recognize that Model UN could help engage all students, not just the ones who choose or were able to fit an extracurricular activity into their schedule. (It’s not just teachers who recognize that! Jal Mehta and Sarah Fine at the Harvard Graduate School of Education came to the same conclusion. You can read their article on the power of helping all kids experience an extracurricular-type learning as part of their core school day here: “Why the Periphery is Often More Powerful than the Core”).
Each year UNAGB supports schools in around 25 school districts and charter networks to make Model UN a part of every child’s core Social Studies/History experience. Schools districts, charter networks, and independent schools that use UNAGB’s In-Class Model UN Program include (but are not limited to):
Chelsea Public Schools
Charles River School
Excel Academy Charter Network
Esperanza Academy
The Derryfield School
Fenn School
Lincoln Public Schools
Lexington Public Schools
Malden Public Schools
Waltham Public Schools
5. Spread the word!
The more schools and students doing Model UN the more fun it is for everyone. Please share this site with your networks.
The Power of Model UN as an in-class experience
Principal Alison Balter explains why Model UN is such a powerful learning experience for her students at ENLACE (Engaging Newcomers in Language And Content Education).
ENLACE is a small academy within Lawrence High School serving newcomer English learners, ages 14-16, who have arrived in the United States within the past 1-2 years and are at the beginning stages of English language development. ENLACE’s mission is to provide newcomer English learners and students with limited or interrupted formal education with the academic and linguistic foundation and socio-emotional supports that will allow them to transition successfully and quickly into the mainstream high school environment, on track to pursue a college or career of their choice.