Subject: U.S. Government, Social Studies
Grade Level: 9-12 and above
Author: Beth Traxler traxleeet@gvltec.edu

Introduction
[NOTE: Beth Traxler prepared this WebQuest for the 108th Congress. Dirksen Center staff updated for the 112th].

The November 2010 mid-term elections are history. The Republicans hold a sizeable majority in House, outnumbering Democrats 242 to 193. In the Senate, however, Democrats cling to a 51 to 47 majority, with two Independents.

This WebQuest concerns the congressional leaders who will guide the work of the 112th Congress. Although we know who the real leaders are (see http://www.congresslink.org/print_basics_113leaders.htm), this exercise takes you back to December 2010, before their election.

Task

You are working on a project for Congressional Institute, a think tank in D.C. The project seeks to offer advice to governmental decision-makers that will ensure more efficient and more effective functioning of the national government. One area that has been targeted is more adept leadership in both houses of Congress. As a part of this project, your task is to identify the traits that make success in these congressional leadership positions most likely. Your analysis will provide a guide to members of Congress as they evaluate their colleagues who seek leadership positions.

Process

 You will need to identify the major leadership positions for both majority and minority parties in each house of Congress. For the purposes of this report, limit yourself to positions from the top through the whip positions.

 You will then need to clearly delineate the major job duties or roles of each position.

 Based on these job duties and your understanding of American government, you will need to define "success" for these leaders. Success is a tricky concept. You will need to read some statements by former congressional leaders. Since there is no single agreed-upon definition, ultimately you will have to decide how you view success - to what extent is success measured by holding firm to the party's public policy positions? To what extent is success working across party lines if need be to craft legislation? To what extent is success working as a team with the president? You must come up with your own yardstick by which you would measure success in a congressional leadership position.

 Defining "success" will help you to identify the qualifications necessary for success in each position. Consider personal qualities as well as professional experience, etc.

 Finally, you will write a report that presents your analysis of the job duties, definition of success, and requisite qualifications for each leadership position. This will be presented to the 535 members of the 112th Congress for guidance as they make their decisions.

Resources

Basic information on leadership positions:

 http://www.congresslink.org/print_basics_leadershippositions.htm

 http://www.conginst.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=55&Itemid=

 http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Majority_Minority_Leaders.htm

 http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/one_item_and_teasers/leader.htm

Current and former leaders' conception of their positions:

 http://www.speaker.gov/

 http://www.democraticleader.gov/

 http://www.congresslink.org/print_basics_histmats_congldrstatements.htm

 http://www.dirksencenter.org/print_michel_leadershipstatements.htm

 Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert on the Speakership

Evaluation

Your report will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Category	Excellent	Good	Satisfactory	Unsatisfactory
Analysis	Offers clear, concise descriptions of each leadership position; develops a thoughtful, measurable definition of success based on those job duties and writings of past leaders; concludes with a presentation of qualifications necessary for achieving the defined success	Offers clear, descriptions of each leadership position; develops a definition of success based on those job duties and some of the writings of past leaders; concludes with a presentation of qualifications necessary for achieving the defined success	Offers descriptions of each leadership position; attempts a definition of success (but which does not display much reading or thought); concludes with a presentation of qualifications related to the job duties	Describes each leadership position; does not include a discussion of success in any meaningful way; concludes with a limited discussion of qualifications needed
Writing	Clear, concise, well-organized; provides transition from job duties to success measurement to qualifications; no errors in grammar and spelling	Clear, well-organized; provides transition in most cases as moves through paper; makes a few errors in grammar and spelling	Includes all required elements of paper, but transitions among them are not always apparent; writing lacks clarity in places so that it is difficult to follow the trend of thought; a few errors in grammar and spelling that detract from the overall work	Missing significant elements of the paper and/or transitions nonexistent; numerous grammatical and spelling errors that detract from the overall work

Conclusion

The Congressional Institute thanks you for a job well done! They would like to offer you a contract to "test" your work. Should you be interested, a team will be assembled to evaluate the leading contenders for congressional leadership positions in the 112th Congress on the basis of the qualifications you have identified. Good luck! Congress certainly could use some guidance in choosing its leaders!