Transcript During a Discussion of Controversial Issue

Seminars and Deliberations
Strategies for Engaging Students in Civil Discourse
Why Lead Students from “Idiocy to
Citizenship”
Helps students understand the value of public
interest versus personal interest
 Promotes appreciation of diversity in ideas
 Teaches Perspective-taking
 Promotes Moral Development
 Promotes better understanding of academic
content
 Makes connections to life outside of school

Forms of Discussion
Cognitive-Moral Dilemma Discussions
(Kohlberg, 1971)
 Seminars and Deliberations (Parker, 2003)

– Structured Academic Controversy (Johnson and
Johnson, 1995; Larson, 1996)
– Socratic Seminar (Adler, 1982)
Source Parker, Walter C. (2003). Teaching Democracy: Unity and Diversity in Public Life. New York: Teachers College Press
Socratic Seminar
Purpose: enlarged understanding of the
ideas, issues, and values in or prompted by
the “text”
 Text Can come in different forms:

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
historical novel
primary source document
Essay
photo
Film
Play
painting
Selecting a powerful text
One that arouses discussants intellectually
and morally
 Disagreements about meaning broaden
horizons as a shared meaning is constructed
 Typically deal with text excerpts (4-5 pages)
which leads to more intensive work over a
smaller ground.

Preparing to lead a seminar: classroom
management decisions

Arrangement of students
– Whole-class
– Fish bowl
– Microseminars
How to hold students accountable for
completing the reading?
 Is participation in the seminar required and
graded?

Preparing to lead a seminar: classroom
management decisions

What norms will be posted
–
–
–
–
Don’t raise hands
Listen to and build on the comments of others
Invite others into the discussion
Support opinions by referring to passages in the
text
– Tie your knowledge of the struggle for civil rights
into your interpretation of King’s letter.

Teaching students how to challenge or seek
clarification from one another
– “I have a different opinion”
– “I disagree, let me explain”
Preparing to lead a seminar: the opening
question
Most important part of seminar facilitation
 Should be interpretative not factual or
evaluative
 Is concerned with the meaning of the ideas,
issues, and values in a text.
 Other questions (e.g., evaluative) can be
used later.

Debriefing a Seminar
Did we achieve the “purpose”
 Ask for each participant to make an
observation about the seminar
 Problems that can be addressed immediately
or in the next seminar should be clearly
identified and addressed.
 Students could be asked to write a follow-up
essay expanding on their original
understanding.

Deliberative Discussion
Purpose: Deciding on a plan of action to
solve a problem
 Central Activity:

– Clarifying the problem
– Considering Alternatives
Opening Question: What should we do about
this?
 Some overlap with Seminars but the
purposes and emphases are distinct

During a Discussion of a Controversial
Issue
Am I listening to what other people are
saying or am I missing important points?
Am I making claims clearly and supporting
them with facts?
Am I critiquiting ideas not individuals and
being respectful of other’s viewpoints?
Am I helping to develop a shared
understanding of the problem or issue
During a Discussion of a
Controversial Issue
Provide an overview of the controversy: pro and con
Assign students evenly into pro or con position and
groups of four (with a pair representing each position)
In pairs of similar position discuss best reasons for
support (or not)
Reassign students into pairs of opposing positions
and explore best reasons for support (or not)
Invite students to establish their own position and
hold large class discussion
Write a dialogic essay reflecting on the controversy
5 Conditions for Ideal Deliberation
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Students are engaged in integrated decision-making
discussions that involve genuine value conflicts that arise out
of relating to one another at school
Discussion group is diverse enough that students have the
benefit of reasoning and social perspectives different from
their own.
The discussion group is free of domination -- gross or subtle
The discussion leader is skilled at comprehending and
presenting reasoning and perspectives that are missing,
countering conventional ideas with critical thinking , and
advocating position that are inarticulate or being drummed out
of consideration
Discussions are dialogic
Source: Parker, Walter (2005). Teaching against idiocy. Phi Delta Kappan. January
Bibliography




Adler, M. (1982). The paideia proposal. New York: McMillian
Kohlberg, L. & Turiel, E. (1971). Moral development and moral
education. In G. Lesser, ed. Psychology and educational
practice. Scott Foresman.
Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (1995). Creative controversy:
Intellectual challenge in the classroom (3rd ed.). Edina, MN:
Interaction Book Company.
Parker, Walter C.(2003). Teaching Democracy: Unity and
Diversity in Public Life. New York: Teachers College Press.
Resources

For Discussion Strategies
– Kohlberg’s Cognitive-Moral Development
• http://tigger.uic.edu/~lnucci/MoralEd/
– Deliberation: Structured Academic Controversy
• http://www.cooplearn.org/pages/academic.html
– Seminars: Socratic Seminar
• http://www.studyguide.org/socratic_seminar.htm

Sources for Powerful Texts
– Zinn, Howard and Anthony Arnove (2004). Voices of the
American People. Seven Stories Press: New York.
– Ravitch, Diane. (1990). The American Reader. Harper
Collins: New York

Sources for films, books and other materials
–
http://socialstudies.com/