Additional helpful info

1. Additional helpful
Information for
teachers
Source:
Perspective Taking, Diversity, and Academic Discussion project
Faculty of Education and Human Development
Education University of Hong Kong
https://eduhk-pt.wixsite.com/ptindiscussion
Buchtel, Emma E. & Lu, Jiafang
RA: Naw Khine Thazin NI WIN

2. Controversial
Conversation

3. Elements of discussion
 Attending to multiple points of view,
 Being receptive or responsive to opinions other than one’s own,
 Being concerned to develop one’s knowledge or understanding.
(Hand & Levinson, 2012)

4. Benefits of discussing controversial issues
(various viewpoints)
 Learn content knowledge and develop tolerance for others who
possess alternate viewpoints (Hess, 2009)
 Engage in higher order thinking skills (Camicia & Dobson, 2010)
 Provides students the opportunity to examine and reflect upon
their own values (Soley, 1996).
(Philpott, Clabough, McConkey & Turner, 2011)

5. Establishing an intellectually safe classroom
environment
 Goal: Students feel comfortable expressing divergent opinions.
 Non-threatening
 Ensure a respect both for ideas and other people.
 Agreed ground rules (e.g., not interrupting others; raising hands to make a
point; avoiding negative body language or groans when others are talking) to
which all students must adhere.
(Foster, 2013)

6. Suggestions for discussion ground rules
 Don't interrupt;
 Be respectful;
 Challenge ideas and arguments not people;
 Back up your position with reasons;
 Use appropriate language (no swearing, sexist, racist or homophobic comments)
 Require speakers to paraphrase what was said by the person who spoke before
sharing their position
Encourage students who receive critical questions to listen patiently and use it as the opportunity
to explain any misunderstanding or preconceived ideas (Williams, 1994)
(Oxfam, 2006 as cited in Fournier-Sylvester, 2013)

7. A checklist to ask yourself when students
don’t participate
 Did students complete preparatory tasks, essays, and other reflective assignments
before the discussion began?
 Have you created possibilities for students to participate in the discussion through
electronic means?
 Have you helped the group set ground rules in discussion?
 Is the discussion focused on an open-ended question of sufficient complexity and
ambiguity?
 Have you ensured that you’ve avoided answering the question you’ve posed, either
implicitly or explicitly?
 Have you researched the causes of the silence in the classroom?
(Brookfield & Preskill, 2005)

8. Suggestions for enhancing students’
participation in discussion
 calling on students by name,
 calling on students by general demographics,
 randomly selecting names from the roll,
 uncomfortable silence, and
 reflexive and empathetic comments.
(Payne & Gainey , 2003)

9. Four factors that aid discussion
1. Effective Preparation
 Students have the ability to analyze and evaluate arguments
 Students have relevant background information on the topic of inquiry (Note: don’t overload
students with facts to avoid students being unable to make value judgements)
2. Accessible topics (e.g. ethical issues or issues that don’t need students’ technical
knowledge)
3. Strong and diverse views among discussants
 Diversity of student views
 Passionately-held student views
 Extreme student vides
4. Appropriate facilitation
 Systematic structure on discussion (e.g. outlining arguments, analyzing each argument and
forming opinion)
 Role of critical questioner – requests for elaboration and justification
(Hand & Levinson, 2012)

10. Impediments to discussion
 That’s-just-what-I-believe (students will feel like any opposing views mean
attacking their identity and opinions)
 That’s-what-my-religion-says (students are likely to be emotionally
overwhelmed and cannot argue fruitfully)
(Hand & Levinson, 2012)

11. Five Don’ts in leading discussion for teachers
1. Don’t lecture.
 Don’t start the discussion by giving a minilecture in which you summarize salient points,
outline different perspectives, and introduce your own concerns.
2. Don’t be vague.
 Don’t always open the discussion by posing vague, general questions like “What do you
think?” or “Would anyone like to react?” or “Who wants to start us off?” This open works
only when participants know and trust each other and are used to talking easily and
democratically and when they are busting to speak.
3. Don’t play favorites.
 If you play favorites, others in the group lose their desire to participate because they can
predict that the usual ones will speak up.
(Brookfield & Preskill, 2005)

12. Five Don’ts in leading discussion for teachers
4. Don’t fear silence.
 A typical conversational dynamic in discussion is for teachers to start the session by
asking a provocative question designed to spark some fruitful responses. Sometimes,
though, students choose not to say anything, and in panic, teachers start to answer their
own question. Do this even once and you let students know they can rely on you to
answer the question and do their thinking for them.
5. Don’t misinterpret silence.
 Don’t mistake students’ silence for mental inertia or disengagement. Conversation is
halting, tentative, and circuitous, filled with hesitations and awkward attempts at
reformulating thoughts even as we speak them. Effective discussion leaders take steps to
ensure that periods of reflective silence become accepted as a normal and necessary
element of people’s deliberations.
(Brookfield & Preskill, 2005)

13. How to
facilitate
controversial
discussion

14. How to facilitate controversial discussion
Teacher’s Role
 Emphasizing that you are not an expert on these topics and that the goal of these
discussions is not to find the answer, but rather to underline a multiplicity of
viewpoints
 teaching students to respect various viewpoints, raising probing and insightful
questions,
 structuring activities to help students understand the issue, the stakes, and the
stake‐holders, as well as relevant and important viewpoints
(Brookfield & Preskill, 2005; Philpott, Clabough, McConkey & Turner, 2011)

15. How to facilitate controversial discussion
Different roles a teacher can take during a discussion
 Committed: teacher expresses own view while attempting to be balanced;
 Objective or Academic: teacher presents all possible viewpoints;
 Devil’s Advocate: teacher adopts most controversial viewpoint, forcing students to
justify their own.
(Wales & Clarke, 2005 as cited in Fournier-Sylvester, 2013)

16. How to facilitate controversial discussion
To Disclose or not to disclose teacher’s opinion
Not Disclose
For
 It’s best not to disclose when teachers feel ambivalent about their own point of
view
(Argument: students’ respect for teachers diminishes if teachers’ views appear
confused or poorly conceived.)
 Students opinions’ may be easily influenced by teachers
Against
 Undermining students’ independence of mind
(Kelly, 1989; Malikow, 2006)

17. How to facilitate controversial discussion
To Disclose or not to disclose teacher’s opinion
Disclose
Against
 Students may perceive that echoing the teachers’ views is the easy or preferred
route to good grades.
For
 Publicly engaging in self-critique
 Actively encouraging student critique of their positions
 Honestly critiquing views that merely parrot those of the teacher
 Shows that teachers also hold opinions like them (Equal human beings)
(Kelly, 1989; Malikow, 2006)

18. How to facilitate controversial discussion
What can teachers teach students in discussing controversial issues?
 How to recognize bias,
 How to evaluate evidence put before them,
 How to look at alternative interpretations, viewpoints and sources of evidence,
 To give good reasons for everything they say or do, and
 To expect good reasons to be given by others.
(Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, 1998, p. 56, as cited in Oulton, Day,
Dillon, & Marcus, 2004)

19. How to facilitate controversial discussion
Emphasis to make in teaching controversial issues
 Groups within society hold differing views about them.
 Groups base their views on either different sets of information or they interpret the
same information in different ways.
 The interpretations may occur because of the different way that individuals or groups
understand or ‘see’ the world (i.e. their worldview).
 Differing worldviews can occur because the individuals adhere to different value
systems.
 Controversial issues cannot always be resolved by recourse to reason, logic or
experiment.
 Controversial issues may be resolved as more information becomes available.
(Oulton, Dillon & Grace, 2004)

20. How to facilitate controversial discussion
What can teachers do to avoid unfairly influencing students in discussion?
 Giving equal importance to conflicting views and opinions;
 Presenting all information and opinion as open to interpretation, qualification and
contradiction;
 Establishing a classroom climate in which all pupils are free to express sincerely
held views without fear.
(Huddleston, 2003)

21. How to facilitate controversial discussion
How can teachers avoid unintentional bias during discussion?
 Do not present opinions as if they are facts.
 Do not set themselves up as the sole authority on a subject.
 Do not reveal (or favor) their own preferences in unconscious ways, e.g., facial
expressions, gestures or tone of voice.
 Do not fail to challenge a one-sided consensus that emerges too quickly in the
classroom.
 Do not promote attitudes that apparently reflect prevailing public opinion to the
detriment of minority views
(Huddleston, 2003)

22. How to facilitate controversial discussion
Using “critical incidents” in discussing controversial issues
In response to the critical situation;
 Ask students what they would do (a reactive perspective)
 Ask students what they could do (a pro-active perspective)
 Ask students what they should do (an ethical/moral perspective)
(Nott & Wellington, 1995, as cited in Oulton, Dillon & Grace, 2004)

23. Identifying a weak argument
 Attacks the person instead of the argument;
 Is based on assumption rather than fact;
 Gives the impression that there are only two possibilities when there may be more;
 Appeals to emotion, tradition, popularity or patriotism;
 Scapegoats or avoids responsibility by placing blame;
 Presents a caricature of a person or group;
 Relies on an extreme example to justify a position;
(Brown & Keeley, 2010)

24. Closing Discussion
 End on a positive note.
 Do not leave discussions feeling powerless or demoralized if a solution or resolution has
not been identified
 Emphasize the importance of engaging in debate as an end in and of itself
 Acknowledge students’ preparation and participation
 Provide an opportunity for students to debrief.
 Give the opportunity to have a say in what and how the issues are discussed
 how they felt the discussion went,
 what worked well,
 what could be improved and
 whether their own views had changed.
 Evaluate the discussion
 Ask students to evaluate their own participation or the progress of the discussion overall
(Fournier-Sylvester, 2013)

25. Evaluation

26. Evaluating discussion participation
 Becoming aware of diversity.
 Were a variety of perspectives explored in the discussion this week?
 What views from outside the mainstream did you or others try to bring into the group?
 What questions, issues, or perspectives did you think the group was trying to avoid during the
discussion, and how did you or others try to bring these to the attention of group members?
 Did the students who spoke in discussion include at least some representatives from
subgroups demarcated by gender, race, ideology, and so on?
 Listening attentively and respectfully.
 To what extent was the behavior of discussion participants respectful?
 What did you do in discussion to show others that you were listening attentively?
 What signals did you receive from others to show that they were or were not listening
attentively?
(Brookfield & Preskill, 2005)

27. Evaluating discussion participation
 Acknowledging continuing differences.
 Were there open and frank disagreements in discussion? If so, was there a willingness on the
part of those who disagreed to acknowledge and respect differing viewpoints?
 Communicating clearly.
 How could you tell that your ideas were or were not being clearly communicated to others?
 What were you and others doing to communicate more clearly across cultural, racial, gender,
and ideological differences?
 Broadening understanding and empathy.
 To what extent did the discussion this week broaden your understanding of an issue or idea?
 Were you better able to understand and articulate the perspective of others?
(Brookfield & Preskill, 2005)

28. Respectful &
Constructive
Feedback

29. Listening
 Listen to understand the words spoken rather than thinking about what to say next.
 Strive to understand the point before either approving or criticizing.
 Take note of points of agreement as well as disagreement within the group.
 Raise questions with participants that help clarify and explain key questions.
 Raise questions with participants that extend and deepen the conversation.
(Brookfield & Preskill, 2005)

30. How to give appropriate feedback
Types of Responses
Posing a question: The question can center on a word, phrase or subject
For example
 Word: You said it was complicated. What do you mean by complicated?
 Phrase: You mentioned this, “……………” Can you elaborate more?
 Subject: You talked about ………… How, or why or what……….?
Reflecting a feeling
 “I feel like you sounded very enthusiastic/negative/positive.” May I ask the reason why?
(The respondent may either confirm or reject the feeling and provide the reason why.)
(Varenhorst, 2010)

31. Conversational moves to promote the skills
Prepare cards and on each card, write a “conversational move” from the following lists, and distribute
the cards randomly among participants before a discussion session.
 Ask a question or make a comment that shows you are interested in what another person has said.
 Ask a question or make a comment that encourages someone else to elaborate on something that
person has said.
 Make a comment indicating that you found another person’s ideas interesting or useful. Be specific
as to why this was the case.
 Make a comment that at least partly paraphrase a point someone has already made.
 As a cause-and-effect question – for example, “Can you explain why you think it’s true that if these
things are in place, such and such a thing will occur?”
 Find a way to express appreciation for the enlightenment you have gained from the discussion. Try
to be specific about what it was that helped you understand something better.
 Disagree with someone in a respectful and constructive way.
(Brookfield & Preskill, 2005)

32. References
32

33. References
Brookfield, S., & Preskill. (2005). Discussion as a way of teaching: Tools and techniques for
democratic classrooms. 2. ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Brown, N.M. & Keeley, S.M. (2010). Asking the right questions: A guide to critical thinking.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Fournier-Sylvester, N. (2013). Daring to debate: Strategies for teaching controversial issues
in the classroom. College Quarterly, 16(3), 1.
Foster, S. (2013). Teaching controversial issues in the classroom: The exciting potential of
disciplinary history. In M. Baildon, I. M. Lim, J. Jaffar, L. K. Seng, & G. Inanc (Ed.), Controversial
history education in Asian contexts (19-37). Taylor and Francis.
Hand, M., & Levinson, R. (2012). Discussing controversial issues in the
classroom. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 44(6), 614-629.

34. References
Huddleston, T. (2003). Teaching about controversial issues: Guidance for schools. Retrieved
from https://learning.educatetogether.ie/pluginfile.php/18485/mod_folder/content/0/Teaching%
20about%20controversial%20issues%20guidance%20for%20schools.pdf?forcedownload=1
Kelly, T. (1989). Leading class discussions of controversial Issues. Social Education, 53(6), 368.
Malikow, M. (2006). Engaging students in controversial issues. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 42(3),
106‐8.
Oulton, C., Dillon, J., & Grace, M. (2004). Reconceptualizing the teaching of controversial
issues. International Journal of Science Education, 26(4), 411-423.
Payne, B., & Gainey, R. (2003). Understanding and developing controversial issues in
college courses. College Teaching, 51(2), 52-60.

35. References
Philpott, S., Clabough, J., McConkey, L., & Turner, T. N. (2011). Controversial issues: To teach
or not to teach? That is the question. The Georgia Social Studies Journal, 1(1), 32-44.
Varenhorst, B. (2010). Training peer helpers: Coaching youth to communicate, solve
problems, and make decisions. Minneapolis, MN: Search Institute Press.
Williams, J. (1994). Classroom in conflict: Teaching controversial subjects in a diverse society
(SUNY series in philosophy of education). Albany: State University of New York Press.