Contemporary Issues Debate Forum Students will be given 3 debate topics this semester. For each topic the students will watch a documentary they selected regarding the topic. It must be a scholarly video/documentary or you will not receive credit. Students will then complete an assignment that requires they develop opinions for and against the topic of the video. Students will submit their debate in black board on the following due dates: · Debate Topic One: Criminal Justice Reform: After watching the video on you will write a three (3) paragraph essay as follows: Paragraph 1: Summarize in one paragraph, the main topic of the video: · What is the Issue? · Why is this an issue? Who does it affect. Paragraph 2: Write an argumentative paragraph Supporting the issue: you must list three reasons you are in support of the issue. These must be complete sentences. Example: I support the death penalty because it is a just punishment, etc.., then list two more reasons you support the death penalty. Paragraph 3: Write an argumentative paragraph Opposing the issue: you must list three reasons you are opposing the issue. These must be complete sentences. Example: I am opposed to death penalty because it violates civil rights of cruel and unusual punishment, etc.., then list two more reasons you are opposed to the death penalty. Responses to Peer’s Posts – Please use the format below to respond to each question. You can write 3 to 4 sentences for each question. *Item Four: Discuss the meaning of this statement: "Research + Common Sense = Effective Teaching." John said that (paraphrase what John said), and I agree to part of his response when he said….but I wonder if…. *Item Five: Bandura (1997) identified teachers that have strong teacher efficacy. Explain what he meant by the term teacher efficacy.  Include the definition provided in the text—“…the belief that what a teacher does makes a difference”. John said that (paraphrase what John said), …. Discussion One Item One:  Describe a moral dilemma; then describe how an individual might reason at each stage of Kohlberg's theory of moral development. You should create your own hypothetical moral dilemma and carry it through the three levels and six stages of Kohlberg's theory.  A moral dilemma is when someone has a conflict when they have to choose between two or more actions. The person has a moral reason for choosing each action they do. The persons’ reasoning is what is important, not their final choice.  A dilemma that I came up with is about a little girl who wants to be able to buy a snack at school instead of eating the snack that her parents send her. She knows that her friends keep their snack money in their binders. When working through Kohlberg’s stages she would consider the reasoning of each choice she made. Preconventional Level: The rules are set down by others. Stage 1: The little girl must decide the consequences of her choices. The little girl could ask her friends fo.

1. Contemporary Issues
Debate Forum
Students will be given 3 debate topics this semester. For each
topic the students will watch a documentary they selected
regarding the topic. It must be a scholarly video/documentary
or you will not receive credit.
Students will then complete an assignment that requires they
develop opinions for and against the topic of the video.
Students will submit their debate in black board on the
following due dates:
· Debate Topic One: Criminal Justice Reform:
After watching the video on you will write a three (3) paragraph
essay as follows:
Paragraph 1: Summarize in one paragraph, the main topic of
the video:
· What is the Issue?
· Why is this an issue? Who does it affect.
Paragraph 2: Write an argumentative paragraph Supporting
the issue: you must list three reasons you are in support of the
issue. These must be complete sentences.
Example: I support the death penalty because it is a just
punishment, etc.., then list two more reasons you support the
death penalty.
Paragraph 3: Write an argumentative paragraph Opposing the
issue: you must list three reasons you are opposing the issue.
These must be complete sentences.
Example: I am opposed to death penalty because it violates civil
rights of cruel and unusual punishment, etc.., then list two more
reasons you are opposed to the death penalty.
Responses to Peer’s Posts – Please use the format below to

2. respond to each question. You can write 3 to 4 sentences for
each question.
*Item Four: Discuss the meaning of this statement: "Research +
Common Sense = Effective Teaching."
John said that (paraphrase what John said), and I agree to part
of his response when he said….but I wonder if….
*Item Five: Bandura (1997) identified teachers that have strong
teacher efficacy. Explain what he meant by the term teacher
efficacy. Include the definition provided in the text—“…the
belief that what a teacher does makes a difference”.
John said that (paraphrase what John said), ….
Discussion One
Item One: Describe a moral dilemma; then describe how an
individual might reason at each stage of Kohlberg's theory of
moral development. You should create your own hypothetical
moral dilemma and carry it through the three levels and six
stages of Kohlberg's theory.
A moral dilemma is when someone has a conflict when they
have to choose between two or more actions. The person has a
moral reason for choosing each action they do. The persons’
reasoning is what is important, not their final choice.
A dilemma that I came up with is about a little girl who wants
to be able to buy a snack at school instead of eating the snack
that her parents send her. She knows that her friends keep their
snack money in their binders. When working through
Kohlberg’s stages she would consider the reasoning of each
choice she made.
Preconventional Level: The rules are set down by others.
Stage 1: The little girl must decide the consequences of her
choices. The little girl could ask her friends for some money,
but she knows if her parents found out she would be in trouble.

3. Stage 2: During this stage, the little girl may think if I help her,
she may help me. The little girl tries to trade some of her
snacks for the items that her friends bought.
Conventional Level: Adopts rules, and sometimes will
subordinate own needs to those of the group.
Stage 3: Put yourself in their situation. She could just take the
money while they are not in there, but she knows that if
someone did that to her she would be upset.
Stage 4: Laws should be followed and not broken. She really
wants to take the money, but she knows that it is wrong and that
it is stealing.
Postconventional Level: Ethical principles
Stage 5: Rules and laws can be changed when necessary. The
little girl will just continue to eat her own snack that her parents
pack for her.
Stage 6: Your inner conscience is a major deciding factor. The
little girl will try to figure out a way to earn money so she can
buy snack at school and not take the money. She does not want
to be a bad person and hurt her friends.
Item Two: Debate the following viewpoint: To establish their
identity, adolescents need to separate themselves from their
parents so that they can discover who they are, other than being
their parent's children. If parents are very strict and controlling,
children have to give so much energy to establishing the
separation that they don't have the time and effort to give to
defining their identity. For this reason, parents and teachers of
adolescents would be more helpful if they were lenient with
teenagers.
In my opinion, I think that it is very important for adolescents

4. to be able to find themselves. It is important that they figure out
who they are and how they fit into this world. I believe that it is
important to find a middle ground. You do not want to be
overbearing, but you want to make sure you are available for
them when needed. During the adolescent’s years there will be
many mistakes made. As a parent and teacher, it is your
reasonability to raise a child to know what is right and what is
wrong. They should also know that there are consequences to
all their actions. The adolescents will need support and
guidance. They will need this when then mess up, or when they
succeed in life. I believe that if a parent is controlling then the
adolescent will not feel comfortable talking to them when they
need it the most.
I personally grew up in an environment where I made my own
choices and if I chose wrong then I learned from it. My parents
raised me to know what is right and what is wrong. From that I
made my decisions. If I did mess up they were always there for
me. If I needed advice they were there, but if I did not want to
talk about it they let me be. I look back now and I am very
thankful they let me make my own decisions, but where always
there for me if I needed it. It made me use my own brain to
think and make decisions. It made me an independent person. It
made me who I am today. I only hope that while raising my own
child I do as good a job as they did for me.
Item Three: Define and discuss the term Developmentally
Appropriate Practice.
Developmentally appropriate practices are practices that are
used to help children learn and develop that is age appropriate.
This also focus on the students physical and emotional needs.
This technique is used to help children learn and achieve their
goals. In order for the teacher to develop appropriate practices
her or she must know their student’s needs. These practices
should not be easy, but they should be appropriate for their age
and ability. It should be challenging enough to progress their

5. learning.
Discussion Two
Item One: Describe a moral dilemma; then describe how an
individual might reason at each stage of Kohlberg's theory of
moral development. You should create your own hypothetical
moral dilemma and carry it through the three levels and six
stages of Kohlberg's theory.
Juan has a moral dilemma. He lives in a poor neighborhood.
Juan is approached by Steve who insists that he transport drugs
to a drop point each week or he will no longer provide housing
for his family.
Preconventional Level
Stage 1: Juan thinks he should transport the drugs so that his
family will continue to have a home.
Stage 2: Juan knows that Steve needs his help and means
business. He also knows that helping Steve is wrong and could
cause him to go to jail but he doesn't currently have a job so
maybe helping Steve would benefit them both.
Conventional Level
Stage 3: Juan does not want to upset Steve so he agrees to
transport the drugs.
Stage 4: Juan knows deep down that what he is doing is wrong.
It is against the law and he would like to be a good example for
his kids.
Postconventional Level
Stage 5: Juan knows that what he is doing is against the law
because it can bring harm to other people.
Stage 6: Juan knows that what he is doing goes against how he
believes people should act because it can bring harm to other
people including kids that could get their hands on these drugs.
Item Two: Debate the following viewpoint: To establish their
identity, adolescents need to separate themselves from their

6. parents so that they can discover who they are, other than being
their parent's children. If parents are very strict and controlling,
children have to give so much energy to establishing the
separation that they don't have the time and effort to give to
defining their identity. For this reason, parents and teachers of
adolescents would be more helpful if they were lenient with
teenagers.
My viewpoint is that adolescents need guidance from their
parents and teachers so as to know how young people should act
in society. I do not think that teenagers should be given
complete freedom to discover who they 'think' they are. As with
any society, children should be taught to follows laws, family
traditions, and religious traditions. Parents need to provide
some kind of control over their teenagers so they know the
boundaries. Boundaries are there to keep order in society.
Item Three: Define and discuss the term Developmentally
Appropriate Practice.
Developmentally Appropriate Practice is an education with
environments, curriculum, materials, and instruction that are
suitable for students in terms of their physical and cognitive
abilities and their social and emotional needs. Teachers need to
understand how their students think and reason in order to solve
problems. Teachers need to provide students with different
activities so they can learn by different means such as visual,
hearing, hands-on or experiments. The instructor needs to go
beyond lectures and worksheets to teach content to the class.
They need to watch the students and determine how they learn
best and then teach methods that engage the students.
Debate Topic One: Criminal Justice Reform
Burns, K., Sarah, B., & Mcmahon, D. (Directors). (2017). The
Central Park Five [Motion Picture]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fZ7FChJRiY

7. “The Central Park Five” is a documentary that delve deeper in
the field of criminal justice reforms. There have been many
incidences where the accused persons have been lynched in the
broad-daylight under the guise of apprehending criminals. The
documentary is unflinching tale of crime, punishment, racial
hysteria and ego among the law enforcement agencies in the
United States (Burns, Sarah, & Mcmahon, 2017).