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Structured Academic Controversy: A Step by step to meaningful Classroom discussion

Structured Academic Controversy: A Step by step to meaningful Classroom discussion. Do your classroom discussions look like this? Or This? . Benefits of Discussion.

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Structured Academic Controversy: A Step by step to meaningful Classroom discussion

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  1. Structured Academic Controversy: A Step by step to meaningful Classroom discussion

  2. Do your classroom discussions look like this? Or This?

  3. Benefits of Discussion Nystrand (1997) and his colleagues measured the relationship between the amount of classroom discussion and student performance on knowledge exams and found a positive correlation. The “bottom line” for learning, they write, is “the extent to which instruction requires students to think, not just report someone else’s [the teacher’s] thinking. (Hess, 2011) • Student Engagement • Democratizing the classroom • Citizenship (not idiocy) • Clear articulation of complicated ideas • Listening carefully and intentionally • Better content knowledge • Dialoguing across differences • Civic knowledge, skills, democratic values, participation

  4. Characteristics of Effective Discussion: The Non-Negotiables • Focus on an interpretable text, issue, idea, etc. • The facilitator and the participants have prepared thoroughly. • Most of the talk comes from the participants, not the facilitator. • There is enough time spent on an idea to explore it thoroughly before going to another point. • Participants feel comfortable, but there is still meaningful argument. • Many people talk. • Participants and facilitator ask authentic questions and refer to previous points made in the discussion. Diana E. Hess, 2010

  5. Why Sac? A Concise Structured Strategy • Includes: • Very structured small group format holds students accountable and helps teachers maintain discussion focus • Evidence based argument/controversy • Background information • Analysis and synthesis of multiple perspectives • Sharing of information organically • Required students to build consensus Building capacity for discussion requires the use of multiple methods. Structured Academic Controversy (SAC) is a great entrance model.

  6. SAC: Goals for Students • Gain deep and nuanced understanding of an issue; • Find common ground in an area of great contention; • Make an informed decision based on evidence and reasoned logic.

  7. Teacher Preparation of SAC • Choose a historical question or policy issue that lends itself to contrasting viewpoints. Many SACs begin with the word “should”. • Find and select one to three documents (primary or secondary sources) that embody each side. (Remember that you can pull these from existing document collections on the web or in print.) • Check out procon.org and dda.deliberating.org • ABC- Clio Dilemmas (on district website via staff page/databases) • Consider timing, make copies of handouts, and plan grouping strategies. The time you will need for a SAC will depend on the amount of experience your students have with the activity structure and the difficulty and familiarity of the documents. Plan on using about two class periods for your initial SAC.

  8. SAC Steps • Organize students in groups of four. Split each group into two pairs. Each pair studies one side of the controversy by reading the background material and identifying arguments to support their assigned position.The pair figures out a game plan for advocating that position. • Pairs take turns advocating their positions. The pair not speaking takes notes on the other position. • Pairs reverse positions using their notes to demonstrate understanding of the other position. • Students work together as a group of four to synthesize the ideas and come to consensus on at least one major point. • The whole class engages in a debrief and individual students reflect on their learning about the issue.

  9. SAC Question for Today • Border Dispute with Mexico: • Declare War or Negotiate?

  10. Break into groups • Assign sides in your larger group: • Declare War on Mexico • B. Negotiate with Mexico

  11. TODAY’S SNAPSHOT SAC DISCUSSION LESSON:-USE A TIMER!!-please modify these times allotments according to the needs of your students-However, keep times shorter rather than longer to insure that students are staying on task

  12. Preparation with Your Partner • Use your assigned readings. • Work together to determine your argument: • Claims: simple statements that asserts the main point of an argument • Reasoning: the “because” part of an argument; the explanation for why a claim is made and how each piece of evidence supports the claim • Evidence: support for the reasoning in an argument; the “for example” aspect of an argument, the facts • Although both people can speak during your turn in the SAC, it’s a good idea to split up your parts ahead of time. Then, you can feel free to politely interject if you have additional points.

  13. TODAY’S SNAPSHOT SAC DISCUSSION LESSON

  14. Reflection • What do you like about this discussion strategy? • Write down two or three different controversial topics within your content that you could implement within this discussion format. • What type of writing assignment would you add? • How is this related to writing? • Why is the student reflection crucial to the SAC process?

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