Check Now: How To Handle Challenging Topics With Powerful Instructional Strategies.
Controversial topics like culture, gender, race, sex orientation, illness or natural disasters needs to be talked about and taught in schools. Despite the fact that it needs to be taught, the age group of the pupils need to be considered and also their level of understanding.
Preparing for Discussions.
You can prepare for the discussion in ways that set the stage for success in situations where one knows you will be addressing a controversial topic.
- Considering possible sources of student views.
Students’ viewpoints may be clothed in their personal identities, influenced by family members, or connected to religious, spiritual or moral beliefs. A challenge to an idea could be seen as a personal challenge. These opinions by students could be useful in other area of the discussion. - Leading with your goals.
Let the students know why you engaged them in such a conversation and what learning outcomes you are expecting. One must be ready to give opinions on these goals during the discussion, and ask students to redress the conversation in forms that will conform with the goals. - Providing pre-discussion assignments. Task students or learners to perform an assignment in advance that would help them comprehend and derive their own opinions, as well as others they listened to. These pre-discussion work can assist them reflect on the views, comprehend the potential reasons behind them, and link them to the disciplinary mode in the course. These activities let them engage themselves in critical thinking in advance before any other hindrance finds its way in to discussion.
- Preparing students with disciplinary models for thinking.
If you want the pupils to learn how somebody in your discipline use to discuss these rising matters, you should be ready to spend time in the explanation and modeling those disciplinary processes, and making sure the discussion involves the models that prompt students. - Establishing some discussion guidelines.
One must work with students to create a set of guidelines for classroom discussion. The impact is very important in the sense that it guides the behavior of all pupils in the classroom. Some of these guidelines include:
• Listening attentively without interrupting the speaker.
• Giving everyone the opportunity to speak.
• Criticizing of ideas but not individuals.
• Avoid the act of name-calling.
• Asking questions when one do not understand a concept.
• Linking back to relevant concepts when possible.
• Do not expect individuals to speak on behalf of anything or anybody, been it gender, ethnicity, social class, status among others.
- Talking candidly about the challenges that lies ahead.
One can admit that the conversations may be challenging, but there is the need to explain why they are vital parts of the classroom. - Warm up first.
You can consider looking at some less difficult topics, rather than just rushing into a very challenging issue.