students how to interact respectfully.
The process often starts with building
a conceptual understanding of what
discussion is and how it differs from
other forms of classroom talk, such as
recitation. Ann Twain accomplished this
by showing students videotapes of high-quality and poor discussions so students
could see what to aim for and what to
avoid.
Ann made it very clear that she would
not tolerate the disrespectful discourse
demonstrated on the “bad discussion”
video, both because it was rude and
because it produced low-quality talk
that generated more heat than light.
Teachers who achieve great discussions
set norms. In many cases, they involve
students in establishing and enforcing
rules to follow, then post them prominently in the classroom or list them on
rubrics.
Such actions won’t prevent all
instances of disrespectful or rude participation. Sometimes students know
full well they have crossed the line, and
they need to be held accountable for
these transgressions. But many teachers
told me that their students didn’t
understand the boundaries of civil discourse. Teaching norms for respectful
exchange is simply part of the job of
teaching young people to participate in
discussion.
When Ann Twain’s students laughed
at one another during a town meeting,
Ann organized the class into mixed
groups of three to create a list of what
respect and disrespect looked like.
Sharing their conclusions with the class
helped everyone realize how much
people’s views varied regarding what
constituted respectful interaction.
Finally, effective teachers show a lot
of respect for students. They recognize
that they can teach as much by showing
as by telling. They model respectful
discourse themselves and take responsi-
bility for their actions when they make
mistakes. I heard one teacher publicly
apologize for a quip that a student had
interpreted as a breach of the norms of
respect. Later, this student told me how
important it was that the teacher held
himself to the standards he’d established
for the class.
Twain’s teaching and more examples of
teachers who successfully foster discussion
of controversial issues.
References
Bishop, B. (2008). The big sort: Why the clustering of like-minded American is tearing us
apart. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
Hess, D. (2002). Discussing controversial
public issues in secondary social studies classrooms: Learning from skilled
teachers. Theory and Research in Social
Education,
30, 10–41.
Hess, D. (2009). Controversy in the classroom:
The democratic power of discussion. New
York: Routledge.
Author’s note: All teacher and student
names are pseudonyms. See my book,
Controversy in the Classroom: The Democratic
Power of Discussion, for more detail on Ann
Diana Hess is a professor at the
University of Wisconsin–Madison and
author of Controversy in the Classroom:
The Democratic Power of Discussion
(Routledge, 2009); dhess@education
. wisc.edu. Beginning this fall, she will
be on leave from the university to serve
as senior vice-president of the Spencer
Foundation.
