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Dialectical ThinkingThis technique works best either at the
beginning of class or after the break. Before the class or during the
break, get students to assist in moving all the chairs. You can try
moving them outdoors or you can put them all up against the wall in an
out-of-the-way location. The idea is to leave a large open space in
the middle of the classroom where people can move around. [Sometimes I
allow sitting in chairs in the corners but sitting tends to be linked
to passivity, so it is a second-best choice. ]
Put up signs in corners of the room:
I AGREE and I DISAGREE should be on opposite corners.
Plus: two signs at the other two corners which say
I MOSTLY AGREE BUT HAVE A POINT OF DISAGREEMENT
And
I MOSTLY DISAGREE BUT HAVE A POINT OF AGREEMENT
Another possibility: [You can put a sign on one wall halfway between the two which says:
I PARTLY AGREE AND PARTLY DISAGREE.]
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Stand in the middle of the room and read out lines from the material
the students have been assigned to read for class that day or a film
they have just watched. Best lines are thesis statements and
supporting points, that is, points that are major issues in the
articles. You may want to allow students to hold their books in their
hands in order to read the lines along with you.
• Students MUST now walk to a place in the room which matches their point of view.
•
Call on students, asking them to tell WHY they have moved to that
particular spot, and pushing them to give specific evidence about why
they are standing where they are. After a good point, mention that
students can use the “evidence” or “information” (PIE) to support their
own ideas by saying, “A student in my class explained that she . . . .”
• Keep track of the students and make sure that you call on every single student at some point during the exercise.
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Students are encouraged to move if they figure out that they actually are in the wrong position – that’s good critical
thinking!! You can also do some mild cheering for students in one area
who have managed to support their position so well that they convince
other students to move over.
• I only do two (or at the most three) sentences from any one article – it is more important to get good discussion going.
•
However, if you have time, a great exercise is to require people to
move to the opposite side of the room (“Dialectical thinking requires
moving on a diagonal across the room.”) Students then need to think of
reasons to support the opposite of their own initial thinking.
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