Teaching strategies for facilitating classroom discussion on citizenship in pre-vocational education

By Feifei Wang, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Many studies indicate that classroom discussions on citizenship topics play a significant role in in citizenship education. These discussions not only influence individual citizenship outcomes and the classroom atmosphere, but also have implications for the democratic fabric of society in a wider societal context. However, training teachers in effectively guiding classroom discussions remains a challenging task, given the considerable variation in approaches to teaching citizenship education.

To address this challenge, Coopmans and Kan recently conducted an exploratory study to investigate pre-vocational teaching strategies to facilitate classroom discussions on citizenship. The authors compared teaching strategies employed  by four pre-vocational teachers across three secondary schools during 26 lessons using the discussion tool “Terre Nova Mini Society” in the 2018/2019 school year. The three schools were selected due to their varying levels of  familiarity with citizenship education and citizenship-related classroom discussions. Before teaching the lessons, the four teachers participated in a workshop to familiarize themselves with the lesson method and manual. They were then instructed to freely design their own lessons. Afterward, six researchers observed their lessons. Based on the field notes from 26 classroom observations and teacher questionnaires, this study analyzed results from case reports, including qualitative and quantitative data. Results indicated that classrooms where teachers and students were less familiar with discussions seemed to benefit from structural aspects of discussions instead of strict content regulation. In contrast, classrooms more familiar with discussions seemed to gain most from reflection on both process and content, and incorporation of real-life consequences or current affairs. Given the teacher’s crucial yet complex role in facilitating classroom discussions conducive to citizenship education, it is a fruitful approach to combine student-regulated content guided by teacher guidance for a discussion’s structure.     

Social Perspective-Taking for Change

By Claire Chuter, Johns Hopkins University

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, many have taken to social media to express their frustration and outrage for or against the Black Lives Matter movement. However, psychological theory suggests that individuals tend to durably resist persuasion, especially those related to outgroups. Changing one’s mind around race is an admission of a longstanding cognitive and moral error, and may lead to feelings of emotional vulnerability. Furthermore, individuals whose beliefs align with those of their social or political group are motivated to dismiss evidence that their own way of thinking may be flawed.

A recent review of social perspective-taking found that this persuasive strategy is able to counteract much of the fear of vulnerability that inhibits persuasion. This review of 92 studies published over the past ten years found that those who engage in perspective-taking stereotype others less, and are enjoy improved negotiation capacities. Social perspective-taking is a multifaceted skill set, involving the disposition, motivation, and contextual attempts to consider and understand other individuals. This skill involves the persuader showing respect by seeking out the other’s point of view and refraining from expressing any negative judgments of it, which may affirm individuals’ self-esteem and decrease the perceived threat. Social perspective-taking was found to encourage individuals to explicitly acknowledge the merits of alternative viewpoints, promoting so-called “self-persuasion” as individuals begin to see arguments for viewpoints opposed to their own.

As students return to school in the fall, it is essential that teachers and staff be willing and able to have productive conversations around race. Employing social perspective-taking techniques such as listening to another’s honest experience without judgment, and sharing one’s own perspective, may be a more supportive and persuasive way to engage in this conversation with students than through outrage rhetoric. Teachers who train their students to use social perspective-taking can further deploy the persuasive and calming capacity of this skill.

Talking in class boosts progress in math, science, and English

An intervention that trained teachers to improve and monitor the quality of classroom talk had a positive impact on primary students’ test scores in English, math, and science, a report published by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) in the UK reveals.

Seventy-six primary schools with higher-than-average proportions of disadvantaged students took part in a randomized control trial of the Dialogic Teaching intervention, which is designed to improve the quality of classroom talk as a means of increasing students’ engagement, learning, and achievement. Year 5 (4^th grade in the U.S.) teachers in 38 schools (2,493 students), and a teacher mentor from each school, received resources and training from the delivery team, and then implemented the intervention over the course of the fall and spring terms in the 2015/16 school year. A control group of 38 schools (2,466 students) continued with business as usual. Following the intervention, students were tested in English, math, and science.

The results showed that students in the intervention schools did better in the main outcome measures of English (effect size = +0.16), science (+0.12), and math (+0.09) when compared with children in the control schools who didn’t receive the intervention. For students who received free school meals, the intervention had a higher impact on math (+0.16), but around the same for English (+0.12) and science (+0.11). Teachers reported positive effects on student engagement and confidence, and on the whole the intervention was highly regarded by participating schools. However, some teachers felt that it would take longer than two terms to fully embed a Dialogic Teaching approach in their classrooms.