In
conversations with opinion makers and educators in Colorado
throughout 2003 and 2004, CELD staff found widespread support
for improving discussion of controversial issues in our state’s
classrooms. Coloradans want young people to be engaged in deliberation
on important issues because the ability to take part in civil
discussions of controversial matters is essential to citizenship
in democracy. Coloradans also recognize the need to provide
teachers with high quality professional development and materials
that will assist them in their efforts.
The
highly regarded The
Civic Mission of Schools report (Carnegie Corporation
and Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and
Engagement, 2003), highlights six
promising approachesthat are
effective in developing students' civic and political knowledge,
civic and political skills, and civic attitudes. The report
identifies classroom discussion of current local, national and
international issues as one of these promising approaches.
This web module is a first effort to address the need for materials
and professional development electronically. The Discussing
Controversial Issuesmodule provides
a variety of tools that can be used by individual teachers or
by educators planning professional development focused on discussing
controversial issues. To learn about the benefits of using discussions
and to find out how this module can help you use discussions
in your classroom, please click
here.
This
module was developed by Laurel Singleton, CELD Associate,
with the support of the Center
for Civic Education. We welcome your feedback. Please
send comments to: CELD.
