Conflict is the gadfly of thought. It stirs us to observation and memory. It instigates invention. It shocks us out of sheep-like passivity, and sets us at noting and contriving...conflict is a sine qua non of reflection and ingenuity.
.--John Dewey
Teaching Tip of the Week - Using Academic Controversy - Ruggiero (1988) argues that the explicit teaching of higher-level reasoning and critical thinking does not depend on what is taught, but rather on how it is taught. He states: "The only significant change that is required is a change in teaching methodology."
Very often, teachers lecture and students passively learn in the traditional classroom; hence students' academic disagreement is often suppressed. Without realizing it, teachers miss out on valuable opportunities to capture their own audience and opportunities to enhance students' learning (Johnson and Johnson, 1989).
Academic controversy is the conflict that arises in the classroom when involved group members have different information, perceptions, opinions, reasoning, processes, theories, and conclusions, and they must reach agreement. It is a very important tool to promote interaction between students (Johnson and Johnson, 1989; Bigge and Shermis, 1991). When managed constructively, academic controversy promotes uncertainty about the correctness of one's views, which leads to active search for more information, and ultimately the re-conceptualization of one's knowledge and conclusion. Consequently, greater mastery and retention of material being discussed can be achieved. Individuals working alone in competitive and individualistic situations do not have the opportunity for such a process (Johnson and Johnson, 1995).
eLearning Teaching Tip of The Week - Are you using eCollege/TCU Online this semester? If so, you may want to know about the following eCollege workshops.
Resources at CTE - Come by and take a look at some of the articles and books in our library. If you would like a copy of any of the articles abstracted below, contact the CTE (c.wehlburg@tcu.edu). You might be interested in:
Academic Controversy: Enriching College Instruction Through Intellectual Conflict by David Johnson (University of Minnesota). Both theoretical and practical reasons support the belief that arousing intellectual conflict is one of the most important and powerful instructional procedures available to college faculty. Yet most faculty avoid and suppress intellectual conflict, perhaps out of fear that it will be divisive, or because they have never been trained in how to use instructional procedures that maximize the likelihood that intellectual conflict will be constructive, not destructive, or because the current societal and pedagogical norms discourage them from dong so. This situation needs to change, and intellectual conflict needs to become part of the day-to-day student life in colleges and universities.
Critical Thinking Through Structured Controversy by David Johnson and Roger Johnson (University of Minnesota). Through controlled argumentation, students can broaden their perspectives, learn material more thoroughly, and make better decisions. This article discusses models for use with academic controversy and how it can be used in the classroom including: Choosing the discussion topic, preparing instructional materials, conducting the controversy, and follow-up. "Students should keep an open mind, changing their conclusions if their opponents present persuasive rationales, proofs, and logical reasoning."
New Faculty Workshop - New spring semester faculty are invited to attend the New Faculty Teaching Workshop on Saturday, January 17 from 9:00 - 11:00 in the CTE. Please RSVP to Cathy Vahrenkamp (c.vahrenkamp@tcu.edu or ext. 7434).
eCollege Gradebook - In this workshop you will determine what aspects of your course should be graded, and you'll add these items to your online Gradebook as gradable items. You can then assign a "total points possible" value to each gradable item. If you entered a total point value for each gradable item when you set up your Gradebook, the Gradebook can use the student's actual points and the total points possible to calculate current student grades at the content item, unit, and course level which will save you time and will be easily understood by students..January 16 and January 23 from 2:00 - 4:00 Go to http://www.cte.tcu.edu/workshops.htm#Gradebook to register o contact Cathy Vahrenkamp (ext. 7434 or c.vahrenkamp@tcu.edu )
Teaching with Technology Fair - The first annual Teaching with Technology Fair will be held January 28! You are invited to browse through faculty poster/demonstrations to discuss how technology is used on the TCU campus. Sample titles include:
- Developing Problem-Solving and Critical-Thinking Skills with Online Homework Assignments
- Using Technology to Improve Student Experiences in Introductory Physics Lab Courses
- Unlocking Knowledge One Day At A Time
- Differential Equations: Help, I Can't Solve It!
- Hands on Library Instruction - Using Technology to Keep their Attention
- Electronic Portfolios with PowerPoint
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And others!
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