Types of activities
Many activities can provide the opportunity for student views to be presented and discussed in a way which values all students' contributions and enables students to evaluate opinions and develop their own reasoned views.
Case studies
The case study provides a common context to stimulate and constrain student discussion. Some relevant questions enable students to identify issues, identify differing views and work towards a value judgement of their own.
Media analysis
Media articles of various sorts present varying views and come from people with differing vested interests and values. Analysis helps students to recognise these differences and the reasons for them so that they can adopt a view of their own.
Jigsaw discussion groups
In a jigsaw arrangement, students work as a group to discover information, investigate points of view or develop possible solutions to a problem from a specific point of view. They then each explain the outcome of their work to a different set of students. This strategy effectively allows students to become expert in one aspect of an issue and then exposes them to the views of several other expert groups.
Values line ups
Asking students to place themselves on a line that represents a continuum of opinion from one extreme to another on an issue provides a good introduction to an issues discussion. Students can identify why they hold these views and their explanations will often make it clear what science background relevant to the issue needs to be explored before the students are asked if they now wish to modify their view.
Think/pair/share discussions
This strategy encourages participation by a student who is reluctant to participate in larger group or whole class discussions. This is a starting point for gathering different views and possible solutions to problems and personal views on issues. This strategy ensures that all students have made a contribution to any further work on a topic.
Neutral voice questions
This strategy encourages students to voice opinions in a safe, neutral, non-personal way. Students are asked questions such as:
What would the person on the street think about... ?
How would a younger child (eg. a child in grade 6) see this problem?
What would a farmer / mother / industrialist think about... ?
Role play
With this strategy, students are given the opportunity to develop arguments from the points of view of other people, by putting themselves in the place of particular characters with an interest in the issue being considered. A debrief at the end of such an activity is very important, so that students have the opportunity to put their own views, and so that other students do not identify the views expressed in the role with the views of the student taking the role.