Take a Stand

Here is a great tip used by Bunny Clemes in a Liberal Arts College at ABS School of Maritime Policy and Management Cal Maritime, which is part of California State System to get students engaged in the learning. Here is what she does to get students to react to controversial topics and have a dialogue with each other:

"One of my favorite techniques is to post various sheets of paper and make students stand by them. The original technique is called "Take a Stand." The instructor calls out a controversial general statement, such as, "Foie Gras should be on the menu." Students must stand by one of these signs: "AGREE, DISAGREE, STRONGLY AGREE, STRONGLY DISAGREE." The instructor calls on students and asks them to explain their point of view. Other rules are as follows: wait to be recognized, don't make long speeches, and don't do ping-pong exchanges back and forth; involve everyone. Afterward students write anonymous completion sentences to "I learned that," "I was surprised that," and "I was pleased/displeased that." Students pass the papers around, and then the instructor calls on each person to read the student's paper that has been passed to him.

This could be an excellent technique to get the class talking about the course materials. Give it a try and let us know how it works out for our learning community.