Historical Perspective Taking and Debate as a Learning Tool

[Cynthia Stults]

I thought that the afternoon activity was a fantastic example of how we can truly make learning "come alive" and make history experiential for our students. The idea that students will need to be prepared to defend their position within a group setting is a fantastic way to get some of those students who loathe to do any sort of preparation for classes better engaged. There is definitely peer pressure underlying this activity- if I'm not prepared, my team will not perform as well as they could have and we might look foolish and then it's my fault and then they'll blame me. Even as adults, I do not think that we did enough preparation as a team outside of class. This was evident when individuals within groups seemed to be promoting totally opposite ideas for "saving China". When I implement this into my classroom, I think at least at first, to give groups some class time to discuss and plan, but eventually, after students become more familiar with the process, see if students are able to gain sufficient understanding of the given problem that they would be able to engage as an individul without the benefit of a team. In preparing for this experience, students need to research not only their perspective, but have enough knowledge of the other perspective in order to know how to combat possible arguments from those other perspectives. Another possible extension activity would be to have students shift perspectives and defend an opposing point of view. Not only does this help develop deeper understanding of content, but also (hopefully) help them to develop the idea that they need to understand all sides of an issue.