Constructive controversies, where team members discuss their different opinions openly and politely, can stimulate interprofessional learning (IPL): the learning that occurs in the interactions between two or more different professions. However, in science-based controversies where members compete to be the expert learning becomes complicated.…

Controversies are a potentially powerful teaching tool in the management classroom enabling students to explore different perspectives on an issue and to develop their skills in areas such as critical thinking and communication. Controversy is implicit to learning and to leadership and management roles in workplaces where multiple opposing views…

The incorporation of peace and war into the curriculum poses problems to teachers, especially in an examination-focussed school system. Whilst recent research concerning conflict has considered conflict-resolution within schools, and difficulties teachers face teaching about terrorism, little has been written on teaching 21st century war without…

The new Taiwanese citizenship curriculum has converted its traditional bullet-point guidelines to hundreds of open-ended questions. Each question acts to initiate collective inquiry, to stimulate the sharing of lived experiences and to trigger within-class conversations. The previous pre-determined educational objectives and learning outcomes, in…

While some have argued that abandoning religious belief is the only way to help religious individuals accept evolution, we strongly contend that highlighting faith-evolution compatibility is much more effective. This article describes a professional development event for science teachers and religious educators highlighting ways to teach human…

In light of a national reckoning with racism in the U.S., many instructors are assessing their own pedagogical practices with regard to handling these topics in their classrooms. In developing my authentic teaching philosophy over the course of 18 years, I have adapted many practices I used in my prior career in dispute resolution. To clarify, I…

Christine Sleeter wrote this essay in response to the topic "Even Laureates Were Beginners Once: Lessons Learned Along the Way," which was the title of the Laureate Panel at the Kappa Delta Pi Convocation in October 2017.

Historians collect and verify evidence and then interpret it in an acceptable way. A general consensus is that history does not present us with an absolute truth -- the most we can hope for is historians' reliable, evidentially based interpretations of the historical topic. History not viewed as interpretation has long raised alarm bells in…

The purpose of this lesson is to engage young students in thinking about the complexity of socio-historical symbols in the present day. After careful preparation, the authors decided to teach about the decision by the state legislature in July 2015 to remove the Confederate flag from the South Carolina statehouse grounds. Presenting the…

Although a growing body of research suggests that participation in intergroup dialogue is associated with a wide variety of positive outcomes, much less research has examined the experiences and outcomes of those who facilitate these dialogues. Therefore, using a modified grounded theory approach, we sought to examine the experiences of 10…

Positive political discourse is the heart of democracy. The purposes of political discourse include making an effective decision about the course the society should take and building a moral bond among all members of the society. A responsibility of social sciences within a democratic society is to provide the theory, research, and normative…

Communicative self-efficacy serves as an important link between discussing controversial issues and civic engagement because confidence in one's discourse skills is important to managing conflicting perspectives and developing solutions to community-based problems. Freely available to schools, "Word Generation" is a cross-content…

Conflict can shut down communication, the key to social justice advocacy. In this article, the author shares his insights on how some communication strategies can help manage conflict and sustain open conversation with students about contentious issues. Recently, the author participated in an extremely heated discussion session for student affairs…

Simple role-play simulations can not only demonstrate the dynamics of a conflict but also create awareness of multiple perspectives even among populations relatively set in their opinions. To teach my student population of military officers, I utilize simple, nongame simulations of multisided Middle East conflicts that not only facilitate learning…

Although intellectual conflict may be an important instructional tool (because of its potential constructive outcomes), conflict is rarely structured in instructional situations (because of its potential destructive outcomes). Many educators may be apprehensive about instigating intellectual conflict among students because of the lack of…