With America at war, schools struggle to help students understand cause and effect of conflict. Interviewed in early March, some teachers say they try not to let impressionable adolescents know how they feel about the controversial American policy on use of force in Iraq. Others say that while they present both sides of the issue, it is only right…

Examining National Center for Health statistics, questions whether fictional television accounts of teenage suicide affect the teenage suicide rate. Assesses four films about teenage suicide, nationally televised in 1984 and 1985. Accounts for holiday and temporal effects, television new stories, and large city influences. Finds that the films did…

The selection of an elementary-level reading series in a small California town caused a divisive backlash from some parents who are claiming their rights to supervise their children's reading material. The controversy is reported through excerpts from interviews with representatives from both sides of the issue. (JD)

Presented is a strategy which uses creationism and other pseudosciences as examples of non-scientific approaches to critical thinking to teach students the nature of science and the scientific method. Examples of the illogic of non-scientific approaches are given along with an explanation of how they can be used in teaching critical thinking to…

Presents a secondary level developmental lesson intended to demonstrate critical thinking skills related to prejudice reduction. Offers general guidelines for leading a discussion on the principles of consistency and disproportionate representation, syllogistic errors, dominance of nurture over nature, and multiple causation. (LS)

Discusses the importance of newspapers in developing critical thinking skills. Presents activities from "Knowledge in Bloom," a resource guide sponsored by Newspapers in Education with learning activities keyed to Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Focuses on controversial issues, analyzing points of view, and using students as…

Reviews the constraints on implementing an issue-centered approach to social studies education and argues that schools play an important role in socializing students into society. Concludes that advocates of new theories of social studies education must take into account the realities of contemporary school and society. (SLM)

Reviews discoveries and reports of dinosaurs to help put them into paleontological perspective. Proposes that discoveries not be announced from the field, but submitted to professional evaluation and peer review before release to the public. (Author/RT)

An approach to teaching university-level environmental education that uses structured controversy to challenge and enhance students' conceptions of environmental issues is described. Students are confronted with alternative viewpoints and evidence and engage in peer discussion to formulate their own position, understand other viewpoints, see the…

Provides insights on the controversial issue of animal rights. Four factors are considered: (1) animals' rights; (2) research; (3) hunting and fishing; and (4) agriculture. Contends that it is imperative that the public knows all the facts before casting their vote on the issue. (ZWH)

A male student in a California State University-Sacramento psychology lecture on female masturbation has filed a sexual harassment complaint, claiming the lecture violated institutional policy by creating an intimidating, hostile, and offensive learning environment. He felt the lecture was inappropriately graphic and political in intent. (MSE)

Peaceful, systemic, educational reform may be achieved by clearly articulating and responding to differences of opinion in four conflict areas: safe passage for traditionalist Christian students, opt-in policies for controversial course materials, parents' rights, and child-centered curricula. Authentic assessment based on community values…

A professor of sociology and anthropology chronicles the development of a course in environmental problems, beginning with inquiry into the issues and culminating in design of a course focused on research and discussion rather than lectures. Students responded positively to the exploration of multiple perspectives, particularly those at the…

Urban African American elementary school students (n=128) were asked to compare the memorization of noncontroversial information with the learning and discussion of information designed to help students develop personal stances on controversial matters. Older students, more than younger students, saw collaborative inquiry as fair and likely to…

Addresses the importance of teaching young people about foreign policy issues. Discusses state sovereignty and interpersonal and international conflict. Describes a reflective teaching approach in which a problem is identified, defined, and explored by probing questions. Suggests identifying value assumptions and alternatives, predicting…