Controversial Topics and Teacher

¶ … Strategy The four corners strategy is a technique that's used to move students away from their desks. It has been noted that some students absorb lesson content better when they are on the move. All a teacher needs to do to apply the four corners strategy is to label a room that's used by the class. Each corner of the room is to have a label.

The first and second corners should be labeled agree and strongly agree respectively, while the third and fourth should be labeled disagree and strongly disagree. The teacher should then read a factual statement from the lesson content and ask learners to move to the corners of their choice with regard to the statement that has been made by the teacher. Allow learners to deliberate on the reasons that compel them to take the stand they have on the statement.

Once the deliberations are over, let representatives from each corner share with the rest of the class the reasons why they chose to move to their corner. Such information will help the teacher adjust future lessons accordingly (Regier, 2012). How Four Corners Is Used Here is the step-by-step process for the implementation (Four Corners, 2016). 1. Prepare Create a controversial question or statement that is based on your chosen topic of study. Develop four varying opinions such as agree, strongly agree, disagree and strongly disagree based on your chosen question or statement.

Label these opinions on four different chart papers and pin them in four separate corners. These choices can also be posted on an overhead projector with answers or opinions to each of the questions or statements provided in multiple choice form. Each corner can be assigned random letters e.g. arbitrary letter labels, e.g. APQT or ABCD. 2. Present Read the statement aloud to the class and avoid giving them choices. Allow enough time for learners to muse over the possible responses to the question or statement.

The teacher can ask the learners to note down their response and explain it below each respective question or statement. Proceed to provide the choices to the answers. Ask the learners to pick the option that is closest to their answer. 3. Commit to a Corner Ask the learners to move to the corner of their choice based on the answer responses they have picked. Learners should then split into groups of two or three to deliberate the reasons for settling on the choices they have. 4.

Discuss Give the students a two or three minutes' allowance for discussion to occur. Thereafter, students should be asked to present group summaries of their discussions. An oral or written presentation is acceptable. When to Use it Four corners should be used at any time by the teacher in the classroom to nurture productive conversation (Four Corners, 2016).

• Prior to introducing fresh content to link to earlier concepts learnt • After viewing a film clip that's controversial so as to gauge reaction • Prior to the start of a discussion following reading of a short text • Right in the middle of a usual lesson to help learners to process content • When there is need to initiate some movement in class • As a review of a test after studying a unit Visible Opinion Sharing Four corners is the most effective strategy to involve learners in controversial topics.

For instance, a teacher can ask learners to express their views about a given character from a novel. For a maths class, learners can be asked to discuss whether they should be allowed to make use of calculators. "Alternative energy forms" is an ideal topic for science students. Social studies can discuss the various forms of government. The teacher needs to write statements that are definitive.

For instance, "Nuclear energy is the best source of energy." It would be helpful to write these statements on an overhead board as an interactive projection. The four corners of the classroom should be cleared of any obstacles. Label the four corners with signs indicating agree, strongly agree, disagree and strongly disagree, separately. Share the first controversial statement or question so as to trigger the first discussion. You may decide to engage students to write down their chosen response and the reason for doing so.

The learners should then move to the corners of their choice as guided by their responses and views (Schoenerr, 2016). The teacher can randomly call on learners from each corner to share their responses and views or ask them to congregate in groups and generate a collective response per group. Another way is to ask the groups from contrasting viewpoints to debate against each other. For instance, the group in the strongly disagree corner can debate with the group in the strongly agree.

Once the learners have shared their views and standpoints, it is of use and interesting to repeat the activity and ask learners if they will have changed their stands (Schoenerr, 2016). Making It Work The four.