Structured Academic Controversy, Take 2 (plus Travel to Turkey)

My recent post on Structured Academic Controversy generated some good responses--including links to additional useful resources.


Tammy Elser emailed " Sounds a bit like Socratic Circles, which I like a lot. A fine tool for promoting rich and thoughtful discussion on challenging and complex issues." She suggested I point teachers interested in learning more about Socratic Circles to “an outstanding video example on the DVD produced by Julie Cajune's HeartLines Project, Inside Anna's Classroom. It has been purchased and sent to every [public] school library.” Anna Baldwin, the Anna in Inside Anna’s Classroom, also created a study guide that further explains the technique.


Mike Scarlett responded: "I use this strategy in my methods courses and I was involved in an international civic education program that utilized it as well. A great resource for those wanting to incorporate into their teaching can be found at http://www.deliberating.org. Although the site was designed for use by that particular program, it still has a wealth of resources on current issues that may be of interest to teachers of civics, in particular."


On a completely unrelated note: a listserv subscriber asked that I tell high school teachers on the list know about the Montana World Affairs Council’s upcoming “Discover Turkey” teacher workshop for K-12 educators in Bozeman. “This year, 4 teachers that attend the “Discover Turkey” teacher workshop held this spring will be selected to travel to Turkey this summer on a study-tour with other teachers from across the US. She wrote about her trip to Turkey: “All expenses are paid for 2 weeks of first class travel in Turkey except your travel to the nearest Turkish Air hub. I’ll never be the same again.” Registration deadline for the Bozeman Discover Turkey Workshop is March 26.