Teaching Peace Through Structured Controversy

Authors

  • Barbara L. Watters Author

Abstract

This article describes a collaborative classroom technique called structured controversy. In the technique, students choose a controversial social issue, prepare pro and con arguments about it based on course material, debate the issue formally in class, and engage in small-group discussions to discover common values and solutions. Although this article describes the use of structured controversy in undergraduate psychology courses, other versions of the technique have been used successfully with different age groups and academic subjects. Predictions are made regarding the effectiveness of structured controversy for undergraduates of traditional versus nontraditional age, as well as for international versus U.S.-born students.

Published

2024-03-22