Exploring Bioethics - NIH Office of Science Education - National ...

6. To prepare students for the next activity, ask them to move intotheir groups of four, with two students representing the pro sideand two students representing the con side.1Activity 9:Structured Academic Controversy—Developing Pro and Con ArgumentsEstimated Time: 35 minutesThe structured academic controversy is a useful teaching strategy forfostering student discussion of ethical questions. Because students are insmall groups, the discussion stays manageable. Also, students are exposedto both sides of an argument before discussing their own personal views.They must actively listen to their peers to understand the informationat hand. Lastly, they must clarify where they agree or disagree withtheir peers.Teaching Strategies:Facilitating a Structured Academic Controversy• At each transition, give students a signal (such as blowing a whistle) thatit’s time to proceed to the next step.• It may help to post the procedure where all can see it and to givestudents cues when the time for the next transition is approaching.• While students are talking, circulate among them to ensure that theirdiscussions stay on topic and that they understand the procedure.For more information about the structured academic controversy, see Chowning, J.T.,and Fraser, P. 2007. An Ethics Primer. Seattle, WA: Northwest Association for BiomedicalResearch. Retrieved September 18, 2008, from http://www.nwabr.org/education/ethicslessons.html.234Procedure1. Briefly (in about five minutes) review the structured academiccontroversy format with students, described in Steps 2 though9 on pages 5-32 and 5-33.5Module 5 5-316