iSSues Explorer Social Studies (Secondary) Unit July 2016
Developing Our Students as Informed, Concerned and Participative Citizens
Selection of the Month Discussion-based Pedagogies — Strategies to consolidate multiple perspectives
Guest Writer: Mr Lloyd Yeo Master Teacher (History), Academy of Singapore Teachers
Discussion-based pedagogies are important because they contrast starkly with traditional teacher-centric delivery of uncontestable content knowledge which can implicitly reinforce dominant system beliefs and practices (Apple, 1979).
Soc ial Studie s fre que ntly advocate discussion-based pedagogies and the use of dialogue to view social issues from multiple perspectives (Davies, 2004). In our classrooms, this may take the form of looking at different perspectives from stakeholders (E.g. government policy makers and citizens from different segments of society) or from the lenses of different disciplines (E.g. History, Sociology, Psychology and Economics). The field is quite diverse. Discussion-based pedagogies are important because they contrast starkly with traditional teachercentric delivery of uncontestable content knowledge which can implicitly reinforce dominant system beliefs and practices (Apple, 1979). More importantly, discussion-based pedagogies also provide potential and opportunities to educate students for “multicultural literacy” (Banks 2003), to read the word and the world from different perspec tive s by questioning assumptions (Freire and Macedo
1987), and encourage students to become agents for social change (Freire 1998). Yet despite our thorough subject matter preparation and intense use of source-based materials which present diverse perspectives, we often end up with traditional examinationoriented assessment practices – the use of source-based question practices or essay-type a ssig nme nts. Ou r de brie f sometimes end up with very general teacher comments about what we think is the ‘best way forward’ to resolve society’s various social ills with our students sometimes leaving our classrooms feeling that multiple perspectives are subjective in nature and merely a ‘paper exercise’ on getting voices heard. Is there a better way to consolidate different perspectives? What are some strategies that we can use? These questions frame the discussion in this article.