Visual Lists - Here students
are asked to make a list--on paper or on the blackboard; by working in
groups, students typically can generate more comprehensive lists than they
might if working alone. This method is particularly effective when students
are asked to compare views or to list pros and cons of a position.
One technique which works well with such comparisons is to have students
draw a "T" and to label the left- and right-hand sides of the cross bar
with the opposing positions (or 'Pro' and 'Con'). They then list everything
they can think of which supports these positions on the relevant side of
the vertical line. Once they have generated as thorough a list as they
can, ask them to analyze the lists with questions appropriate to the exercise.
For example, when discussing Utilitarianism (a theory which claims that
an action is morally right whenever it results in more benefits than harms)
students can use the "T" method to list all of the (potential) benefits
and harms of an action, and then discuss which side is more heavily "weighted".
Often having the list before them helps to determine the ultimate utility
of the action, and the requirement to fill in the "T" generally results
in a more thorough accounting of the consequences of the action in question.
In science classes this would work well with such topics as massive vaccination
programs, nuclear power, eliminating chlorofluorocarbons, reducing carbon
dioxide emissions, and so forth.
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