Constructivist Learning for Student Engagement

I remember in my first years of teaching, 25 years ago, when I had to teach how to create an MLA Works Cited page for days. There were so many nuances and small differences between a book, a magazine and a newspaper. I can still recite from memory what those citations should look like; however, over the last few weeks my Honors ELA 8 students have been preparing for a debate, and it seems laughable that I’d devote any time to talking about citations when they can click the “cite this source” button that is a part of the source material. Between using AI to be more efficient and effective, while also noting that much of what I used to teach is irrelevant, has me thinking about what teaching and learning should look like going forward.

I’ve been toying with this idea all year, and the debate unit I’m in right now with my Honors students is the result of a new approach that I’m working within. I explained to them the basics of constructivist learning theory, which you can read about here. We talked a bit about learning and metacognition, which I’ve been interested in for a long time, as you can read about in this EdWeek “Question of the Week” where many educators weigh in on the importance of thinking about their own thinking. I asked these students what they thought they might need to know to be successful in high school and how we might accomplish that goal. Many of them mentioned research, as well as public speaking, so we landed on debates. Here’s the Share My Lesson resource that contains a schedule, an overview and a great example debate to share with students. I’ve also written about debate for MiddleWeb and Getting Smart, with a more general audience in mind. 

The theory behind constructivist learning is easily applicable to debate. Constructivist learning checks all the boxes that I love: student-centered, active learning, contextual learning and social interaction. Here are the steps of the unit so far: 

1. Build anticipation

I didn’t tell students what our topics were. I wanted to have a “topic reveal” day; and frankly, there aren’t enough surprises in school. 

2. Choosing topics

To continue to hype the novelty, I used Minions cards to draw numbers; and then, I finally let them in on their research questions:

• Is AI more helpful or harmful?
• Should cellphones be banned in schools from bell to bell?
• Should schools and workplaces have dress codes?
• Should animal testing be outlawed? 

I wanted the questions to be slightly controversial without political undertones.           

3. Research

We went to the library for seven days, where our amazing librarian, Rachel, had prepared a research website specifically for our class. We had planned on students getting an overview of research on Day 1; on Days 2-4, they’d focus on one side of the argument; then on Days 5-7, they’d focus on the other side of the argument.

4. Inserting novelty 

To keep the momentum going, we returned to the classroom where students now drew their side, and they’d also find out who they would be working with. I made a point to tell them they’d need to be careful in their reactions. No matter who they were working with and on which side, they were in this together. 

5. Creating norms 

After students were divided into their debate teams, I gave them some ice-breaker questions, and then tasked them with creating norms for their team. I asked them to consider things like absences, expectations and communication. I gave them time to get acclimated, and I then checked in with all the teams. I gave each team some advice and set them free to start preparing. 

6. Preparing for the debate 

Students will be spending the next week and a half working with their teams to construct the argument, create counterarguments, prepare for rebuttals and delineate roles. They will work together to understand each other’s strengths, and assign roles accordingly. Each day I will have a guiding question, a brief mini-lesson, or a reminder. This is very independent, and some groups will opt to return to the library for more research.

7. The debate: 

Stay tuned! We’ve just had a snow/cold day, and there’s another foot or so coming tonight, so all those plans may be shifting. If, like me, you live with uncertain weather, plan at least a few days into the schedule (which I did!). 

The great thing about these debates so far has been that they addressed needs that students self-identified, provided some novelty and excitement in a dreary time of year, and encouraged students to socialize with different classmates than they normally would in a completely predictable and structured way. The best part is that when students start to get overwhelmed, I can remind them that they already realized how important these skills are and that middle school is a great time to practice and reflect before high school. The buy-in has been tremendous, and I’ll keep you posted on the actual debates.