Aaron Bennett

11-2-‘00

 

                                                Devil’s Advocate

 

            Alverman, D.E., Dillon, D.R., & O’Brien, D.G. (1987). “Discussion strategies for content area reading.”  Newark, DE: International Reading Association/National Reading Conference. 

 

Learning Strategy: To assist students in forming more concrete arguments and to see things from other perspectives.  It fosters critical thinking skills as well.

 

Significance for Literacy: Students must be well versed in the topic enough to debate it.

 

Purpose:            To test the strength of one’s own beliefs by arguing against them.  It helps students to see the weak points in their argument.  Ultimately the students will become better at debates and argumentative papers.  This is an old method used by Plato with his students.  It is a very good method that can still be used today.  We truly can learn something from those dusty old Greek thinkers.  Sometimes the students may even change their minds in the face of compelling arguments. 

 

Procedure:

1.) Bring up issues to be discussed.  The teacher may give a few sample arguments at the beginning to show what is to be done.

 

2.) Have students think about what they feel on that subject.

 

3.) Put the students in pairs that feel the same way.

 

4.) Have the students create an argument against their own beliefs.

 

5.) Have the students argue and then switch positions with their partner.

 

6.) Have the students argue from that other side.

 

7.) Have the students pick the best arguments from each side of the issue to present to the class as a whole.

 

8.) Start with only two positions then move to three or more later on.

 

9.) Ask the students how their thinking has changed after the use of this strategy. 

 

Applications to English: This would be a great tool to use along with a novel.  Many novels bring up issues that the author is trying to deal with.  I could have the students discuss these issues.  They could bring in how they relate to the book, or to real life.  This would help the students in the writing of their argumentative papers.  I might use this activity in lieu of a written paper.  In that case the students would have to research their arguments much more than a more spur of the moment class discussion.  Many English teachers also find themselves teaching a speech type class.  If I ever have that type of class, I can hardly get around using this technique. 

 

Modifications:

> I would have the students write down their real beliefs beforehand and seal them in an envelope.  I would then have the kids argue twice, once on either side of the issue.  Afterward we could check to see which one the student really believed in.  That might be interesting to see if the students are really as persuasive as they think they are on their side of the fence.

 

> I would use it as a whole class discussion pitting teams against teams.  Unequal numbers might mean that students need to make their arguments more convincing to sway others.

 

> I might put all of the people who feel strongly about the topic in two groups.  The ones who feel strongly for the issue would be in the group arguing against it and vice versa for the other group.  The undecided students would sit in the middle at the start of the discussion.  These undecided students would be allowed to move to one group or the other at any point in the debate when they find they have made their decision based upon the arguments.

 

> I would have students research the topic for a few days so they would have enough information to present their argument more concisely and thoroughly. 

 

> I would videotape the students’ arguments so they could see how they argued.  This might be interesting to pick out nonverbal speech techniques.  That would also give me some examples to use the following year.

 

Drawbacks:

> Students may have difficulty in trying to argue from another person’s perspective.  If the students will NOT see the other side of the issue, they simply won’t be able to argue from it.

 

> The arguments could lead to actual fights if the class does not take the argument in context or if it is an especially charged subject.

 

> If there are more than two sides, this method could be a little awkward to implement.