An Innovative Modification to Structured Controversy

Abstract

'Structured Controversy' (SC) is a co-operative learning activity where students, working in small groups, argue one side of an issue in Round 1 and then another side of the same issue in Round 2. Typically, for Round 2, student teams argue against the same team they heard and spoke with in Round 1. Our innovation is to have student teams matched with a different team for Round 2 (in addition to arguing another side of the issue), in what we call a 'Double Switch'. SC was successfully used in the course, 'Professional Issues', at the School of Physical Therapy, University of Saskatchewan, two years running in October 1999 and again in October 2000. The students reported a high degree of satisfaction with the SC activity and were challenged to think deeply about the issue in question. It appears that the modification we used (Double Switch)made Round 2 effective and as a result enhanced student learning.