The section offers sample questions can be integrated into existing course materials. They can be used “as is” or adapted to suit the learning needs of your course. Because these questions can be relatively quick to answer, they can be given more often and offer students multiple opportunities to practice reflecting on civic discourse. Because they are low-stakes, instructors might choose to treat them as “complete/incomplete” in their grading schemes. This can take pressure off both faculty and students.
Some Ways to use sample questions
The sample questions below can be used in a wide variety of ways. The following is short list to get us started, but it is far from exhuastive.
- Ticket-in or Ticket-out — instructors can give students one of the questions below as a prompt at the beginning of class (aka a “ticket-in”). This can serve as a record of attendance. It can also prime the pump for class discussion and prompt student reflection more generally. Logistically, this can be accomplished by passing out slips of paper with the question on it and collected five minutes into the class session. Alternatively, slips of paper can be passed out at the end of class (aka “ticket out”) to prompt reflection as they exit. Five minutes will suffice and these can be graded as “complete/incomplete.”
- Reflection “time-outs” –– instructors can intentionally pause class to ask students to reflect about the day’s content. This could include one of the sample questions below. Logistically, questions could be written on the board, projected on a screen, given on slips of paper, or read aloud. Students could be asked to free-write, pair up with the student next to them to discuss, or prompt the class discussion as a whole. The point is to encourage students to make explicit connections between the day’s material and larger skills under development.
- Student journal –– instructors might build some of the sample questions into a low stakes journal assignment. Logistically, these questions could be posted in the Learning Management System once a week or they could be collected periodically during the semester. These could be graded as complete/incomplete. Offering regular low stakes questions can give students practice opportunities.
- Just-in-Time assignments — instructors can use sample questions as part of a just-in-time teaching strategy. Logistically, instructors can post a question on the Learning Management System. Students submit their answers the night before class. Instructors review student submissions before the class. The review can be a quick scan for themes. The point is to have a sense of what students are thinking “just in time” for the class session. Again, these can be graded as complete/incomplete. This strategy allows students regular opportunities to engage in structured reflection. It can also give instructors insight into student thinking.
Sample Questions
Civic Discourse
Reflecting on constructively engaging with others (click to expand)
- Think back to your early life growing up. How did grown-ups around you disagree? Now that you’re an adult, how many of these practices would you currently endorse?
- What was a time when you surprised yourself with the way you handled a difficult disagreement? What made it so surprising?
- What does constructive dialogue look like? Does it differ if you’re talking to friends, family, co-workers, or a stranger? If so, how does it differ? If not, what is the unifying feature across different contexts?
- Imagine someone says something morally icky. What’s the source of the “ick”? Is it the person or the view? What if your favorite person in the world said the same thing?
- How do you feel when people disagree? In particular, what’s going on in your body?
- Describe a time when you thought you should advocate for something important, but you didn’t. What kept you from advocating for what you believe matters?
- How do you know if your view is being understood by others?
- How do you signal to others that you “get them,” even if you don’t agree with what they have to say?
- Describe a time when you faced a disagreement over something important and you came away feeling like you successfully made the best of a bad situation.
- Consider someone in your life that you respect even though you don’t agree with everything that they have to say about the world. What allows you to continue respecting them despite your disagreement over particular issues?
- What does safe and respectful disagreement look like? Even if the disagreement makes you feel uncomfortable, how do you know that it’s safe and respectful?
- Describe a time when you faced a disagreement over something important and you stood up for what was important to you even though you felt uncomfortable.
Critical Thinking
Reflecting on what and how we know (click to expand)
- What is an issue that you cannot imagine being wrong about? What makes you so sure that you’ve got it right?
- Consider the various spaces that you find yourself in (such as school, the workplace, a friend’s house). Do you find that your understanding of the world shifts as you move from one space to another?
- Are you comfortable engaging with the unfamiliar? What makes you resistant?
- What might make you reluctant to actively seek out information that will challenge your views about the world?
- Think back to a time when you were really hungry (or tired, or sick). How did being in one of these states affect your ability to process information?
- How do you know if a source of information is actually trustworthy?
- Describe a time when you passed along information that you thought was accurate only to find out later that it was mistaken.
Ethical Reasoning
Reflecting on what matters (click to expand)
- Imagine you’ve decided to write your memoir. What’s a core belief about the world that the readers would need to know if they hope to understand what makes you sick?
- Think about a time when you came away from a conversation feeling like you needed a shower. What was it that left you feeling dirty?
- When do you find yourself making sacrifices on another’s be half? What is it about the circumstance that makes it feel like the right thing to do?
- Describe a situation in which two important things in your life come into conflict (such as the needs of friends conflicting with family or work obligations conflicting with your schoolwork). How did you decide what to do? Would you do anything differently with the benefit of hindsight?
- Describe a time when you made a difficult decision and later felt like a “sell out.” What’s the part of you that got “sold out”?
- When you check your phone, there are two messages – one from a friend and one from a family member. Both people need a favor and there is no way that you can do both. How do you choose?
- What would you do for $10 million? Might you bend or suspend your guiding principles because of the huge payout? Is there anything that you would NOT do for any amount of money? If so, what?
- Describe a time when you let yourself down. What was at stake? How did you fall short?
- How do you feel when you see someone you care about behaving in ways that are contrary to their own values?
- Think of a time when you’ve seen someone act like a hypocrite. What explains their hypocrisy? Was it something about the situation? Or is being a hypocrite just part of who they are?