Teaching controversial issues is particularly challenging in today's world of misinformation, disinformation, and fake news. This article explores how critical thinking can be embedded in such discussions using the street smarts critical thinking model. The study focuses on the contentious use of the poison 1080 as a case study, systematically…

Until the beginning of the 21st century, the Tulsa Race Massacre was omitted mainly from the social studies curriculum and state-mandated standards in the United States. However, the featured lesson provides a valuable springboard to explore the historical perspectives and injustices against the Black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on May 31, 1921.…

In Georgia, the recent "Protect Students First Act," or GA HB 1084, states that curricula and training programs should refrain from judging others based on race or advocate for divisive concepts such as "One race is inherently superior to another race," or that "the United States of America is fundamentally racist."…

This paper is a reflective response to Tena Thau's suggestion -- in her 2024 piece 'Moral Philosophy as War Propaganda' -- that philosophy has little to teach about the war in Gaza (and, by extension, similar cases of widespread, horrific human suffering). I first reconstruct one of the arguments that Thau makes in her piece. I then show that her…

While the teaching of controversial issues has generally been supported by schools and education scholars, new laws and public outcry have impacted whether and how controversial issues are taught. Calls to ban or limit teaching of controversial issues have largely been spurred by conservative parents, policymakers, and political groups. Some…

This article outlines a method used to successfully breakthrough student bias surrounding controversial issues in the classroom. The method uses a debate with randomized position assignments to encourage students to consider all sides of the topic. Student feedback is overwhelmingly positive and students appear to develop a newfound respect and…

During the unprecedented and rapid spread of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) around the World, students have been concerned about the disease as much as the rest of the global community. As a real-world problem, the COVID-19 pandemic with many different debatable facets has social and scientific components, impacts society, and shows…

Teaching students to become critical consumers of interviews, which often serve as influential sources for learning and interpreting world events, is important in today's information-rich world. This paper outlines an approach to teaching in-depth interviewing in which students examine excerpts from interviews (e.g., archival collections, oral…

The growth of academic discussion about teaching controversial topics in the classroom has been matched by parallel studies into conspiracy theories in recent decades. Despite the interdisciplinary interest in the latter, there has been very little discussion of conspiracy theories within educational discourse. This article takes up the discussion…

The authors, Bertha Alvarez Manninen, a pro-choice associate professor of philosophy at Arizona State University, and Jack Mulder Jr., a pro-life professor of philosophy at Hope College in Michigan have argued with each other since graduate school about abortion and other issues, while respecting each other's stances and friendship. In the current…

Through a collaboration between a professor in academia and an industry professional, entry-level food science students were given the opportunity to critically evaluate the safety of energy drinks. This evaluation occurred through a General Education (Category A3) course designated "Critical Thinking" at California State University --…

This review essay explores the complexities and challenges involved in addressing controversial issues in the K-12 public school classroom, drawing from two recent books: Noddings and Brooks's "Teaching Controversial Issues: The Case for Critical Thinking and Moral Commitment in the Classroom" and Zimmerman and Robertson's "The Case…

The typical U.S. history curriculum does not ask students to think about justice. While ignoring injustice may reduce controversy in the classroom, critically thinking about justice engages students and prepares them to be citizens in an often contentious democracy. This article proposes five characteristics of history curricula that support…

To increase engaged participation while teaching the construction of race and impacts of racism in predominately white classrooms (PWCs), Jasmine Harris uses an ongoing assignment that asks students to repackage what they are learning, bridging racial theory introduced in assigned readings with students' synthesis of course material to create…

The normative elements underlying efficiency are more complex than generally portrayed and rely upon ethical frameworks that are generally absent from classroom discussions. Most textbooks, for example, ignore the ethical differences between Pareto efficiency (based on voluntary win-win outcomes) and the modern Kaldor-Hicks efficiency used in…