Scholarship as Conversation Assignment

Choose a topic or research project for your students (1)

Investigate if parents should be allowed to censor literature in schools?

(This topic addresses current issues of parents who find it offensive for various reasons for their children to be exposed to content that they find isn't suitable for them. Religious reasons in most cases are chief among them.)

Draft three learning outcomes (3)

After today’s class learners must be able to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of parent involvement.

Learners should be able to describe the most common concerns regarding censorship 

Learners should be able to tell the difference between censorship/over-reacting/freedom of speech (involves the right to learn all the information and form an opinion).

Design three activities (3)

Show how each activity relates to a ‘knowledge practice’ or ‘disposition’ (3)

Activity 1: Give an oral account on what was learned. (Learners are to go out and read up on the topic of 'Censorship' and then present what they found to the class Knowledge Practice: not having a fluency in the language and process of a discipline dis-empowers their ability to  participate and engage. So by knowing what censorship is about and what it is not would help a person’s confidence when speaking about the concept.

Activity 2: Design a Role-playing activity. In order to assist the kids in understanding the concept or topic mentioned. We will have children acting as the parents, and researching from various sources (parents and teachers) and avenues from censorship as a parent perceives it. The Knowledge practice that this represents is to critically evaluate contributions made by others in participatory information environments. Show even though these are learners they will have to look at contributions made by various sources that write from the perspective of a mother and add to that conversation.

Activity 3: Third activity I would start a discussion forum for my class. And on that platform they must discuss things from a student/parent point of view. Openly discuss whether they agree or disagree or agree and disagree and also they must motivate on this platform why they feel what they feel and the validity of whatever they are saying. Where they got their information from. Knowledge Practice: contribute to scholarly conversation at an appropriate level (local online community, guided discussion, undergraduate research journal, conference presentation/poster session).