Dilemma-based learning in the humanities: integrating social, emotional and thinking skills

Author: Phil Wood, Barry Hymer, Deb Michel

Use dilemma based learning techniques in your humanities classroom to teach your students important skills that will help them make wise choices in their lives. This book is by Phil Wood, Barry Hymer and Deb Michel.

This book is designed to aid a developing understanding of the ways in which the dilemma based learning framework can be applied to secondary humanities classroom.  Using this technique you can introduce tools that will help your students to practice and develop their abilities to make wise choices in their lives.

This unique book will enable you to delve straight in to working with dilemmas whilst allowing you to develop a practice which involves both reflection and action in equal measure.  It does this by allowing you to expose your students to enquiries into a number of difficult choices based upon real life.

The dilemma based learning approach will also help your students to improve their group skills, as enquiries are based upon a joint quest, in the belief that several thinkers working together are more effective than just one.

During dilemma based learning lessons they will have an opportunity to reflect upon their progress in both these areas of development.

This book will enable you to implement tools and techniques that will:

• Allow your students to practise and develop skills they can use throughout their lives to make considered decisions, including skills of reflection, enquiry, logical and analytical thinking and considering multiple solutions
• Improve students ability to work with others as part of an effective group
• Encourage whole-class and group discussion that will challenge and stretch your students thinking
• Give students skills that they can use in other subjects to raise performance, such as creative thinking and reasoning

Dilemma based learning in the humanities is split into four clear sections, each of which will help to encourage a critical understanding of the dilemma based learning techniques and how they can be developed and used in the classroom.

The book provides:

• a consideration of how dilemma based learning sessions can be facilitated within the classroom;
• a number of suggested dilemmas covering Geography, History and Religious Education;
• suggestions for developing your own dilemmas;
• a consideration of how the approach can positively impact on students;
• how dilemma based learning can be applied beyond and between classrooms;
• a simple framework for reviewing and planning for further development of the technique;
• a simple continuing professional development element which has been designed for use by individuals, small groups, or whole staff meetings which are aimed at highlighting some of the main ideas and approaches found within that section.

Dilemma based learning is an approach that can be used in a range of situations, including whole-class situations and enrichment or extension withdrawal groups.