Philosophical Chairs
WICOR Wednesday
What are Philosophical Chairs?
Philosophical Chairs is similar to a debate. Students are given a central topic or question that they must choose to agree, disagree or be neutral regarding the answer. A great Philosophical Chairs discussion starts with a great topic or question. Topics that work best are ones that are important to students or that they feel strongly about.
Student Objective: Students will develop inquiry, oral language, and argumentation skills, through participation in an informed debate on a controversial issue, while considering various points of view.
- AVID Critical Thinking and Engagement Book
When beginning Philosophical Chairs, educators are encouraged to:
- Ensure that students have developed a baseline level of mutual trust and respect.
- Make sure that students are committed to the Rules of Engagement (see Lesson Plan resources).
- Make sure that the central statement has two clear positions.
WICORize Philosophical Chairs
I: Students are given a question to research & prepare possible questions during the discussion. Students have to critically think about the prompt.
C: Students take turns defending their positions in a collaborative setting
O: Students are given an organizer for per-work and debreif. Philosophical Chairs is a collaborative structure that has an organized environment.
R: Students read prior to coming to class, for example a newspaper article, short story, essay or literary selection.
click on the video below to view philosophical chairs
Where to begin?
Creating a Prompt
The prompt for Philosophical Chairs can dictate the success or failure almost immediately. The prompt must be engaging, easily understood, and clearly divided into two sides. A successful prompt will encourage students to debate the merits of the content behind the statement or question—and not allow students to hide behind one word as they search for a technicality in their argumentation.
Where to find prompts:
- Have students read an AVID Weekly article (see Mrs. Matautia & Ms. Fixsen for username and password). After reading and marking the text, create a prompt for philosophical chairs where students can take a stand.
- Content specific sources
- Articles and College-related articles
- TED-talks
- Blogs or Podcasts
- Topics from Critical Thinking & Engagement resource
TIPS for creating a prompt that works click HERE
Pre-Discussion Organizer
Student will record the central statement that is presented for discussion and list as many reasons as possible for why someone would agree or disagree with it. After listing these reasons, students will summarize their current position on the central statement using complete sentences. Click HERE.
During the activity:
Key points to follow during Philosophical Chairs:
- Encourage a wider array of student speakers, put speaking limits, such as “Three before me,” (i.e., “Three students must speak before I can speak again”) in place to avoid having one or two students dominate the debate.
- Pause the activity at a strategic point in the debate—especially after a variety of perspectives have been shared—and ask students to contemplate where they are now in their thinking and consider changing sides.
- Consider asking all students to reconvene in the middle of the classroom halfway through the debate to discuss the merits of the debate so far. Then, prompt them back to the side which best represents where they currently are in their mindset. With everybody moving, students often feel more at ease with demonstrating their change of mind.
- Frequently remind students that they should be making eye contact with the other side of the class—and not with the teacher or facilitator—when delivering their points.
- The role of the teacher is to remain the facilitator of the debate, and not to engage students with arguments for one side or the other. The intent of Philosophical Chairs is to foster student confidence and critical thinking skills in a public speaking format. Students will often defer to the teacher’s opinion and will be reluctant to challenge or elaborate upon it. However, effective facilitation may require the teacher to paraphrase a student’s argument for the sake of clarity
Teacher Resource 4.6f
Rules for engagement during philosophical chairs for students in order to maintain engagement during:
- Maintain your understanding of the prompt or central statement throughout the activity.
- Actively listen to the person who is speaking.
- Wait for the teacher or facilitator to recognize you before you speak; only one person speaks at a time.
- Seek to understand the opposing speaker’s point of view, even if you do not agree with him/her.
- Briefly summarize the previous speaker’s argument before you make your response.
- Contribute your own thoughts, offering your reasons as succinctly as possible.
- Respond to statements and ideas only, not to the person giving them.
- Change your mind about the central statement as new information or reasoning is presented.
- Refrain from having side conversations during the debate portion of the activity.
- Move to the opposite side or to the undecided position if your thinking grows and changes as a result of convincing arguments from the opposing side.
- Support the discussion by maintaining order and contributing constructive comments.
- Critical Thinking & Engagement
After Philosophical Chairs
Student Objective: Students will reflect on the experience of participating in Philosophical Chairs and utilize metacognitive skills in order to improve future Philosophical Chairs
experiences.
- Always allow time in class for a debrief after the activity ends. In addition to reflecting on the discussion points, it also functions as a “cool-down” period for when students are passionate about their opinions.
- Consider summarizing the arguments using a T-chart to inventory the statements made. It will demonstrate to students how much was truly said beyond their own beliefs and opinions.
- Choose the assessment/debrief writing tool that best fits the targeted learning standard.
Click HERE for "Participant Reflective Checklist" & Click HERE for "Written Reflection"
Teacher Resource 4.6f
Types of Philosophical Chairs
Classical Style
Students will develop inquiry, oral language, and argumentation skills, through participation in an informed debate on a controversial issue, while considering various points of view.
Overview Philosophical Chairs:
Classic Style is a structured form of academic discourse which relies on a prompt as the foundation for discussion and informed debate. It is a form of dialogue in which students develop a deeper understanding of a text or subject. This strategy gives students opportunities to improve verbal capability and fluency, as well as develop skills in the precise use of academic language.
See example below.
Speed Formation
Student Objective:
Students will quickly develop arguments on a variety of topics through a speed-style variation of Philosophical Chairs.
Overview:
Philosophical Chairs: Speed Formation utilizes many of the same components of the classic version, but is a fun, fast-paced variation that can be utilized during shortened class periods. This variation of Philosophical Chairs should
only be utilized after students have developed their skills through the classic style.
Click HERE for a detailed lesson plan
Jury Style
Student Objective
Students will evaluate the arguments of others through a jury-style variation of Philosophical Chairs.
Overview
Similar to the classic version of Philosophical Chairs in several regards, the jury style incorporates a slightly different class set-up and discourse. The jury style works well with smaller numbers of students (12–24), or if students are less inclined to embrace public speaking despite a desire to participate. This variation should only be utilized after students have developed their skills through the classic style.
Click HERE for a detailed lesson plan
Example of Philosophical Chairs: Classical Style
Instructional Steps
1. Review the purpose and format of the Philosophical Chairs activity with students.
2. Introduce the central statement that will be discussed and define all of the relevant terms.
3. Utilizing the Pre-Discussion Organizer for Philosophical Chairs, have students brainstorm and record as many arguments as possible for and against the statement, and then summarize their current personal position on the statement.
Another option is to instruct students to complete a quick write on the prompt in order to allow them the opportunity to process the statement individually, while they determine the reasoning behind their perspective.
4. Before beginning the activity, review the Rules of Engagement for Philosophical Chairs and the Participant Reflective Checklist for Philosophical Chairs with students.
5. If this is a text-based debate, have students select quotations, paragraph numbers, or page numbers that support their positions.
6. To begin the activity, designate one side of the room as the agree side and the other as the disagree side.
7. Instruct students to move to the side that best represents their perspective, and have each side face the other.
8. As students become more accustomed to this activity, consider adding a smaller third side that represents those undecided about their stance on the statement. For students who remain uncertain, encourage them to move to the side that is closest to their perspective, ensuring them that they are permitted to move should their minds change during the course of the activity.
9. Starting with the agree side, alternate between the two sides as students debate the merit of the statement in a structured manner. The debate should move in an orderly, structured manner, back and forth between the two sides.
10. Each student should summarize the previous speaker’s argument before providing a reason supporting their perspective, clarifying a previously mentioned statement, or directing a question at their opposition—which can be answered or ignored. Expect students to regularly integrate quotes or sources when providing their delivery.
11. Encourage students to switch sides should they change their minds
about the prompt. See the “During the Debate” section of Tips for
Philosophical Chairs for more information.
12. The final step of Philosophical Chairs is to debrief and reflect upon the process. See the Philosophical Chairs: Debriefing activity for more information on this step.
Do you have student examples? Did you create a lesson plan?
If you have used any of the information from this SMORE in your classroom, please share lesson plans and student examples with me at kfixsen@powayusd.com