Dilemma Discussions: An Overview for Educators

by Danny Mucinskas

The Good Project’s curricular resources, including our lesson plans and activities in our online database, focus in large part on discussions of dilemmas.

If you have never led a dilemma discussion before, we recognize that it may be daunting, as it is not always easy to open up a conversation with a room full of students that is not about a traditional disciplinary topic. As an educator, you might wonder how students will react to discussing a specific story, particularly if it deals with a sensitive topic or particularly thorny issue. You might also wonder whether students will find meaning in the activity, and how to keep the conversation “on track” by focusing on what is most salient. Here, our team provides further context about why we use dilemmas as a teaching tool; how you and your students might read dilemmas; and how a productive dilemma discussion in a classroom might unfold.

The Ideas Behind Dilemmas

Our dilemmas are narratives, each of which tells the story of an individual who struggles to make a difficult decision under complex circumstances. All of the dilemmas included in our materials are inspired by real-life cases, and they can be used to as a basis for reflection and conversation about how to do “good work.” As we define “good work,” it is excellent, engaging, and ethical. Oftentimes, the dilemma will involve someone who is torn between these three aspects of our framework of good work. For example, the narrative might describe someone who feels that performing their job responsibilities well would mean a conflict with their moral values, and therefore sacrificing ethics for the sake of excellence (e.g., a lawyer who is forced to defend someone who they believe is guilty of an abhorrent crime).

You can think of dilemma discussions as part of the tradition of the “case-study” method. Case studies are often used as a component of the curricula of professional schools, such as medical, business, or education schools. Such case studies provide students with authentic, in-depth problems of practice that they can discuss and analyze. As a result, they can develop insights that will be applicable in practice to their future careers. Dilemmas have been used as pedagogical tools in a variety of classroom environments, from elementary through graduate school. Additionally, dilemmas offer a powerful method of analyzing students’ ethical reasoning skills, a practice that traces back decades to the work of developmental psychologists like Carol Gilligan, Lawrence Kohlberg, and Jean Piaget.

Like the case studies of professional schools, the dilemmas compiled by The Good Project are intended for students to reflect upon and ideally discuss together, to analyze, and to extrapolate lessons. Our hope is that students will take these lessons with them as they inevitably encounter dilemmas in the world, in their schools and in their future workplaces.

Rather than adhere to any one domain or area of practice, our dilemmas cover a span of professional and academic settings. We chose to include a variety of environments in our narratives so that students can see what “good work” looks like no matter their life course. Additionally and ideally, students will develop skills that are applicable in any setting, including critical thinking, ethical reasoning, perspective-taking, and the ability to reflect.

Through dilemmas, students will put themselves in the shoes of others, gaining exposure to authentic problems that have arisen for individuals in real workplaces or schools. By engaging with the complexity of the narratives, students will become better prepared to make well-reasoned decisions. They will develop insights related to concepts like personal values, responsibility, and ethical frameworks. Using these concepts to pull apart what makes a dilemma complicated and vexing, students will be able to similarly confront real dilemmas that they are likely to encounter in their own lives and navigate them successfully to do “good work.”

How to Read a Dilemma

When looking at a dilemma for the first time, we recommend that you and your students prepare as follows. This process should help you to get the most out of the narrative and be ready to have a productive discussion together as a group.

1. Read the short version of the dilemma. Each dilemma begins with a 1-2 paragraph summary that covers the main elements of the narrative. (If time is short with your students, or you would like students to imagine details to add to a dilemma, you may want to use the short version only as a basis for discussion.)

2. Read the full version of the dilemma. The full dilemma will contain more information about the person at its center, what precipitated the situation, and which factors may have influenced  decision-making. As you read, make sure to highlight or write down information that is key to understanding the person and the circumstances that are described.

3. Look over your notes and scan through the text of the dilemma again. Now that you have an understanding of what happens in the case, it will be useful to ask yourself questions such as:

• Why is this situation a dilemma for the person described?

• What values are at stake?

• Are conflicting responsibilities present, and if so, what are they?

• What roles and identities does the person in the dilemma hold? How might these various roles and identities conflict? Would people who hold different roles handle the situation differently?

• Do excellence, engagement, and ethics play a role in the story? If so, how? If not, why not?

• What advice would you give the person in the dilemma?

• What other situations does the dilemma remind you of, perhaps in your own life?

It may be useful to create a mind map or other visual organizer of some sort as you analyze the dilemma. Or you could simply write down your thoughts under headings so you don’t forget your insights as you answer some of these questions. Feel free to use whatever aid to thinking and problem-solving works well for you.

4. Finally, consider your opinions about the conclusion of the dilemma. What do you think the person should do (or should have done), and why? Prepare to discuss or write about your opinions using evidence from the text or your own ideas about what might be missing.

How to Have a Dilemma Discussion

Dilemmas can be a source of individual reflection, but they are likely to be most fruitful as teaching tools in group settings. Classroom or small group discussions are ideal formats for students to grapple with dilemmas and to surface multiple viewpoints. Through discussion, your students will learn directly from their peers and be exposed to perspectives that perhaps they had not previously considered. They will practice sharing their opinions and resolving conflicts, and they will become more attuned to doing good work in practice.

We make a few recommendations for successful dilemma discussions below.

• Allow for debate. Students will (hopefully) have divergent views from one another, and it may lead to disagreements. Seek to uncover the source of differing opinions. Why does one student believe one course of action is appropriate in a dilemma, while another student prefers another course of action? Set ground rules for debate, such as those provided by the Better Arguments Project (e.g., “take winning off the table”) in co-designed workbooks available here.

• Ask open-ended questions. There may be lulls in the conversation, or students may not be talkative at first. Prompt them to contribute by asking questions that invite them to take part in the discussion.

• Probe for new ideas. It may seem like students are sharing only a few points, or the dialogue may be moving in circles. Try to expand the conversation by raising new points for students to consider.

• Encourage participation. It’s important that students be able to advocate for their views and that they feel the classroom is a safe space to do so. Students should also feel free to contribute examples from their own lives that may relate to the dilemma at hand. You may also wish to use strategies like picking names out of a bowl so students know they may be called upon, dependent upon your class norms and comfort level of students speaking up.

• Try different formats. It may be helpful for students to discuss first in small groups, to be assigned a position to advocate for in a debate, or to role-play as a particular stakeholder in the dilemma. 

• Maintain a climate of safety and respect. Students should make space for each other’s contributions and approach the conversation with kindness and empathy.

Importantly, an overall principle to keep in mind throughout the discussion is that there is no right or wrong answer to our dilemmas, even though there may well be better or worse solutions that merit discussion. Instead, a dilemma discussion is about the process of students asking one another questions, listening to perspectives, and understanding more deeply the circumstances that led to the dilemma to begin with, rather than arriving at any ultimate correct interpretation.

We hope you and your students enjoy working with our dilemmas! For a set of resources regarding structuring dilemma discussions in practice, including setting norms, developing trust, and how to deal with controversy, please see this post for more information. 

Leading Dilemma Discussions

by Shelby Clark

Leading interesting discussions in the classroom can often seem like a fraught process. To begin, you might think you’ve discovered an engaging and interesting prompt only to find out that students find the subject terribly boring. Then, you change topics, only to find out that the material being discussed is now controversial, or even banned. Next, you want to allow students to bring their own topics to the discussion and end up with students in conflict with one another over issues of identity. Yet, as the world grows more politically polarized yet more globally connected, the need for civil discourse skills becomes only more evident. 

Here at The Good Project, we believe in the importance of discussing deliberately difficult dilemmas in order to develop the qualities needed to do good work– ethics, engagement, and excellence. When thinking about how to resolve a difficult dilemma, we often apply a framework referred to as the “5Ds,” which includes the following steps: 1) recognizing the dilemma in your life (define); 2) consulting with others regarding possible actions to take (discussing and debating); 3) personally reflecting on these options and whether or not to take action (deliberation); 4) making and potentially carrying out your decision (deciding); and, 5) finally, reflecting on the consequences of one’s decision and thinking about how one might handle similar decisions in the future (debriefing).

We realize that this process of engaging in such deliberate discussions requires that educators and students are ready to take on a high level of intellectual risk-taking in order to engage in what can end up being controversial or vulnerable conversations. Below, we review key processes and resources regarding civil discourse in the classroom in hopes of helping educators facilitate dilemma discussions more easily. 

Helping students feel that they are in a safe space where they can show their authentic selves to both their peers and their teachers is a step that should begin before starting dilemma discussions. Belonging for students can mean feeling a sense of connectedness, social support, or feeling valued and respected. Importantly, a large literature explores how students who have been marginalized are more likely to feel a sense of alienation in particular school contexts (for example, Black students in predominantly white college institutions). 

Teachers should be attuned to how students in their classrooms may or may not feel connected to school. Some tools include: 

• Making Caring Common’s Relationship Mapping Strategy

• Greater Good Science Center’s Practices for Building Positive Teacher-Student Relationships

• Greater Good Science Center’s Practices for Building Positive Peer Relationships

You might consider having your students engage in identity mapping so that they can begin to learn more about how their peers understand themselves; such understanding can begin to help them jump over the “empathy wall.” 

Once you feel your students are comfortable enough to begin discussions in the classroom, it is important to set norms for civil discourse. 

Resources abound regarding how to set norms for civil discussion. Here are just a few for inspiration: 

• Facing History’s Creating a Classroom Contract

• The Choices Program’s Guidelines for Participating in Classroom DIscussions

• United States Court’s Setting Ground Rules: Civil Discourse and Difficult Decisions

• Critical Multicultural Pavilion’s Guide for Setting Ground Rules

• Bill of Rights Institute’s Setting Classroom Expectations for Trust, Tolerance, and Civil Discourse 

One exercise that we have used in professional development and educational activities is to provide participants with a list of common norms for discussion. See the slide below: participants are asked to read over the norms and to take time in groups or as a whole to reflect. For example, are there norms that need to be adapted, dropped, or added?

Before diving in further, consider having your students complete a reflective self assessment such as the United States Courts’ Civility Self-Reflection Exercise. Where do they currently stand on these questions? Where might they stand at the end of a unit focused on debate or dilemma discussions? At the end of a semester or year? 

In order for students to take the intellectual risk of participating in a classroom discussion, students must know how to participate in such discussions. Depending on the issue at hand, discussions can call on a variety of students’ strengths and skills including critical thinking, evidentiary reasoning, argumentation, deliberation, reflection, metacognition, questioning, and more. Yet, students may have had little practice in using such strengths in the classroom. 

Provide Models

One way to help students learn the skills needed to engage in discussion is to provide them with specific models of good discussion and to have them reflect on those models. What are they seeing? What do students do in the discussion? What does the teacher do? What types of questions are asked? What statements are made? What is the body language of those in the discussion, and where is everyone standing or sitting? What is the tone of voice? Who gets to speak and when? 

Some models of discussion you might provide include: 

1. Harkness. Harkness is a pedagogy wherein students and teachers engage in an egalitarian manner in meaningful discussions around a table (versus a teacher at the front of a more typical classroom of desks).  These discussions work in support of  deep, critical thinking, reflection, and feelings of self-efficacy about learning. Phillips Exeter Academy, where Harkness was created, has numerous video examples of Harkness in action in the classroom that can be shown to students as a model. In addition, Harkness teaching tools, such as mapping comments at the Harkness table, can help students reflect on what they’re seeing. 

2. Socratic Discussions. A Socratic discussion is “a structured discussion in which students examine issues and respond to open-ended questions about a text. Students use dialogue rather than debate to communicate with each other.” However, in Socratic discussions, the teacher (or leader) often remains the main instigator of questioning, whereas in Harkness, students are meant to be the main initiators of questioning. There are numerous resources online to learn more about Socratic discussions (here, here, here), but you can also model these discussions with videos for your students as well. Consider having your students use some of AVID’s worksheets to help them reflect on the video model; for example, which of the AVID Socratic Seminar Questions did they observe being used in the video, if any? 

3. Better Arguments Project. The Better Arguments Project “is a national civic initiative created to help bridge divides – not by papering over those divides but by helping people have Better Arguments.” They have identified three dimensions and five principles of a better argument. The three dimensions include being aware of historical context, showing empathy and emotional intelligence, and recognizing power dynamics. The five principles include: 1) Take Winning off the Table; 2) Prioritize Relationships and Listen Passionately; 3) Pay Attention to Context; 4) Embrace Vulnerability; and 5) Make Room to Transform. Students can engage with some of the Better Argument Project’s “real stories” to learn more about having a better argument. The Good Project worked with the Better Arguments Project to create a workbook focused on how better arguments can help lead to good work. 

Importantly, a key element to all three of the above frameworks is the notion that discussion is not a debate–it is not about winning or losing but is instead about understanding one another’s perspectives and the truth about the subject being discussed. 

Provide Prompts & Explicitly Teach Skills

In addition to explicit models of discussion, prompts that guide students to conduct dialogue and discussion with particular skill sets, or explicitly teach these necessary skills, can be helpful. These skills include how to question, how to reflect, how to challenge, how to interject, how to comment, and so on. 

Some useful resources include: 

• Prompts: Facing History’s “Socratic Seminar Stems” 

• Prompts: Willett’s (2016) “Student Guide to Harkness Discussions”

• Prompts: EL Education’s “Sentence Starters for Courageous Conversations” 

• Commenting: The New York Times’ “Approve or Reject: Can You Moderate Five New York Times Comments?”

• Commenting: Phillip Exeter’s “Student Comments” 

• Finding Evidence: Facing History’s “Relevant or Not?” 

• Finding Evidence: Britannica’s ProCon.org

• Finding Evidence: Project Zero’s “Facts or Fiction?” 

• Challenge Biases: Facing History’s “Confirmation and Other Biases” 

• Recognize the Limits of Our Knowledge: Character Lab’s “Intellectual Humility Playbook”

• Active Listening: United States Institute of Peace’s “What is Active Listening?” 

• Active Listening: Facing History’s “Learn to Listen, Listen to Learn” 

• Awareness of Different Perspectives: Facing History’s “Cafe Conversations” 

• Awareness of Different Perspectives: Project Zero’s “Circle of Viewpoints” 

• Switching Perspectives: Britannica ProCon’s “Philosophical Chairs”

• Judging Arguments: Britannica ProCon’s “Judging the Arguments in a Debate”

• Defending a Position: Facing History’s “SPAR- Spontaneous Argumentation” 

• Disagree: Edutopia’s “Teaching Students to Disagree Productively”

• Refutation: Learning for Justice’s “Civil Discourse in the Classroom: Introduction to Refutation” (page 12)

• Criticality: Project Zero’s “True for Who?” 

• Criticality: Project Zero’s “Step In- Step Out- Step Back” 

• Decision Making: Character Lab’s “Decision Making Playbook” 

In today’s climate of increasing political and social division and tension, educators need to be prepared to deal with “hot button” topics in their classroom. Often, these exact topics are the ones students want to discuss, as they are the most relevant to their own identity development and lived experiences. 

A variety of resources exist to help educators be prepared when such issues arise: 

• Derek Bok Center’s “Managing Hot Moments in the Classroom” 

• University of Michigan’s Center for Research on Learning & Teaching “Guidelines for Discussing Difficult or High Stakes Topics” 

• University of Michigan’s Center for Research on Learning & Teaching “Discussion Guidelines on Various Topics” 

• Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching’s “Difficult Dialogues” 

• UConn’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning’s “Difficult Dialogues” 

• University of Michigan’s Center for Research on Learning & Teaching “Responding to Microaggressions in the Classroom/Learning Space: Some Options” 

• Faculty Focus’ “Responding to Microaggressions in the Classroom” 

• PBS’ “Structured Academic Controversy” 

In addition, there are resources to help educators tackle specific controversial or difficult discussions: 

• Issues of Race/Ethnicity: 

  • Learning for Justice’s “Let’s Talk!: Discussing Whiteness” 

  • Learning for Justice’s “Let’s Talk!: Discussing Black Lives Matter”

• Issues of Gender, Sexual Identity & Sexual Orientation

  • Learning for Justice’s “Get Past the Discomfort: Discuss LGBT Issues” 

  • Learning for Justice’s “Discussing Sexual Harassment in the Classroom” 

  • Learning for Justice’s “Let’s Talk! Discussing Gender in the Classroom” 

  • University of Michigan’s Center for Research on Learning & Teaching “Guidelines for Discussion of CyberBullying and Expressions of Anti-Gay Sentiment”

Of course one of the main goals of engaging in discussion is to talk about and learn the content in question, whether it’s a poem, a recent news event, Greek philosophy, or a math equation. However, as discussed above, it is also important for students to learn the skills and strengths needed to engage in any discussion.

To accomplish this type of learning students need to be able to engage in metacognitive reflection, meaning they are able to keep track of: 

• What they have already known (prior knowledge)

• What they don’t know (areas of improvement)

• What they want to master (their goals)

• What they will do to improve (action plan)

This process is encapsulated in what is termed the “metacognition cycle.” 

To help students with metacognitive reflection: 

• Find ed-tech tools that will help them set, assess, and keep track of their goals 

• Provide protocols for critique and feedback 

• Have students think about their cognitively passive versus cognitively active studying or discussion behaviors 

• Use student portfolios or journals to prompt reflection

• Have a “Stop and Think” time where you use open-ended questions to help students think about how they’re learning, rather than what they’re learning

• Use Project Zero’s “I used to think _____, now I think _____” routine to help students think about how their mindsets have changed

Harkness METICs are an excellent example of a metacognitive reflection exercise. Although implemented differently by each Harkness teacher, METIC stands for “Mid-Term Effort to Improve Class,” and generally involves either formal or informal reflection exercises in which students are asked to think about what has been going well and not well at the Harkness table– often both individually and as a collective group– and what can be done to improve for the remainder of the semester. See examples here and here. 

Conclusion

This is by no means an exhaustive list of resources regarding how to engage in discussion, nor do these resources touch on the breadth of the discussion literature. Nonetheless, we hope that these resources provide you with some guidance as you help your students think about and discuss ethical dilemmas, values, the meaning of “good work,” and more.