A Compass During the Storm: Offering Students Critical Rigor for Polarizing Times

• Published in: PS, political science & politics Vol. 54; no. 4; pp. 739 - 743
• Main Authors: Wender, Andrew M., D’Erman, Valerie J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, USA Cambridge University Press 01-10-2021
• Subjects: Behavioral Objectives; Bias; Case Studies; Citizen participation; Citizenship Responsibility; Classroom Environment; Classrooms; COVID-19; Critical thinking; Higher education; International relations; Learning; Moral Issues; Opinions; Polarization; Political science; Political theory; Politics; Reflection; Research methodology; Science Curriculum; Science Instruction; Social justice; Student Satisfaction; Students; Teaching; The Teacher; Thinking Skills; Writing Assignments; Writing Instruction
• ISSN: 1049-0965; 1537-5935
• DOI: 10.1017/S1049096521000457

Teaching and learning in higher education is occurring, unavoidably, within the broader civic context of today’s extraordinarily polarizing political times. We seek to help students situate themselves with respect to and, above all, thoughtfully assess others’ as well as their own perspectives on issues of profound contention, without contributing to exacerbated polarization ourselves. Specifically, we offer students in our first-year exploratory political science course a vital tool—critical rigor—for navigating but not being inundated by the storm. This article discusses our experiences in teaching the course titled, “The Worlds of Politics,” as we attempt to help students deeply engage in cognitive processes of critical thinking and analysis, without undue infringement from their own—and least of all our own—personal political biases. Our focal learning objective is the cultivation of critical-thinking skills that promote students’ drawing of distinctions between advocacy and analysis, as well as their discerning civic engagement.