Conflict in the Classroom: Controversy and Learning

Abstract

In a social studies class a teacher is presenting a lesson on the United States Congress. The students are discussing in small groups the reasons why citizens want to be representatives in Congress. One student says the major reason is wanting to help your neighbors and your country. Another student says being a member of Congress is just a way to get rich, and quotes Roger Mudd (CBS News, December 24, 1976) that a representative in Congress receives more than $400,000 per year in salary and benefits. Voices rise as the argument continues. What does the teacher do? Would the teacher encourage the argument, helping students find evidence to support and argue their positions? Or would the teacher try to calm things down and change the topic of discussion? Within any learning situation such conflicts among ideas or opinions are inevitable. They will occur no matter what the teacher does. Learning situations are filled with conflicts among students, between the teacher and the student, and between what a student presently understands and new information being learned. And the current evidence indicates that in most classrooms conflicts are avoided and suppressed (DeCecco & Richards, 1974) and that teachers and students lack the skills and procedures needed for effective conflict management (Deutsch, 1973; Blake & Mouton, 1970; Johnson, 1970) By avoiding and suppressing certain types of conflicts teachers lose valuable opportunities to increase student motivation, creative insight, cognitive development, and learning. Conflicts have the potential for producing both