Less arguing, more listening

Today’s youth increasingly are being expected to engage in civil deliberation in classrooms while simultaneously living in a society with a high level of political incivility. However, teaching students to argue — particularly in oral form — is enormously complex and challenging work. In this article, the authors report on a study of four high school social studies classrooms in which teachers facilitated argumentation via deliberations on immigration policy. Based on their research, they provide recommendations related to argumentation, deliberation, and the promotion of civility in classrooms.