A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Audience Approved by PEP for students in grades 9-12.

Description Choices for the 21st Century is an ongoing series of supplemental curriculum units on current and historical international issues. Materials are designed to place special emphasis on preparing students to be participatory citizens. Choices units provide classroom teachers with the tools to raise foreign policy issues in the social studies classroom using a pedagogy that encourages critical thinking and student-centered learning. In addition to background readings and lesson plans, each unit provides a well-crafted framework of policy options on an issue, illustrating fundamentally different and feasible paths which U.S. policymakers could pursue. Each path contains its own distinctive pros and cons, risks and tradeoffs. Students must consider each option in the context of the history leading up to the issue and define and articulate their own judgment about the direction they feel U.S. policy should take. Each unit is packaged separately and includes a reproducible student text, complete lesson plans, student worksheets, and other handouts.

The Choices approach has also been applied to the study of key decision points in history. The drama of an historical era is recreated for students through an exploration of the options available to decision makers at a critical moment in time. By examining the decisions that were made and the ramifications, students to draw lessons from historical events such as the origins of the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and the collapse of Germany's Weimar Republic. Students are then challenged to apply these lessons to current national and international affairs. Each Choices unit is packaged separately and includes a reproducible student text and a teacher's resource book complete with lesson plans, student handouts and other references.

Evidence of Effectiveness Students who experienced the Choices curriculum learned factual information about the history and issues presented as well or better than did students in a traditional read-and-discuss curriculum. Students who worked with the Choices curriculum developed the ability to understand multiple perspectives, apply their analytic skills to new situations, and articulate and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of a reasoned opinion to a significantly greater extent than did students in more traditional programs addressing the same content matter.

Requirements Training is desirable, particularly for those with limited comfort or experience with interactive, student-centered learning. Adoption trainings require a minimum of two hours, however, a full day of training is best. The Choices program is developing a core group of experienced Choices teachers (Senior Associates) nationwide who can provide ongoing professional leadership to others, including workshops and inservice programs.

Costs Each curriculum unit sells for $8 and is reproducible on a standard copier. Duplication permission is granted. At 5cent per page, student materials can be duplicated for $1.25-$2 per student. There is no additional expense for teachers to purchase and use Choices units. The Choices program currently charges a fee for training: $350 for a half day and $500 for a full day in addition to travel expenses. There is a charge of $20 per participant for training materials which include two complete Choices units.

Services Curriculum materials, training and follow-up consultation are available.

Contact

Susan Graseck, Director, or Patricia Keenan-Byrne, Choices Education Project, Thomas J. Watson Jr. Institute for International Studies, Brown University, Box 1948, Providence, RI 02912. (401) 63-3155.

Developmental Funding: A combination of federal, state, and private sources including the Pew Charitable Trusts, United States Institute of Peace, and institutional support from Brown University and the Center for Foreign Policy Development.
PEP No. 93-10 (3/25/93)

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[Facing History and Ourselves: Holocaust and Human Behavior]