Pros and Cons - Teacher/Parent

Pros & Cons Strategy

Introduction
Process
YouTube Videos
"On the Job" examples where the strategy is used

Cooperative Learning Icon
A Cooperative Learning Strategy

Pros Cons

The Pros and Cons strategy can be used to analyse a procedure, technique, conclusion, attributes of a fictional character, political decision, etc.

This is a collaborative teaching strategy where students create a two-column grid to list the advantages (pros) and disadvantages (cons) of a particular topic or issue.

A simple activity that encourages students to think about the advantages and disadvantages of an issue.

Why use it?

To process and filter information from an article, oral presentation or video
To help students learn to organize information that is related to an issue
To provide a structure to help students analyse features and/or options related to an issue
To help students think critically about an issue to help formulate personal opinions and decisions

Tips for success

Prior to having students work on a Pros & Cons Organizer, you may wish to model the process with the class on an overhead or interactive white board.
Introduce students to the Pros & Cons Organizer with a topic, issue or event they can relate to, eg. such as the pros and cons of taking Driver’s Education.

How do I use it?

Choose an article for students to read or a video to view that presents opposing, or positive (pros) and negative (cons) perspectives about an issue or topic.
You may wish to have the students analyse the pros & cons of a topic from different perspectives or points of view depending on the topic, such as:
- Personal or class perspective
- Socioeconomic group perspective
- Regional, provincial, national or global perspectives

Process

On a white board (online or face-to-face), draw a two-column grid with one column labelled ‘Pros’ and the other labelled ‘Cons’.
Pose a statement about a topic that requires students to think about the advantages and disadvantaged of the topic. For example, Australia should abandon compulsory voting.
Indicate how many pros and cons you’d like each individual, pair or small groups to develop.
Allow five to ten minutes for discussion or silent thought.
As a whole group, with you facilitating and recording, write pros on cons in the relevant columns of the grid you have drawn on the whiteboard. You can brainstorm to find more pros. While brainstorming, you can use the mind mapping technique to represent your thoughts visually. Using mind mapping can help in exploring more cons associated with the decision.
Combine pros and cons that are very similar and count the number of times they recur to show their perceived importance.First, each class member works separately on a particular activity.

Pros Cons Internet
(Source: Helpful Professor)

Variation and extension

The strategy can be used for the basis of a class debate.

The strategy can be used as an individual activity prior to the session, to promote students thinking about a topic. This pre-session activity will help students to prepare for a class discussion on the topic.

This strategy helps students to move beyond their initial response to a topic by encouraging them to analyse and evaluate information and make decisions based on this analysis. It is a good strategy for seeking different perspectives on a topic, identifying assumptions and misconceptions. Therefore, it is useful for promoting critical thinking skills.

Establish the issue

The class negotiates an issue for investigation and discussion. This is worded as a clearly stated question (e.g. ?)
Pairs Study
- Form groups of four, with students divide into pairs. The pairs each study the same background information (usually a text study) on the issue of concern but one pair proceeds to take the ‘yes’ case and the other pair takes the ‘no’ case. They each spend at least 5 mins in developing an argument. They then meet with a pair sharing the same viewpoint from another group to refine their perspective.
Pairs Present

Students move back into their original group of four and each side presents their arguments. The other pair listens but is also permitted to ask clarifying questions.
Pairs challenge.
- Each side challenges the other side’s position, asking for justification and looking for any inconsistencies.
Pairs reverse positions
- Each side now switches roles to argue the opposite side to the one they were previously defending.
Group report writing
Team members drop their assigned roles and work together to decide which arguments are the most valid from both sides and seek a statement or report that incorporates their discussion. Consensus is sought but not required. Each group member should be ready to report and defend their decision to the class.
Processing
Group members discuss how well they worked together. What worked best? How could we improve the way we did this activity?