McAvoy and Hess’s article “Debates and Conversations: From the Ground Up” begins by discussing the typical classroom in which the teacher is asking questions and students are thinking; however, it quickly points out that students are rarely given the opportunity to participate in substantive conversations with each other. When turning the classroom over to students, teachers are basically worried about classroom management and the quality of student discussions. Consequently, McAvoy and Hess claim that student-to-student conversations can be highly productive when “students are prepared; must discuss controversial issues...and must talk to one another as well as to the teacher. The authors then highlights an American Government class at Adams
