Four Corner Inquiry

"Always respect another's opinion and another's point of view."
Sri Sathya Sai Baba

OVERVIEW

A Four Corners Inquiry is a cooperative learning technique that enables students to hone their argumentation skills. Students are confronted with controversial issues or statements to which they are asked to agree or disagree. They sort themselves into opinion-based groups and asked to discuss and synthesize the arguments for their viewpoints. Individually, students are expected to create a final written product based on the groups’ findings. This can also be used effectively as a means for assessing student’s prior beliefs and understandings.

IMPLEMENTING THIS ACTIVITY

Prepare four posters labeled: Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree. Hang them at four separate corners of the room.
Select a controversial topic/statement that is age and content appropriate for your students.
Present the issue statement to your students. Have a brief classroom discussion before beginning the activity to address any misconceptions or questions.
Give students a few minutes to decide their own level of agreement or disagreement with the topic or statement. After they have collected their thoughts, instruct them to move to the appropriate corner.
Once the groups have congregated, instruct them to discuss their choice, explain the thinking behind this choice, and to synthesize the group’s viewpoints into a clear explanation of their position.
Each group will give a brief presentation of their position. After each group has presented, allow students who have been persuaded by the discussion to switch corners.
After each group has presented, instruct students on the details, directions, and expectations of the individual writing assignments based on this Four Corners Inquiry.

VARIATIONS

►Instead of allowing students to argue for the position that they support, you may assign them to random corners. This switch will enhance student’s ability to argue persuasively about any viewpoint and promote open-mindedness toward real world issues.

►There are many variations of the writing assignment attached to the end of this activity depending on the level of emphasis you want place upon the topic. Writing variations could include: a brief paragraph response, a formal debate, or a persuasive essay.

CONTENT AREA APPLICATIONS

English – A Four Corners Inquiry is a great pre-writing activity to help students focus their thoughts before completing a persuasive essay.

Science – When discussing a set of controversial science topics, this activity can serve as a focusing tool for a research-based persuasive essay.

Social Studies – During a Civics lesson, this activity can be used to introduce students to current controversial political issues. This activity would serve an excellent precursor to organizing a formal debate.

ASSESSING THIS ACTIVITY

During the activity, you should be observing participation and looking for evidence of cooperative skills. As with any cooperative learning, you may want to ask students to complete a self/group assessment. However, the final written product should provide the main assessment focus.

MANAGING THIS ACTIVITY

►During group discussion, make yourself available to answer any questions or address any confusion.

►It may be important for the class to establish agreed-upon norms of behavior before beginning the Four Corner’s Inquiry.

►Before beginning this activity, emphasize the importance of keeping an open-mind and respecting other student’s opinion. This expectation is especially important when dealing with controversial issues.

►Circulate between groups to observe and ensure respectful cooperative learning behavior.