Scholarship As Conversation

Introduction

The popularity of alcohol and other drug (AOD) use is constantly on the increase, especially among the youth. Many start off thinking that experimenting with AOD's is something "cool" and that they can stop whenever they want to, not knowing where that road might eventually lead to. Addiction is also one of the most debated topics whereby it is seen in many different lights...

Outcomes

At the end of this lesson:

• Students must be able to critically evaluate contributions made by others in a participatory environment.
• Students must be able to cite the contributing works of others in the production of their own knowledge and information.
• Students will be able to recognise that they are active participants contributing to scholarly conversation, rather than passive recipients of scholarly information.

Activities

1. An addiction therapist from a local rehabilitation centre will speak to students about why addiction is understood as being a brain disease. A neuroscientist will also be asked to speak to students about why addiction is a choice. Each talk will be 30-40min followed by a 10 min question and answer session.
2. Students will be required to write an essay whereby they critically examine the opposing views of addiction. They will then be divided into 2/3 groups whereby they will then present what they have learned about addiction and what their own views are.
3. Students will be required to create a blog whereby they express their views and also report on any new/additional research or information that they have found. They will then be required to comment on each others posts. 

Relation to Knowledge Practices

• Activity one will be a discussion on opposing views of addiction. Through the question and answer session, students will be able to critique and clarify issues and points raised and formulate their own opinion. This will also enable students to engage with the facilitators as well as each other. 
• Activity two will allow students to critically examine existing research while also acknowledging and citing earlier contributions to the topic at hand. Through this activity, students will also be allowed to formulate their own ideas and opinions which they will share among each other.
• Activity three will allow students to recognise and realise that they are active participants in scholarly conversation through these blog posts and comments. 

Dispositions

through the various activities, students will be learning that scholarly conversation can take place in various forms, eg. lectures, blogging, presentations, research, etc. Students will also be able to recognise that scholarly conversation is ongoing, and that learning cannot take place with just one individual but collaborative efforts, whether through feedback on a blog, presentations of findings, rsearch for essays, or expert opinion. These various activities will also help students evaluate the various contributions of their fellow peers, experts, researchers, etc. Lastly, students are empowered, knowing that they are valuable contributors of knowledge and information rather than passive recipients thereof.