Individuals and Societies MYP Learning Plan

Grade Unit # Unit Title Start Classes

6-10 variable variable 2
Possible Key Concepts (​ISG 18​) Related Concepts (​ISG 20​) Global Context (​FPiP 18​, ​FPiP 58​)
Identity, Logic, Relationships Causality, Perspective, Choice, Leadership, Belief, Cognition, Social Identities and Relationships
Interactions, Subjectivity, Conflict
Approaches to Learning Statement of Inquiry Learner Profile Attributes
(​ISG 25​, ​FPiP 107​) (​ISG 23​, ​FPiP 62​) (​ISG 00​)
Critical Thinking, Information Variable Thinkers, Inquirers, Reflective,
Literacy Risk-takers, Open-minded
Inquiry Questions (​ISG 24​, ​FPiP 63​)
Factual ● What is confirmation bias?
● What is error blindness?
● What is the SOWHAT framework?
Conceptual ● What makes a position or topic controversial?
● How do you know when you are correct about something?
● Why do people disagree?
● Why do people agree?
Debatable ● What mindset is best for producing better decisions?
● How should disagreements be communicated?
Summative Assessment(s) Unit / Summative Assessment(s) Criteria (​ISG 37​)
Variable A: Knowing & Understanding (strands i, ii)
B: Investigating (strands i, iii)
C: Communicating (strands ii, iii)
D: Critical Thinking (strands i, iv)
C3 Standards (​C3F 32-49​)
● Highly variable and flexible
 Learning Objectives (​ISG 58​, ​FPiP 118​)
● Analyzation: Break down in order to bring out the essential elements
● Evaluate: make an appraisal by weighing up strengths and weaknesses
● Explore: undertake a systematic process of discovery
● Interpret: Use knowledge and understanding to recognize trends and draw conclusions from varied information.
Lesson 1 Description
● Opening activity
○ Go through series of questions found on powerpoint entitled “Game; Fact or Myth” (5-6 minutes)
○ Ask students to discuss in small groups the question “​why did you believe what you believed? Why did you think you were right?”
● Connect to lesson objective/deepen the significance
○ Ask the class which students support [pick a hot topic from your community, examples include gun rights, immigration, teacher pay,
minimum wage, etc.]
○ Ask them to take out their writing notebooks and rate themselves at the top of the page on how confident they are that they are right about
this topic from 1-10 (one is they are probably wrong, 10 is they are completely positive they are correct)
● Individual writing activity
○ For six minutes, in silence, students will write out a response to the prompt: “how do you know you are right and how do you explain
people who disagree with you?”
● Teacher-led class discussion
○ “​“how does it feel to be wrong?”
○ Allow several minutes for students to brainstorm, responses will likely include “frustrating, shameful, disappointing,” etc.
○ After discussion, point out that what people are actually describing is the feeling of “realizing I was wrong”

Actually being wrong—in the present tense—doesn’t feel like anything, because our brains actually see the world through the lens of being
correct at this time. The moment we realize we ​were​ wrong we shift the perspective to the past tense, so that now we are seeing things
correctly again, even though in the past there was a time when we were wrong.

When we are wrong (present tense) it actually just feels like we are right.
This is called error blindness. We don’t have any kind of internal cue that tells us we are CURRENTLY wrong about anything.

Error Blindness: ​according to Kathryn Schultz ​Any falsehoods we believe are necessarily invisible to us. We can be wrong, or we can know it,
but we can’t do both at the same time.

● Two examples​ of times when people felt they were correct but later discovered they were not. in case the PPT does not load the two examples are:
○ First:
“When I was young, my father said to me, ‘knowledge is power… Francis Bacon.’ I understood it as ‘knowledge is power… France is bacon.’ For the better
part of a decade, I wondered over the meaning of the second part and what was the surreal linkage between the two? If I said the quote to someone,
‘knowledge is power, France is Bacon’ they nodded knowingly. Or someone might say ‘knowledge is power’ and I’d finish the quote ‘France is Bacon’ and
they wouldn’t look at me like I’d said something very odd but thoughtfully agree. I did ask a teacher what did ‘knowledge is power, France is bacon’ meant
and got a full 10 minute explanation of the ‘knowledge is power’ bit but nothing on the ‘France is Bacon.’ When I prompted further explanation by saying
‘France is Bacon?’ in a questioning tone I just got a ‘yes’. At 12 I didn’t have the confidence to press it further. I just accepted it as something I’d never
understand. It wasn’t until years later I saw it written down that the hammer dropped.”
● Second:
When a patient came in for a major operation on her left leg, but woke up and asked why her right leg was bandaged instead of the left leg, it was because
the surgeon operated on the wrong side of her body. The Senior VP for healthcare quality, Kenneth Sands said “for whatever reason, [the surgeon] simply
felt that he was on the correct side of the patient.”

● As a class, ​have students discuss​ where our “feelings of intuition” come from
○ After discussion, summarize with a discussion like “The point is our feelings about being right are a terribly unreliable tool to use to judge
actual correctness. Our feelings of being correct come from our [list comments students give, like our own previous experiences, from things
were taught, etc.] and are not necessarily accurate reference points….”

So trusting too much on the feeling of being on the right side can lead to dangerous mistakes.
This internal sense of rightness that we all experience so often is not a reliable guide to what is actually happening in the real world. And when we act like
it is, and we don’t keep in mind the possibility that we could be wrong, we are far more likely to burn down a rainforest, or start a trade war that hurts
nearly everyone involved.

What does it mean to feel “right?” It means that you think that your beliefs perfectly reflect reality. And when you think that way, you have a real
challenge to overcome, which is, how are you going to explain all of those people who disagree with you?

● Ask students to look at their essays and discuss​ with their table partners any similarities in the way they described people who disagree. (10
minutes)

● After group discussion, summarize​ as a class the three common assumptions we make of those who disagree with us.

You might find that student explanations were similar. When we think we are right about something, we generally make three assumptions about those
who disagree with us:

1) They are ignorant

They just don’t know better. They just don’t have access to the same information we do, so after we share the truth with them they will surely see the light
and join us on our side of the situation.
 2) They are stupid
When sharing information doesn’t work—when it turns out they have access to all the same information we do and they still disagree with us, we assume
they are idiots. They must think the way they do because they are not intelligent enough to see things correctly. They have all the right pieces but they are
too stupid to put the puzzle together correctly.
3) They are immoral/evil
They know the truth but they are pretending to believe something else because they want to harm people or protect themselves.

● Small group brainstorm

W​hat are the consequences of thinking this way? (let students brainstorm in small groups)
Answers may include: we are more likely to make more and bigger mistakes
We will treat others very poorly
We don’t understand issues as fully as we should
We don’t learn as much
We make poor decisions
We overestimate ourselves

● Collect the consequences and post them for the class to see​ (ask students to write them on the whiteboard, for example)

● Reminder of Confirmation Bias

Ask class to recall what confirmation bias is (if covered previously) or what any students might know about it. A quick summary of confirmation bias from
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-confirmation-bias-2795024​ describes it as

A confirmation bias is a type of c

​ ognitive bias​ that involves favoring information that confirms your previously existing beliefs
or ​biases​.

For example, imagine that a person holds a belief that left-handed people are more creative than right-handed people.
Whenever this person encounters a person that is both left-handed and creative, they place greater importance on this
"evidence" that supports what they already believe. This individual might even seek "proof" that further backs up this belief
while discounting examples that don't support the idea.

Confirmation biases impact how we gather information, but they also influence how we interpret and recall information. For
example, people who support or oppose a particular issue will not only seek information to support it, they will also interpret
news stories in a way that upholds their existing ideas. They will also remember details in a way that reinforces these ​attitudes​.
● Final class discussion questions
○ Who is affected by confirmation bias? (answer, all of us, no matter how hard we try)
○ What should we do to reduce the impact of Error Blindness and Confirmation Bias in our own evaluations?

● Brainstorm in small groups

○ After the class discussion, have the students brainstorm in their groups things that they once thought were right, but turned out to be
wrong.
○ Ask if any students wish to share their personal experiences.
● Homework or in-class activity
○ write an essay entitled “I think ____________, but actually, I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong.”
○ In this essay use the term “error blindness”, acknowledge the danger in overconfidence, and the value of questioning your own
understanding, and conclude, with “maybe I’m wrong.”
○ For further reinforcement, consider assigning the Ted Talk “On Being Wrong” by Kathryn Schultz
​https://youtu.be/QleRgTBMX88

Lesson 2 Description

● Warm up Activity​:
○ re-rate level of confidence on same positions as yesterday from 1-10
○ Discuss, why do you think your confidence that you are right has (stayed the same, gone down, gone up)
● Review of Error Blindness and Confirmation Bias from yesterday
○ We tend to seek out evidence that supports beliefs we already hold, and reject evidence that does not support our position
○ We always believe we are right. Even when we discover we “were wrong” we believe that in the past we made a mistake but we are currently
“right” again.
○ When others disagree with us, rather than truly attempting to understand another’s position, we often resort to three assumptions:
■ They are ignorant
■ They are stupid
■ They are evil
○ These two conditions cause people to make poor choices and treat each other very poorly
 ● Table discussion
○ So considering the serious consequences, what should we do? Discuss at your tables

● Students share with the class

○ Write out solution ideas on the whiteboard.
○ Discuss that we cannot truly ever rid ourselves of these tendencies, as humans we have these and other weaknesses. ​That said, if we know
about error blindness and confirmation bias and accept the fact that they do exist, we can make an effort to recognize it by working to be
curious about opposing views and really listening to what others have to say and why. This can help us better see issues and beliefs from
another perspective, though we still need to be very conscious of wading past our confirmation bias.
● A second solution
○ In addition to proactively fostering curiosity seeking out alternative perspectives, we should also increase our literacy around information.
○ Today we will introduce a process that we can all go through when we hear information for the first time, or whenever we wish to increase the
likelihood that our interpretation of events is accurate.
● Introduce the framework
The Framework

This 6-step process is represented by the acronym SOWHAT:

1) Source​- who/where are you getting this

2) Origin​- what is the origin of this information
3) What/Why​- the intent or purpose of the information
4) How​can I get more information about this
5) Analyze​- by applying ​critical thinking skills​to the issue
6) Talk​to others about your findings
This acronym helps people remember a series of actions they can take to examine any piece of information they come across, whether online, in print,
or something spoken to them. It begs the question: “So what should I do or think now?” with this new piece of information:

Source​- who/where are you getting this information?

Identifying the source is the first step in determining the reliability of the information at hand. We should consciously note the source, be it a text from
a friend, a conversation, or a newspaper headline. Our first examination of the source may provide important context to help our evaluation of what we have
read or heard.
- How reliable do I think this source is? What does my gut tell me?
Origin​- what is the origin of this information?
Investigate the beginning and history of the facts, the root of the data and conclusions. This allows us to assess the fundamental quality of the
information, analysis, and logic that led to this interpretation of the data. For example:
 - Is this a balanced, well-researched article in a peer reviewed journal?
- Is this a well-known, reliable source of accurate information?
What (Why) ​- is the intent or purpose of the information?
It is important to evaluate the purpose of the information or conclusion presented to us to assess if the author has a particular motive or cause or
objective.
- What ulterior motive might the author(s) have and what is their objective?
- Is this intended to incite you to take action, buy something, feel a certain way?
- How might my personal feelings or cognitive biases affect how I see this?

How​- can I get more information about this?

Think about ways to educate yourself on this topic in order to improve your ability to judge the information presented to you. Additional research
allows you to make a better assessment of the conclusions given to you.
- Who are the experts in this area? What about opposing viewpoints?
- What else can I read? Where might more data or information be available?
Analyze​- by applying ​critical thinking skills​to the issue
Embrace the learning journey and be comfortable in digging through multiple sources to find the most useful and appropriate facts. This is the
opportunity to prompt the brain to ask “why?” and go beyond the facts that are presented and the superficial levels of understanding. Use scientific principles
and critical thinking skills to work through the problem to a conclusion. Through building a thorough understanding of various perspectives, it would be
beneficial to then build an argument to support your chosen stance and how to detect flaws in others’ arguments as a way to identify truths and lies in
everyday life.
Talk ​- to others about your findings
Talk to an adult about what you discovered or heard and see what they think. Find someone you consider smarter or wiser than you and see what they
think about the original information as well as your own discoveries and conclusions.

● Practice with a topic of your choice

○ Give the students the choice of exploring:
■ Minimum wage should be increased:
● https://www.epi.org/publication/why-america-needs-a-15-minimum-wage/
● https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2019/07/10/the-unintended-consequences-of-the-15-minimum-wage/#5ee1ecfe4a7c
● https://fee.org/articles/5-reasons-raising-the-minimum-wage-is-bad-public-policy/
● https://politicsofpoverty.oxfamamerica.org/6-simple-reasons-we-should-raise-the-minimum-wage/
● https://www.thebalancecareers.com/pros-and-cons-of-raising-the-minimum-wage-2062521
● Read through all articles as a team, and choose at least TWO articles to run a SOWHAT analysis on
● Report your findings to the class
■ Immigration is good for the economy:
 ● https://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/immigrants-contribute-greatly-to-us-economy-despite-administrations
● https://www.thebalance.com/how-immigration-impacts-the-economy-4125413
● https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/making-sense/4-myths-about-how-immigrants-affect-the-u-s-economy
● https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0809/3-ways-immigration-helps-and-hurts-the-economy.aspx
● Read through all articles as a team, and choose at least TWO articles to run a SOWHAT analysis on
● Report your findings to the class

● Note: these topics may not fit your class or age group, simply choose a different topic and find articles of varying quality to have the students
analyze.
● Turn in analysis at end of class or complete for homework.