portions of it. This reading is not assigned in advance, for outside of class reading, in order to have the students approach the data and topic with only their preexisting knowledge and perceptions.
To provide a transition to the reading, the instructor explains to the class that whether or not the increasing proportion of single-mother families represents a social problem depends on the consequences associated with this change and whether some of the perceived problems surrounding these families can be directly traced to those family types or some other underlying factor. Thus, the next logical step for students in critically examining this social issue and in beginning to construct their own thoughtfully-considered opinion is to familiarize themselves with some of the debate on single-mother families. The class then reads the article. Additionally, given some students have a propensity for oral learning, the instructor may wish to have those paragraphs that warrant highlighting read aloud, either within the small groups or when the class reconvenes as a whole.
Once the students have finished the reading, the instructor explains that part of their job as critical learners is to understand the many facets of different arguments; in the social sciences this involves understanding the various hypotheses asserted in their reading and how the “solutions” to the perceived social “problems” stem from these hypotheses. First, the instructor explains that hypotheses in the social sciences articulate cause and effect relationships, or that certain conditions will affect human behavior in particular ways. It is typically helpful if the instructor points out that the statistic above (the increase from 4.5% to 7.5%) is not a hypothesis; instead, a hypothesis would suggest what caused that increase or the consequence of that increase.
The instructor asks each student to identify as many hypotheses as s/he can locate in the reading and to state them, in writing, as specifically as possible: “X” is the cause of “Y” or “A” is a consequence of “B.” Depending on the reading used, the instructor may wish to direct the students’ attention to particular paragraphs where hypotheses are either specifically stated or implied. When they are finished, the instructor lists many of their hypotheses on the blackboard, drawing from as many students as possible.
We suggest, in general (that is, not for the purposes of this exercise alone), drawing in more than those students who raise their hand; this can be done in a supportive manner and, given you have asked them to write down these hypotheses, they can simply turn to written lists which for most students is less threatening than being required to think off the top of their heads. This is one of the reasons we frequently ask students to write down an answer before we call on anyone to provide one: it also generates more thoughtful responses and engages a much larger portion of the class in the dialogue.
Some instructors may prefer to guide the students’ reading in advance by asking them to look for the hypotheses as they read, rather than wait until the students have finished the reading to assign that task. This depends somewhat on time and the exact purposes the instructor has in mind.
Examples of the kinds of hypotheses found are: 1) The cause of many social problems (poverty, drug abuse, crime, urban decay, etc.) is the growing number of children raised by single mothers, and 2) Poverty and other kinds of economic hardship are associated with child abuse and neglect, alcoholism, and drug use.
Once the hypotheses are listed on the board, the instructor resumes the small groups. The groups then review the hypotheses on the board and choose those which imply a social problem. Next, they identify a social policy, which may or may not be included in the reading, to address each problem. This step can be difficult for the students, so the instructor may wish to spend some time with each group to help them get started. Also, the instructor may point out that a single policy can address more than one problem.
Each group is then asked to choose one or two of their best examples, where “best” means logically and coherently linked hypothesis, problem, and policy. The students go to the board and reproduce these, using the framework below:
Hypothesis:
Problem:
Policy: