Dear Dr. Stock, 

Loud prolonged applause for your efforts.  My field is a bit less erudite than yours, but I long ago developed the habits of saying three phrases:

1) "I am now pulling out my soapbox"  When I simply have to give an opinion, I make sure the students understand that it is an opinion, and they are truly free to have opinions of their own. (BTW, I do not test on opinion based topics)

2) "On the other hand"  For every technique and regimen of caring for patients, there exist some which are nearly opposite.  When the available evidence shows one to be superior, I let the data speak for themselves.

3)"Based on my experience"  These are interventions I have used and which worked to good effect (though this is often followed by quote number 2, followed by "more recent practice reflects...")

The simple fact that you are aware this might be a problem is scholarly reflection at its finest. A strong salute to you for broaching this topic, hope to hear how things worked out for you in your classes.

Cheers!

Rich

Dear Dr. Stock, 

Loud prolonged applause for your efforts.  My field is a bit less erudite than yours, but I long ago developed the habits of saying three phrases:

1) "I am now pulling out my soapbox"  When I simply have to give an opinion, I make sure the students understand that it is an opinion, and they are truly free to have opinions of their own. (BTW, I do not test on opinion based topics)

2) "On the other hand"  For every technique and regimen of caring for patients, there exist some which are nearly opposite.  When the available evidence shows one to be superior, I let the data speak for themselves.

3)"Based on my experience"  These are interventions I have used and which worked to good effect (though this is often followed by quote number 2, followed by "more recent practice reflects...")

The simple fact that you are aware this might be a problem is scholarly reflection at its finest. A strong salute to you for broaching this topic, hope to hear how things worked out for you in your classes.

Cheers!

Rich

Don't tell them what you think. Ask pointed questions to drive students to perform critical thinking.  

One can not separate themselves from bias. One can only be aware of the biases they hold.

In today's undergraduate education, it is difficult to find a professor that doesn't profess their bias. The fact that you are concerned about presenting all of the sides of an issue and not wanting your personal positions to shade the educational experience for your students speaks volumes about you. 

Blessings,

Christopher

I agree with Christopher  and furthermore, he teacher must be raise students with different stimuli that encourage them to have opinions and other opinions and to accept collective discussion

The good news is that Professors can learn to combat their prejudice, even the implicit kind, if they become more aware of it and take steps to actively fight it in themselves.

Empathy : the ability to understand another’s perspective and emotions—is important in all human social encounters, including teaching. Yet, often teachers have little understanding of the communities where their students live and have trouble understanding their perspectives, leading them to treat these students more harshly. Professors may want to take note of the ways that they have learned to increase their empathy through a combination of stress reduction, learning how to manage difficult emotions, and practicing empathic communication.

The basic premise of my introduction to human sexuality course for undergraduates was that the field is rife with bias and opinions and, as has been stated previously, teach the students to become critical consumers of the 'evidenced- based' research that exists is key.  Also to reflect on the context of the situation, and place focus on the ethnic/cultural underpinnings that shape our beliefs.  However you can run but you can't hide, best to be upfront and honest and label opinions as such but encourage an environment that welcomes differing points of view.  My best student evals always include that I encouraged open reflective discussions of the topic at hand...

I have used debating/discussion techniques in my Social Change in Canada class. For example, in dealing with the issue of Canadian military involvement in Afghanistan, I have given pieces of factual information to each member of the class (such as the cost to Canada of involvement, the numbers of Canadian soldiers killed, the mandate of the Canadian Armed Forces, information about Canada's past involvements in peacekeeping and military operations, positive and negative testimonials from Afghans about Canada's involvement, factual information about the Taliban and the Afghan government, the history of conflict in Afghanistan, etc.). Each class member was responsible for inserting the piece of factual information, and anything else they wanted to say, into the class discussion.  I also had participation guidelines for the class, which favored respectful, constructive communication. I stayed out of it, and the class members became very engaged in the discussion, learned all the factual information available and were exposed to different perspectives and different conclusions.

That sounds like a very good technique, Marika.  Thanks for sharing!  I'm going to tey that method in my class.  

The key is to select texts from authors with opposing positions. Of particular importance, I suggest consulting authors from developing countries, since we have a different view of economics, usually less focused on mathematics and the demonstration of theorems, which often leave out specific aspects of reality. In the end, I honestly believe that it is difficult to put aside the biases, since all, to some extent, we want to impact our students, with our ideas, with what for us is a better world.

Hi, Paul,

My board of regents requires a statement to be included in every syllabus that emphasizes "freedom in learning," or the assertion that no student will be assessed based on agreement with the instructor's beliefs or convictions. I fully support this statement, but I do not believe that it requires me to pretend that I do not have personal beliefs in the classroom.

I teach undergraduates. I am their professor - which I believes presumes that I have something to "profess." I do not believe my job is to moderate the discussion between poorly-informed young adults, but to demonstrate my passionate engagement with the evidence that leads to the formation of my conclusions, and when relevant and reasonable, alternative interpretations of the evidence.

I think there must be a fruitful middle ground between indoctrination and abrogation of our responsibility to utilize our education to prepare the next generation. Values-free education is a myth.

Thanks for your thoughts, Peter.  It's interesting that your university requires that statement in the syllabus.  Thanks for sharing!  

A professor of a subject is a person who knows much about the subject he/she teaches, the actual technicalities direct from the text and their meanings and applications in reality or real life. What happens when the  principles stated are abandoned  or preserved. Which acts  favor or nourish the system to stabilize it self and function longer and which cause to collapse. The professor knows more on effects of doing things the right way and the wrong way. Most of these things are not present in text books but experience and vast knowledge, simply called knowledge speared wisdom of the professor. For these reasons, the ideas of professor should not be taken as personal biases but imperative necessities.    

A remark and an example:

     a) Maybe the task is easier when it comes to History (I hope some epistemological considerations are not too philosophical). Since all historical facts as susceptible of interpretation and there is no possibility of reaching an objective conclusion, it is better to offer as many facts as possible, and to avoid the temptation to add personal interpretations.

Having said that, all historical issues have been interpreted, and this is in our favor. The existence of multiple interpretations allows us to systematically consider multiple views and to explain the positive, negative or ambiguous aspects of each of them, including those that clearly fall outside the temporal or cultural parameters familiar to us.  

By doing this, I am not (directly) explaining my ideas, but considering the ideas of others, and this enables me to assess their conclusions and to make a critical analysis on them.

    b) A suggestion for a specific technique I have used for a multi-level controversial matter (for example the Arab-Israeli conflict) could be the preparation of a simulation game. Students are provided with information on one of the different parties involved in the simulated negotiations (Israelis, Palestinians, the European Union, the USA…). Their task is to simulate peace talks on the basis of the material provided, although they are relatively free to reach an agreement (or not). It is surprising how students identify with their roles, and at the same time the complexity and ambiguity of the problem is brought to light .  

I think this depends on the personality of the student, there are students influenced by the views of professors and others do not.

Best Regards @ Paul Stock