Teaching methods and ethical issues

Teaching methods proposed in this module:

• lectures,
• discussions,
• thinking aloud,
• resources (text) analyses,
• individual work (worksheets),
• pair and group work,
• video resources (analyses)

Ethical issues and dilemmas

Pedagogical dilemmas in the educational process about genocide refer mostly to emotional message attached to this kind of content and adaptation of particular issues to the age of receivers.

Teaching about genocide is connected with the risk of appearance of sense of helplessness and of awareness that these kinds of events are inevitable, despite all preventive actions. With all the benefits of wide access to the sources on teaching about genocides, it is also necessary to draw attention to the problems associated with accessing knowledge in the virtual world, such as the reliability of sources, the precision of concepts (emotional coverage, fake news, propaganda, publications questioning the massacres and genocides, educational resources not supported by academic analysis), one-sided vs. diversified perspectives and contexts.

Teaching in a rapidly changing, globalized world requires rethinking and adaptation to current discourses, including political, social, economic, and cultural processes, but also the objective presentation of historical events of particular symbolic significance. While defining the history of individual regions of the world and having a huge impact on the functioning of nations and social groups at any time, genocides, massacres, war crimes are precisely such events. Awareness of their historical presence can support the process of opposing unjust systems and practices that lead to them. Through constructive, age-appropriate references to genocide, intolerance, aggression, racism, discrimination, and xenophobia, education in civil societies provides an opportunity to see and understand the conditions, mechanisms, and laws that govern the modern world.

Tips:

Consider the possibilities of educating students to accept “difficult knowledge” and the preparing teachers to transmit such knowledge (what we have at our disposal, what preparation we have, what experience we have in the implementation of this type of “difficult knowledge”, where we can look for professional support).