National Issues Forums are used in communities across the country to address public problems. Their use has grown because communities find the public learning that results from a well-executed forum increases their capacity to act creatively. My experience with deliberative forums in the Honors Program, in my classrooms and online convinces me that deliberative discourse furthers educational objectives, especially because it contributes to the cognitive development of students. Most high school and entering college students bring into the classroom a naïve understanding of education as the acquisition of true facts. With little understanding of the complexity and contextual basis of all knowledge, they tend to regard all questions that don't have clear right and wrong answers as totally subjective. Seen through the lenses of epistemological dualism (true facts versus subjective opinions) all opinions are equally valid. My reasoning is valid for me; yours for you. That's the end of it. I daresay we have all encountered this in the classroom. My experience with deliberative discourse in the classroom, in the honors program and in community settings convinces me that participation teaches a deeper understanding of why we must evaluate other's reasons and our own. Deliberative discourse fosters cognitive development beyond the dualism most of our students bring to the classroom.

A second benefit accrues to communities and organizations that practice deliberative reflection. By participating in issues forums - especially by becoming moderators - we gain valuable insights into public action. We come to see more clearly the ways in which groups of people can settle on desired courses of action in spite of sharp differences of opinion. As more members of a community or organization develop these insights and capacities, communities and organizations become more powerful, more capable of action in pursuit of shared interests and concerns. And the actions taken will be more effective because of the deeper understanding and commitment that supports them. This is true for a community pursuing political and social objectives. It is equally true for organizations pursuing educational objectives. The development of participatory deliberative practices within an honors program, a major, a residence hall or a high school will increase the organization's capacity to promote engaged learning.

James T. Knauer
Honors Director
Director, Pennsylvania Center for Civic Life
Professor of Political Science
Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania