Plus Minus Interesting Teacher Training

This is a teaching/learning strategy. This can be done as a whole class activity or as individual activities and is used to help make decisions. The words “PLUS”, “MINUS” and “INTERESTING” will be recorded in a three-column T-chart. The “plus” column refers to reasons why something is a good idea or a good decision, the “minus” refers to reasons why something is a bad idea or a bad decision, while the “interesting” column refers to the action one usually takes after balancing out the plus and minus columns or it can refer to further considerations about the topic. The teacher/facilitator would then read a statement aloud to the class. For example, the decision-making situation could be “skipping school”, where students would identify the “PLUS”, “MINUS”, and “INTERESTING” components. Students will brainstorm responses individually or think to themselves and share ideas as a class. IF the activity is done as a class, once the T-chart is filled in, the teacher/facilitator can have students reflect on the responses in each column, then make a decision about the statement or scenario. If the activity is done individually, the teacher/facilitator can take-up the responses generated by students, then have students complete the assignment by making a decision about the situation or scenario.