How to run Who Decides? as Problem-Based Learning: your role, the pre-planning maps, pacing, role cards, sources, and debrief prompts. The golden rule — guide, don't tell. In PBL the students should feel they, not you, planned the investigation.
| Phase | What you do | What you resist |
|---|---|---|
| ① Surface | Teach vocabulary and facts efficiently; run the jigsaw; check acquisition of the government-type comparison. | Rushing to the problem before facts are secure. |
| ② Deep | Facilitate the spectrum-of-government map and source routine; model claim + evidence and steelmanning. | Giving your own opinion about which government is “best.” |
| ③ Transfer | Read the problem well; hold the KWHL chart; answer questions with questions; point to sources. | Answering the “Need to know” questions yourself, or handing students the “right” government. |
The Surface phase uses a four-topic jigsaw (How societies govern) — a high-leverage move (d ≈ 0.92) because every student must teach. The flow: expert groups each study one topic and take notes → students re-mix into home groups with one expert per topic → each expert teaches → an individual check for understanding holds everyone accountable.
The per-expert-group source links (articles + reference pages) live on the Surface page, one set per topic. Confirm access through your district before class.
Before teaching, brainstorm every direction the government-founding problem could branch — so you can steer discussion and decide, in advance, which threads are productive and which are too sensitive or off-topic for your class and community.
| If students investigate… | They are working toward… |
|---|---|
| the difference between limited and unlimited government | §113.18(c)(9) |
| the ways societies organize who rules and how | §113.18(c)(10) |
| how citizenship, rights, and responsibilities vary among societies | §113.18(c)(11), (c)(12) |
| similarities and differences within and among cultures and their shared institutions | §113.18(c)(13), (c)(14) |
| using and questioning sources & points of view; claim + evidence | §113.18(c)(19) |
| communicating conclusions in written and visual form | §113.18(c)(21) |
| defining the problem, weighing options, choosing & evaluating a government | §113.18(c)(22)(B) |
Confirm access through your district's approved catalog before class. Vetted, free starting points:
Aligned to (not reproduced from) 19 TAC Ch.113 §113.18.