Dr. Nafees Alam, “Using the Point-Counterpoint Teaching Philosophy”

In this presentation, Assistant Professor of Social Work Dr. Nafees Alam shares how he uses Point-Counterpoint activities to help students understand the difference between two practices widely misunderstood in today’s political arena: education and indoctrination. Dr. Alam demonstrates how, as an instructor, he removes his personal values from the discussions; instead, he first asks students to consider their own viewpoints, then later asks them to argue convincingly against those same viewpoints—with no “winner” declared at the end. Through this activity, students learn that education is not about agreement with the instructor or one “right” answer, but rather about further developing their own understanding through considering perspectives that challenge or contradict their own views.