Key Findings

Why use The Wave?

Students are encouraged to share their own understanding and to look at the underlying reasons for different viewpoints instead of being preoccupied with defending their own positions and/or shifting the viewpoints of others through argument. Understanding differences in perception make it easier for learners to engage effectively with different viewpoints. It also assists teachers to encourage participation and to manage difficult situations without resorting to positional power.

The tool addresses several factors that slow learning:

• learners lacking confidence about their own knowledge and experience; this discourages them from participating in discussion or even asking questions because, for example, they might be seen as being ‘wrong’ or ‘stupid’
• the converse of this: learners’ conviction that their own knowledge and viewpoints are the only legitimate ones; this inhibits them from listening carefully to different points of view
• learners feeling inadequate, for example, about their ability to defend their views
• learners feeling anxious that discussion of controversial subjects will become confrontational
• learners feeling uncomfortable about examining their own assumptions, values, and/or worldviews
• learners feeling unsafe to engage, for example, because of differences between their own viewpoints and particularly those of the tutor and/or the course materials, but sometimes even differences with classmates (this relates to the much larger topic of the impact of power relationships in a learning situation)

Key Recommendations

The Wave can be applied to a range of educational settings and subjects. It is particularly effective when the subject matter is controversial and requires learners to consider various viewpoints or contexts different to their own.