Grappling with Controversial Issues using Google Forms and Polleverywhere

What is this? Google Forms allows students to survey groups of people to get their opinions on key questions related to controversial issues (e.g., Reproductive cloning or Opt in vs. Opt out organ transplantation systems to relieve the organ shortage crisis).  They can combine the survey results with their own background research to make a recommendation to a governmental agency.

Polleverywhere is a polling website that is meant to be used with a live audience as people can see the responses of others.  This can be used to engage the audience if they choose to do a presentation.

How do I use this? The teacher can create a survey using Google Forms (watch the video link below that shows you how).  This data is automatically placed in an Google sheet and can be used to generate graphs that can be used to help students analyze and interpret the data.  Key graphs can be used in the student report or presentation.

Why use this?  Google Forms allows for easy collection and compilation of data.  This allows students to spend their time on analysis and reflection rather than counting up responses.  An additional perk is that the action of passing out a device about different issues triggers conversations that do not happen as much when using paper and pencil surveys.

Click here to download the complete resource.

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