When should nations agree to ‘pause’ their production of weapons?

The Lesson Plan

Teacher Handout
Student Handout
Historical Photo


This 45-minute lesson is designed to help students explore historical events (the 1921 Washington Conference; disarmament efforts after the Great War) in context of a persistent issue throughout history: national sovereignty v. international law. Students will develop skills and habits of mind associated with thinking critically about visual information. The lesson features a three-part teaching strategy. First, you’ll lead an informal class-wide conversation that culminates in an open-ended question; Second, you’ll support students as they interpret a historical photograph; Third, you’ll encourage students to begin to answer the question.

PART 1: THE CONVERSATION (10 minutes): Try initiating a seemingly impromptu conversation by asking students: “should there be a ‘pause’ on the development of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems?” While students share their thoughts aloud you can share arguments from both sides including from researchers who wrote an open letter that advocated for a pause to afford technology companies and government regulators time to craft protections from the risks of artificial intelligence. You may also want to discuss the potential harms (AI systems can be disinformation engines, perpetuate systemic bias, and exactly reproduce personally identifiable information1) and benefits (automation, productivity, data collection and complex problems-solving2). Students may also talk about potential causes and consequences of AI systems being totally banned or totally limitless. Remember: this is not intended to be a lengthy, formal discussion. Rather, it’s a brief grabber to gather students’ interest. Be mindful of your time and stay focused.

Problem-based historical inquiry* (PBHI) is an approach to teaching students about the past. One of the tenets of PBHI is that learning should be purposeful lessons should be centered around open-ended, societal concerns that call for students to engage in real-world problem-solving, make decisions, and act. Lessons should afford students sufficient time for sustained focus on content and skills and to think deeply and seriously about facts, definitions, and values. Instead of memorizing information from a textbook or lecture, students have a more authentic purpose with PBHI: deep, sustained learning and struggling with problems of the past to more meaningfully address problems of their present and future.
Which of the two compelling questions presented in this lesson would you center instruction around? Why?
* Callahan, C., Saye, J., & Brush, T. (2013). Designing web-based educative curriculum materials for the social studies. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 13(2).
As responses wane, you can share that today students are going to extend the conversation to ask, not about AI, but about global conflicts. “When should nations agree to ‘pause’ their production of weapons?” could be the question for today; however, you could also choose to focus on the larger question: “What’s the proper balance between national sovereignty and international law?” These are the open-ended questions around which this problem-based historical inquiry (PBHI) activity is centered. The questions work well with the previous conversation and the subsequent learning segments because one of the domains of international law is disarmament,” and citizens of many nations throughout the world have had to think through their respective answers. This is truly a persistent issue in world history.

You might also share that today, instead of bookwork, worksheets, or a lecture, students will gather information and take notes from critically analyzing a historical photograph. Thinking deeply about this photograph should help them begin to explore the balance between a what a nation wants to do in its own interest (national sovereignty) and what other nations want it to do (international law or concern). You may want to click HERE to read a helpful one-page “Fact Sheet” from the United Nations that discusses International Law.

As a transition from the conversation and whichever open-ended question you decide to emphasize, you should share with students that the skills they will sharpen today are essential for 21st century citizenship. You can remind students that there are, and will likely always be, people and groups who intentionally use images to influence their decision-making (i.e., how to spend money, who to vote for). You can share that today students will think about a historical photograph, using it as evidence to build a claim about an open-ended question, but they hopefully will be able to take that authentic skill and use it to improve their lives away from school (i.e., as they encounter visual information such as advertisements and social media).

Another tenet of PBHI* is that learning should be active: students should collaborate to interpret rich, diverse historical documents as a means to develop an understanding of the past and the different sides of a historical event. This collaboration should feature students using disciplinary skills (i.e., thinking “historically” or “geographically,” etc) and evidence to support an answer to the open-ended question around which the lesson is centered. No individual alone can perceive the complexity of social reality, thus a student attempting to understand the past needs the help of others—students and teachers—who, through discourse and deliberation, can reason together meaningfully about events.
What aspect of student collaboration seems the most challenging to you, the classroom teacher?
* Callahan, Saye, & Brush. (2013).
PART 2: THE HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPH (25 minutes): Next, make available to each student a copy of the Student Handout. This is a type of data retrieval chart designed for this lesson and students are strongly encouraged to actively collect their thoughts on it. Explain that thinking critically about images is very different from casually glancing at them. You might want to draw students’ attention to the handout that, by careful design, concentrates their analysis toward thinking deeply and “historically.”

Once each student has a copy of the data retrieval chart, you should make available the photograph, Just men, but mighty important ones! The “Big Nine” at the World Disarmament Conference, Washington, D.C., 1921. You could project the photograph as a multimedia presentation slide and have students work together as a whole class. Or you could ask each student to access a digital copy of the photograph and have them work individually. This lesson plan encourages you to have students work in small groups of about four or five; however, it’s your decision how to implement the lesson.

Regardless of how you make the photograph available to students, you’ll need the Teacher Handout designed specifically for this lesson. It would be best to study the handout well before leading students through this lesson because it’s a primer for the photograph that provides information and a script of talking points for skillfully guiding students in an exploration of how nations tend to deliberate national sovereignty and international law as it relates to disarmament.

Next, place students into small groups of four or five, it would be best to make these groups prior to the day of the lesson and attend to students’ strengths and potential limitations, personalities, and multiple intelligences. Then, proceed with the analysis of the photograph. Give the groups approximately 10 minutes to think together about the photograph “historically” following the components listed on the Student Handout. It’s very important during this time that you to move about the room, visit with each group, initiate conversations regarding their historical thinking, and offer specific, individualized feedback: this is called scaffolding.

PBHI* is also founded on the belief that when properly supported, all students are capable of higher levels of thinking. For students to develop the skills and knowledge needed to be critical thinkers, teachers must appeal to each student’s individual needs, often at the time those needs are presented. It’s called scaffolding when teachers provide the support structures to help learners
get to the next level of thinking. Hard scaffolds are the static supports that anticipate general difficulties (i.e., providing definitions for challenging terminology and graphic organizers). Soft scaffolds are dynamic, situation specific aids to help learners process data, (i.e., just-intime conversations).
Which hard scaffolds and soft scaffolding opportunities in this lesson do you think are the most important?
* Callahan, Saye, & Brush. (2013)
Scaffolding is often very helpful for guiding students toward deeper understanding. After the groups have analyzed the photograph and completed the Student Handout, gather the attention of the whole class and have students from each group share their respective group’s observations, conclusions, and thoughts. Be sure to ask their thoughts about nations’ rights and duties as they concern disarmament. Follow these questions by asking for the rationale underpinning their answers. Go out of your way to ask two or three groups to respond to other group’s findings, thus developing a conversation among the students to help everyone discover and create a meaningful understanding of international law. Carefully negotiate students’ responses and keep this segment of the lesson focused.

PART 3: THE ANSWER (10 minutes): After students have analyzed and discussed the historical photograph, ask them to formally to use the skills built and information gathered from today to address the open-ended question you posited earlier. You could ask students to create and submit a 1-minute video or send you an email with their answer. Or they could write their answer on the back of the data retrieval chart; regardless of what tools students use to answer the question, it’s important that you provide each student with individualized, formative feedback. To produce a truly comprehensive answer to such a complex issue, students will need more than just today’s lesson. Still, they should be able to craft a preliminary answer to the question in regard to one of the domains of international law: disarmament.

You can end this lesson by reiterating how the skills and habits of mind practiced today have tremendous value in everyday life, especially considering the amount of visual information produced and consumed on social media platforms.

1 see Clarke, L., (April 11, 2023) Alarmed tech leaders call for AI research pause. Science.
2 see Maheshwari, R. (April 11, 2023). Advantages Of Artificial Intelligence (AI) In 2023. Forbes Advisor.