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Note: revisions in blue. From my original plan, there is not a great deal of revision needed. The topic I am covering is not designed for children nor is it an appropriate topic for K-12 education. That said, I will note the changes I would make if I was teaching a class with a significant number non-traditional (adult) students.

1. Goals and Objectives:
To have students understand the role U.S. foreign intelligence, in particular the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) played in the formation and implementation of American policy.

2. Procedures:
Dewey suggested a four part division for “educational technology”: Inquiry, Communication, Construction, Expression.

Following this format, I would break the class in 4 parts:
1. Inquiry: The students would exam the question: “What role has U.S. foreign Intelligence played in Afghanistan to the present.
2. Communication: Using a series of documents, the students would exam this question. Breaking the students into groups, I would distribute a different document for each group. The students would discuss within the group, the significance of each document. Documents could include Zbigniew Brzezinski admission of successful U.S. covert operations in Afghanistan designed to draw the Soviets into the country, CIA reports showing cooperation with Afghanistan Opium Warlords who received weapons to fight the Soviets, DEA documents complaining that the CIA interfered or halted over 40 major investigations into heroin networks, Post 9/11 Special Operations demonstrating the dangers in operating in the nation. If possible, students could use computers to communicate with another class who were undertaking a similar assignment.
3. Construction: Students would be asked to create two opposite narratives, one from the perspective of the CIA, the other from the critics of their policies. I would expect them to use internet resources (with full citations) and to communicate between student groups.
4. Expression: At the end of the exercise, we would meet as a whole and discuss what the implications, problems, successes of U.S. foreign intelligence in Afghanistan.
An andragogy approach would only need a bit of fine-tuning to fit into the Dewey-based model.
Need to Know: Adults students, especially those unfamiliar with a critical analysis of U.S. foreign policy, must be shown to use multiple sources to evaluate the American covert operations. It is not enough to rely on official reports or unsubstantiated rumors. Beyond the acquisition of knowledge on the particular subject, Afghanistan, students should recognize how to see issues from more than one point of view.

In all my classes, my philosophy is that students do not ever have to agree with me. Not matter what their opinion, the important lesson is to back your argument with evidence. This position should alleviate the concern of “imposing of will.” I would not care what point of view the students left with, as long as they are capable of seeing issues from multiple viewpoints.

As such, their life experiences would be useful to the discussion. How did they perceive of the CIA throughout their life? Are there pertinent intelligence operations that they read about previously that could educate other students? Of course, adult students with intelligence backgrounds would be strongly encouraged to share, as much as legally possible, their experiences. The point of the exercise would not be to downplay their own life experiences, rather to supplement their knowledge.
The final points of the 6 main categories of andragogy, I believe, are less pertinent to my lesson plan. If an adult is in my class, I would assume that they wanted to be there and no further learning motivation tactics were necessary. After all, THEY signed up for the class. The only motivation I could give them would be to take their ideas and comments fairly and seriously, even if I do not share them. Outside of the immediate information, the best real-life application for my lesson plan may simply be an expansion of their world-view. However, if they choose not to do so, that would be acceptable as well.
Alternative Game Plan:

Role-playing…break students up into groups of different players (DEA, CIA, Soviets, Taliban etc). Students would get materials and internet access. Keeping each group’s designs secret, the students would need to guess the identities and motives of the other groups

3. Evaluation: I would assume Dewey would find success in how the exercise best socialized the children and their level of participation. I would have a follow-up exercise where each group turns in a short collaborative paper.

Materials: Declassified Documents, internet access, game materials for role playing