A successful discussion invites students to participate fully. Since students possess a variety of experiences, beliefs, understanding, and biases largely unknown to the instructor, the prospect of facilitating a discussion can be daunting. The guides in this section demystify discussions by helping instructors to prepare the classroom for productive engagement and to employ charged moments as opportunities to inquire and learn.
Overview Trauma-informed pedagogy is becoming increasingly more common as a result of multiple factors, including the national focus on racial inequality, gun violence, mental health, and the COVID-19 pandemic. With the COVID-19 pandemic specifically, a dramatic shift occurred for instructors when it was imperative that they adapt their curriculum and standards to account for students’ […]
Trauma-Informed Pedagogy Read More »
This resource guide aims to provide instructors with both an overview of race, including its construction and historical context as well as ways to mobilize this information to have deeper interactions with others, particularly students in the classroom, around race and racism.
Dialoguing About Race and Racism Read More »
This resource guide provides an overview of dialogic techniques to integrate with one’s instructional strategies and course content.
Applying Dialogic Techniques Read More »
These 14 types of questions model the kinds of questions a discussion facilitator might ask students in order to prompt deeper engagement with challenging topics.
Useful Questions for Dialogue Facilitation Read More »
This resource guide is an inventory of 54 concrete strategies for building an inclusive class.
Inventory of Inclusive Teaching Strategies Read More »
This resource offers samples of inclusive discussion guidelines. Setting up expectations for discussion with your students at the beginning of the term can be useful in creating an environment conducive to inclusivity, lively discussion, and classroom community building.
Discussion Guidelines Read More »
This resource guide provides strategies for responding to “hot moments”: the sudden eruption of tension and conflict in classroom discussion.
This short document from the Commission for Social Justice Educators gives a concise description of strategies of multipartiality in discussion facilitation as a way to challenge dominant narratives that students have internalized and tend to reproduce in the classroom.
Facilitating Through “Perfectly Logical Explanations” Read More »
This resource is designed to help instructors manage the challenges of difficult classroom dialogue, specifically the way some students block or divert dialogue as a defensive response to perspectives they find uncomfortable or challenging.
Responding to Common Dialogue Blockers Read More »
This page introduces the Jigsaw method and describes how to use this method in classroom activities.
Jigsaw Collaborative Discussion Method Read More »
