Discussion Facilitation
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.
This resource guide provides an overview of dialogic techniques to integrate with one’s instructional strategies and course content.
Dialoguing About Race and Racism
This resource guide aims to provide instructors with both an overview of race and ways to mobilize this information to have deeper interactions with others.
This guide offers samples of inclusive discussion guidelines. Setting up expectations for discussion with students at the beginning of the term can be useful in creating inclusivity.
Facilitating Through “Perfectly Logical Explanations”
This resource guide introduces strategies of multipartiality in discussion facilitation as a way to challenge dominant narratives.
This resource guide provides strategies for responding to “hot moments”: the sudden eruption of tension and conflict in classroom discussion.
Inventory of Inclusive Teaching Strategies
This resource guide is an inventory of 54 concrete strategies for building an inclusive class.
Jigsaw Collaborative Discussion Method
This page introduces the Jigsaw method and describes how to use this method in classroom activities.
Responding to Common Dialogue Blockers
This resource guide is designed to help instructors manage the challenges of difficult classroom dialogue.
Setting the Tone for Inclusive Classrooms
This resource guide details five general practices for building inclusivity in the classroom.
This guide is intended to educate instructors on trauma-informed pedagogy and the practices they can incorporate into their classrooms.
Useful Questions for Dialogue Facilitation
The 14 types of questions in this guide model the kinds of questions a discussion facilitator might ask students in order to prompt deeper engagement with challenging topics.
