Responding to Common Dialogue Blockers
Overview
This resource guide 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. The “common blockers,” authored by Kelly Obear of the Social Justice Training Institute, are listed below with explanations of how they act to block dialogue and suggested responses that you or your students can use to respond and restore dialogue effectively. The section on “Facilitator Considerations” gives further strategies for instructors to approach difficult classroom conversations.
Resource Goals:
- To give concrete examples and explanations of rhetorical strategies that block dialogue, so students and instructors can better recognize when they or others are prone to use them.
- To give examples of how to restore dialogue effectively, so students and instructors are better prepared to manage difficult conversations.
- To provide instructors with strategies and considerations that will better equip them for tackling topics that may result in conflict.
