Resources for Difficult Dialogues in the Classroom

In light of the upcoming presidential election, the climate in the classroom has the potential to be difficult. The following resources were curated with the collaboration of Paulette Granberry-Russell of the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives, Melissa McDaniels of The Graduate School, and Jim Lucas of the Office of the Associate Provost of Undergraduate Education.

MSU Resources

Learn at Lunch Series:  Facilitating Difficult Dialogues

(program flyer pdf here)
Sponsored by the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives, the Office of the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education, and the Academic Advancement Network
Thursday, October 13, 12:00 - 1:30 PM in 222 Erickson Hall
 
Participants will learn effective strategies for facilitating difficult dialogues on current social and cultural issues in the classroom (e.g. climate change, stem cell research, politics, racism). Participants will also have the opportunity to discuss ongoing issues in the classroom related to this topic and problem-solve with colleagues.
 
Moderator: Dr. Jessica Garcia, Sociology; Panelists: Dr. Austin Dorell Jackson, RCAH and Dr. Gerald Urquhart, Lyman Briggs College and Dept. of Fisheries and Wildlife
 
 

Academic Advancement Network Resources

Books available in the AAN Office Library

To borrow any of the following titles, stop by Room 308 of the Hannah Administration Building.

• Brookfield, Stephen D. The Discussion Book: 50 Great Ways to Get People Talking.
• Chickering, Art (Foreword)   Encountering Faith in the Classroom: Turning Difficult Discussions into Constructive Engagement
• Nash, Robert J. How to Talk About Hot Topics on Campus: From Polarization to Moral Conversation.
• Nash, Robert J. Start Talking: A Handbook for Engaging Difficult Dialogues in Higher Education.
• Roderick, Libby. Stop Talking: Indigenous Ways of Teaching and Learning and Difficult Dialogues in Higher Education.
• Wheatley, Margaret J.  Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future

 

Categories of the Online Instructional Resources Database

• Inclusive Teaching Methods http://fod.msu.edu/oir/inclusive-teaching-methods

• Incorporating Multicultural Content into Your Teaching  http://fod.msu.edu/oir/incorporating-multicultural-content-your-teaching
• Teaching for Diverse Populations http://fod.msu.edu/oir/teaching-diverse-populations

 

Other MSU Resources

 

Bias Busters: Guides to Cultural Competence

• Website Project of the MSU School of Journalism, College of Communication Arts and Sciences http://news.jrn.msu.edu/culturalcompetence/

i3 Education and Training Opportunities

• Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiativeshttp://inclusion.msu.edu/education/index.html

Ideas for Disciplinary Content

• Compiled by the MSU Libraries https://www.lib.msu.edu/inclusiveteaching/

Office of Institutional Equity Policies

• http://oie.msu.edu/

Promoting Inclusion in Academic Environments

• Presentation pdf by Jim Lucas, Office of the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education  http://fod.msu.edu/sites/default/files/UGAAD%20Presentation%20Fall%202016.pdf

To My Professor: Student Voices for Great College Teaching

• Book by MSU School of Journalism students and editor Joe Grimm,College of Communication Arts and Sciences http://www.readthespirit.com/explore/msu-journalists-publish-to-my-professor-student-voices-for-great-college-teaching/p://news.jrn.msu.edu/culturalcompetence/

 

External Resources

 

ELECTIONS

Teaching and Learning in a Tense Election Season

• Webpage produced by the Center for Research on Teaching and Learning at the University of Michigan    http://crlt.umich.edu/node/92763

Election 2016: Lesson Plans and Digital Resources for Educators

• Resource produced by the George Lucas Education Foundation (online article) http://www.edutopia.org/blog/US-election-teaching-resources-matt-davis

Producing and Consuming the Controversial--A Social Media Perspective on Political Conversations in the Social Science Classroom (article)

• Andersson, E. (2016). Producing and Consuming the Controversial–A Social Media Perspective on Political Conversations in the Social Science Classroom. JSSE-Journal of Social Science Education, 15(1), 6-16. 

 

BIAS AND RACE

#Charlestonsyllabus

• Resource produced by the African American Intellectual History Society    http://www.aaihs.org/resources/charlestonsyllabus/

#FergusonSyllabus

• Resources produced by Sociologists for Justice    https://sociologistsforjustice.org/ferguson-syllabus

Learning to Talk about Race in the Classroom

• Resource from Inside Higher Ed.'s Gradhacker (blog article) https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/gradhacker/learning-talkrace-classroom

Project Implicit (Implicit Bias)

• Project by Harvard University https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/

Promoting Racial Literacy in Schools: Differences That Make a Difference

• Book by Stevenson, H. C. (2013). Teachers College Press.

Responding to Incidents of Hate Speech

• Webpage produced by the Center for Research on Teaching and Learning at the University of Michigan http://crlt.umich.edu/node/93036

Teaching Tolerance

• Program of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Resources for K-12, but many transferrable ideas  http://www.tolerance.org/lets-talk

 
 

GENERAL RESOURCES

Difficult Dialogues Guide

• Annotated resources produced by Vanderbilt University                          https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/difficult-dialogues/

Difficult Dialogues Handbook, Strategies and Resources

• Resources produced by the University of Alaska Difficult Dialogues Project and the Ford Foundation
  • http://www.difficultdialoguesuaa.org/handbook
  • http://www.difficultdialoguesuaa.org/strategies_and_resources

Handbook for Facilitating Difficult Conversations

• Resources produced by Queens College, City University of New York (pdf)   https://www.qc.cuny.edu/Academics/Centers/Democratic/Documents/Handbook%20for%20Facilitating%20Difficult%20Conversations2.pdf

Inclusive Practices for Managing Controversial Issues

• Online document produced by Flinders University of Australia                http://www.flinders.edu.au/equal-opportunityfiles/documents/cdip/TIPS_controversial.pdf

Inviting Dialogue

• Resource produced by Clark University (pdf)                               http://www2.clarku.edu/difficultdialogues/documents/ClarkUnivInvitingDialogue.pdf

Managing Challenging Moments in the Classroom

• Online Document produced by the Derek Bok Center Staff of Harvard University (online document)                   http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/html/icb.topic58474/hotmoments.html  

Mindfulness and Discussing "Thorny" Issues in the Classroom (article)

• Alexakos, K., Pride, L. D., Amat, A., Tsetsakos, P., Lee, K. J., Paylor-Smith, C., ... & Smith, T. (2016). Mindfulness and discussing “thorny” issues in the classroom. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 1-29.

Toolkit for Inclusive Learning Environments

• Project by the Sheridan Libraries of Johns Hopkins University                              http://guides.library.jhu.edu/c.php?g=213732&p=1410321