What are your strategies for challenging conversations?

I think the ability to have challenging conversations is determined by the learning environment  you create in the classroom.

In my opinion, it is absolutely essential to have clear rules and expectations for any discourse, especially when navigating tricky subjects. Students today do struggle with more formal discussions - developing and supporting arguments, and expressing their thoughts when they disagree with their peers is a skill they need to practice, and also essential to their development into future citizens. Creating these guidelines and practices from the start will help to develop their skills, and is something you can fall back on when hitting more sensitive subjects. 

Great question, Becca Horowitz .  I use many of the same strategies @Ericshulz  and Anne Koschmider talk about in their classroom - in particular, framing or tying events to the study of history, hopefully helping students realize that these are human history issues, not isolated to a particular place or time.

Giving students voice and opportunities to have civil dialogue is so important, yet so challenging.  I need to do more of it.  

 Becca Horowitz I enjoyed reading the interview with Anne Koschmider and Eric Schulz Both offered valuable strategies for preparing students for practice and modeling civil discourse. 

In my school we practice the Harkness Method, a student-driven pedagogy in which students lead discussions and explore readings through analysis, questioning, and intellectual dialogue. They learn from each other and one of the most important skills is active listening, showing respect for different opinions and mantaining eye contact while speaking. The experience is enriching because participants gain diverse perspectives and must support their claims using evidence.

I was recently invited to participate in Teachers Fly-in at Vanderbilt University where students practice civil discourse through a comprehensive program called Dialogue Vanderbilt. As teachers we also practiced the steps for navegating differences through connection and conversation. 

Laura Massa  - I really like the Harkness Method!  I would like to incorporate more of it into my classes.

Well, this is timely. I just saw that the Cult of Pedagogy’s latest episode is about discussing hard topics! https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/growth-discourse/

Thank you Anne Koschmider   for the info. I will certainly listen to the last episode, though I went to this site to get insights on metacognition. 

Thank you for sharing this, Anne Koschmider !

Anne Koschmider Carrie Emmerson Laura Massa Allyson Eubanks Thanks for sharing your connections! I love Cult of Pedagogy. There are always great gems from Jennifer Gonzalez. I'd love to hear if you pick up any moves from this episode.