Planned Course Content
Description/Introduction
Difficult discussions in planned course content refer to conversations that involve divisive and/or emotionally charged content. This can include topics such as race and ethnicity¹, gender and sexuality² ³, mental health⁴ ⁵, political views and ideologies⁶ ⁷, religion and belief systems⁸, sexual assault and consent, income inequality, and socioeconomic status. These topics are integral to the educational process and social discourse. To enhance the educational experience, instructors can anticipate ways to thoughtfully address them throughout their teaching.
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What is our goal of pedagogical wellness with a challenging discussion? What would success look like?
The goals of pedagogical wellness with planned challenging discussions in the classroom are to create space for conversation, foster student learning through difficult conversations, provide an opportunity to connect course content to real-life events, and offer professional development opportunities.
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Before the Discussion…
Self-preparation: Reflect on your feelings and biases towards the content. Being aware of your emotional state helps guide the discussion more effectively. Furthermore, if available, reviewing your positionality statement could help you reflect on how your identity impacts your perspectives.
Prepare the students via email before class: Explain what will happen in class, and give a content warning beforehand if necessary. Let them know why the conversation is necessary for the course learning and if any potentially triggering topics need to be addressed
- Expectations around participation: Let students know whether participation is optional or if they could participate in an alternative mode.
- Open up with compassion – for example: “I understand that (name the situation or event) is a difficult topic for many…”.
- Clarify the purpose of the conversation – for example: “The purpose of this conversation is to provide space for us to discuss and process together…”.
- Create agreements: Develop common community agreements for the conversation.
- Communication: Communicate the time boundary of how long you plan to spend on the conversation.
- Give future content warnings: Indicate content warnings when appropriate with options to opt in or out throughout the conversation.
During the Discussion...
Consider silence as a tool
- Use silence to give yourself and your students time to think about the conversation and listen mindfully.
Approach with empathy: Prepare the students via email before class.
- Avoid assumptions.
- Start with a check-in question: How are you feeling?
- Consider using The Blob Tree, mood meters, and “temperature checks” to help students identify and articulate feelings.
- Consider allowing students the ability to engage anonymously.
- Invite students to participate in active listening.
Encourage diverse perspectives
- Encourage students to share their ideas and viewpoints, but avoid asking students to represent an entire ethnic group or identity.
- Ask prompting questions:
- What is another perspective on this?
- Why might someone disagree with this?
- What perspectives are being excluded or have not been discussed yet?
- How might people who think Y perceive this issue?
Provide structure (e.g. reflective writing, small group discussions, guided questions) before proceeding with full group conversation.
Address students in distress: See something, say something, do something.
After the Discussion (Follow-up)
Ask for feedback: Use a survey form or reflection assignment to solicit feedback about whether the conversation was helpful or unhelpful.
- Self-Reflection: Give yourself and students time to reflect on what went well and challenges to adjust for future conversations.
- Share Resources with Your Students
- UCI CARE
- UCI Counseling Center
- UCI Social Work
- UCI Student Wellness and Health Promotion
- UCI Campus Assist List
Common Questions and Concerns
We acknowledge that facilitating these conversations can be challenging and that instructors have valid questions and concerns regarding them. One strategy to prepare for these difficult conversations is to reflect on your course content, policies, and current events, think about possible student reactions and questions, and brainstorm ways to respond in an informed and empathetic manner.
We address some of the most common of these below. Note that this not an exhaustive list:
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“I worry that students will feel upset, attacked, and/or marginalized during these discussions.”
Response: Being concerned for students’ sense of belonging and wellbeing is legitimate and important. Ensuring a safe (or brave) space is fundamental for learning. However, avoiding these topics entirely deprives students of the opportunity to critically engage with and process them. Here are some simple ways to lead with empathy and cultivate an environment where students feel supported and empowered.
Strategies:
- Recognize that discomfort is likely to occur during tough discussions – for both yourself and your students. However, this discomfort can be necessary to facilitate meaningful progress, growth, and understanding.
- Provide content warnings and offer students the option to opt-out or engage with the material in a different way.
- Establish community agreements for respectful and productive dialogue at the start of the course. Consider co-creating these agreements with your students and revisiting them throughout the quarter.
- Practice role-playing them using AI chatbots, such as ZotGPT if you’re nervous about how these interactions will go. It’s important to use prompts that are specific, clear, provide context, and use explicit constraints and guidelines (See: Mastering ChatGPT: How to Craft Effective Prompts).
- Collect anonymous feedback based on these discussions to gauge students’ comfort and experiences with them, adjusting when necessary. These could be as elaborate as a Google Form or as simple as an “exit ticket”.
“I lack the adequate time, training, and resources to effectively facilitate these conversations.”
Response: Feeling equipped to tackle these discussions can feel daunting. However, you have a wealth of resources and support available to you to help you prepare for and lead these discussions.
Strategies:
- Consider participating in DTEI’s professional development workshops. These are short, low-stakes ways to learn more approaches and engage with other curious instructors. If you don’t have time to attend them synchronously, you can view our recordings and explore our slides afterwards.
- Partner with colleagues who have relevant experience to provide you with ideas, guidance, and support. You may even consider collaboratively teaching with them.
- Invite guest speakers who are experts in relevant topics. This centers their knowledge and experience, while easing the burden on you.
“What if I lose control of the conversation?”
Response: This is a valid worry to have, as these conversations can be unpredictable and emotionally charged. However, there are several ways to structure and effectively moderate these discussions.
Strategies:
- Remind students of the community agreements you (co-)constructed at the start of the course if they are violated.
- Use structured formats, such as fishbowl discussions, think-pair-share, reflective writing, and the critical incident questionnaire to help manage the flow of conversation and keep it focused.
- Actively moderate the discussion. Be prepared to ask students to elaborate on points and support claims with evidence. Intervene to refocus the conversation back to its stated goals.
- Directly confront harmful or otherwise inappropriate comments. Call out the behavior and call in the person.
- If certain students dominate conversations, invite others to share their thoughts.