Holding Critical Conversations in Classrooms

Throughout the school year, there are a number of events that occur in various aspects of our society. These events impact our students in different ways and often are deserving of classroom time to discuss the events.

We hope that the resources listed below will be helpful to you as you engage in those conversations.

From Learning for Justice, this guide for facilitating critical conversations with students outlines some suggestions for:

  • if you are hesitant holding conversations in class (p. 9&10)

  • how to plan for difficult conversations (p. 16)

  • ideas for handling when students have strong emotions (p.20)

  • dealing with a polarized classroom (p.21-22)

  • opening up a critical conversation (p.23)

  • faciltiating a conversation (p. 28)

  • closing a conversation (p.36)

By Alicia L. Moore and Molly Deshaies, this short guide offers a step-by-step resource sheet for teachers on setting up, guiding, and de-briefing difficult and important conversations in the classroom. Using the “S.E.N.S.I.T.I.V.E” guidelines to highlight the main ideas, this resource offers important reminders about preparing yourself for facilitation as well as reflecting on and recognizing your own unconscious biases.

From the University of Michigan’s Center for Research on Learning and Teaching, this resource offers tips on responding to both spontaneous and planned discussions, as well as handling issues that involve the instructor’s identity.

From Vanderbilt University’s Center for Teaching, this resource includes a nice overview of “the basics” in preparing discussions on difficult topics. It also provides specific strategies, such as the “Five Minute Rule” for spotlighting specific perspectives and the “Critical Incident Questionnaire” to prompt student reflection, when hot topic moments arise or when a classroom discussion becomes very tense.

From Brown University’s The Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, this resource includes tips on facilitating effective group discussion.

The Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) developed this brief handout to offer instructors ways to make the most of "hot moments" as learning opportunities. It includes specific strategies to prepare for, respond to, and follow up after eruptions of tension or conflict in the classroom.

Here, you can find conversation guides developed with the goal of making them welcoming to people across the political and cultural spectrum. Living Room Conversations offers topic guides for over 100 different topics. Browse all topics or browse by category in the left menu (desktop only).

From Teaching Tolerance, prepare yourself to discuss race, racism and other difficult topics with students (ISSUE 52, SPRING 2016).

Over the years, The Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) has developed guidance to help instructors facilitate classroom discussion when controversial or tragic incidents become foremost in students' minds. This link includes a number of resources including Guidelines for Faciliting Class Discussions on:

  • High-Stakes Topics

  • Racial Conflict and the Language of Hate, Bias, and Discrimination

  • CyberBullying and Expressions of Anti-Gay Sentiment

  • Affirmative Action

  • Hurricane Katrina

  • Tsunami

  • War in Iraq

  • September 11, 2001

and more!