Student Support with Dialogue in Time of National Crisis

Students spend most of their days in school. Naturally, when national events occur, this extends the teachers regular duties to the role of  “first responders”. This publication from Essential Partners was adapted for the classroom from their Reflective Structured Dialogue, and is offered as a tool for teachers to create a space of self- reflection, deep listening and open sharing in the classroom.  The prompts and guidelines to consider, proactively invite the students to process crisis in a healthy way.

Read about the structure and prompts offered below or find the original post here.


Holding Space in a Moment of Crisis

Along with their parents, teachers are often the “first responders” for students when a major national crisis takes place. It can be difficult or impossible to have a normal class in the wake of a traumatic or disruptive event.

Creating a space of self-reflection, deep listening, and open sharing in the classroom can proactively invite students to process and discuss crises in healthy ways. What could be a moment of trauma and division can become, instead, an opportunity for connection, empowerment, and mutual support.

Adapted for the classroom from EP’s Reflective Structured Dialogue approach, the tools below can be used to create a dialogic space in your classroom after a disruptive event.

Be transparent. Name the event, outline the process.

Whether it’s an event in the national news or a challenging paragraph in a text you are reading together, transparently name the disruption that you know the class is feeling. This offers permission for students to

acknowledge and begin to process their emotions. It may also relieve tension about whether you’ll pretend that nothing is amiss.

Depending on the circumstance, you might also acknowledge your own emotional response too, even if you don’t go into details about what those emotions are.

Many people dive into work or school to avoid the difficult feelings that a crisis can raise. Being transparent and naming the disruption hits the pause button on business-as-usual. It signals that this is going to be a different kind of space, at least for now.

You can further the work of creating a new kind of space by letting the class know the process of this structured, reflective exercise. You can use this time to preview what the students will be asked to do. This could be a general outline or include some specific examples. The purpose here is to provide some clarity, certainty, and security.

Give direction and time for reflection.

Reflection without purpose and direction can veer into a blank staring and long silences. An anchor for reflection provides focus.

Below are two sets of anchors that you can use to guide the students’ reflections. The first is a set of questions that can be used as either journal prompts or as the questions for a timed and structured go-around:

  • How have you been impacted by what happened? What feels most at stake? What would you like others to understand about what matters most to you about this event?
  • Where do you feel stuck or what dilemma does this moment bring up for you? What does this dilemma tell you about what you think is important or a value that you hold?

The second anchor is more abstract. Display a set of images for the students to look at (printed out or shared in a digital folder). Ask the students to respond to one of these question prompts:

  • Find an image that reflects how you are feeling right now after what happened.
  • Find an image that represents an alternative vision you have for what could be possible.

Reflection is also a process that can take time. Some students will have something to share immediately, but others might need a few minutes to collect their thoughts and explore their own feelings. Be sure to provide quiet time for individual reflection and for students to make notes before inviting them to share.

Structure the group sharing.

If you have time for the students to share some of their reflections, a structure can maintain the space you have worked to create. It underscores that this isn’t a usual class, and limits the dynamics of debate and argument. Some recommended structures are:

  • Allowing students are able to pass if they don’t feel ready or comfortable sharing
  • Making sure that everyone has an equal opportunity to share/speak (especially if you plan to have a less structured conversation afterwards)
  • Pausing briefly to let the group hear and process what someone has said before moving on to the next speaker
  • Letting students know the order they will be invited to share (especially online) by announcing a rolling “batting order”—first Jim, then Cassie, then Alejandra—which encourages students to be prepared to speak when it’s their turn

Set aside time to close in an intentional way.

As we encourage students to develop social-emotional skills, we also teach them how to bring closure to these difficult moments in order to re-enter day-to-day activities.

It can be tempting to follow the flow of a discussion at the expense of watching the clock—only to have the bell ring and class abruptly end. That can be disorienting for students, and hard for them to transition. Allow time at the end of your class or exercise for a closing activity. This should invite students to process and synthesize what they’ve heard from others and discovered about themselves. Here are several examples of closing prompts:

  • Thinking about what’s been said here today, what is one hope you have for us as a nation going into this new year
  • Write down on a post-it note (to post on the wall of the room) one theme from what you’ve heard shared here today that you want the community to remember.
  • Share one thing that you’ve heard shared here today that you want to take with you into this week.
  • Reflecting on everything you’ve thought about, shared about and heard today, what is one word or phrase that describes what you want to remember moving forward.

Creating a dialogic space for students to reflect and share lets them reconnect with their internal strengths and resources in crisis moments—skills that will serve them throughout their lives. It helps them make meaning from difficult and disruptive events. And it encourages reflection on the way students want to engage with the world around them.

As always, we are here to support you. If you need more help holding difficult classroom discussions, please reach out.

You can find the original version on The Essential Partners’ site at www.whatisessential.org/holding-space-moment-crisis

 

Antioch University Unveils Leadership Certificates

Antioch University’s Graduate School of Leadership and Change (GSLC) is announcing new exciting opportunities for professionals and executives with the launch of their Professional Certificate Series.  These two certification programs are timely with the presence of the many changes felt by our communities. Each course offers the convenience of being self-paced with a weekly average of 4-5 hours over the duration of three months.

Certificate 1: Leading for Inclusion and Racial Justice Certificate is designed for anyone with an interest in challenging racism at a structural or systemic level within their institutions, organizations or communities. You do not have to be in a formal leadership role in order to benefit from the material offered, as the Certificate is based in the belief that leadership for inclusion and racial justice occurs at all levels of any human community.

Certificate 2: Leading Transformative Change is for either emerging leaders or any leader who wants to “up” their ability by understanding the pros and cons of change leadership practices.

Read more below or find more information on the Professional Certificate series of your interest here.


Antioch University Unveils New Leadership Certification Courses

We are thrilled to announce the launch of the Professional Certificate Series by Antioch University’s Graduate School of Leadership and Change (GSLC). The purpose of the series is to offer cutting-edge and intellectually engaging courses on leadership and change for professionals and executives. Drawing upon Antioch’s 160-year legacy of human-centered innovative education, the participants will benefit from becoming familiar with novel, evidence-based frameworks, and practical approaches, which directly inform their practice as leaders and professionals in the chosen areas.

Participants can expect to experience a motivating and creative mix o f learning methods. They can also expect to have access to world-class instructors. Flexibility is built into these offerings and all the work may be completed asynchronously (at the participants’ own pace) requiring around 4 to 5 hours of work per week. However, unlike many other programs, we have created regular,

optional opportunities to engage with the course instructors on a real-time basis. This relational aspect is a hallmark of the GSLC.

Currently, the series includes the following two certificates, each comprised of three courses:

Certificate 1: Leading for Inclusion and Racial Justice
Courses: Developing ‘Identity Intelligence’; Leading for Inclusion; Challenging Social Systems

Certificate 2: Leading Transformative Change
Courses: Foundations of Transformative Change; Strategic Planning for Sustainable Futures; Leading and Implementing Successful Change

For additional information and for course start dates, please visit GLSC Professional Certificates.
For organizations sending three or more individuals, we will offer a 15% discount.

You can find the original version on the Antioch University’s Graduate School of Leadership and Change at www.antioch.edu/academics/leadership-management/certificates/.

In Class Group Discussions Effects Beyond the Classroom

This story comes to us from the Interactivity Foundation an NCDD sponsor member. In ( this piece) Discussion Groups Weaving Social Connections we follow Greg Johnson, a Computer Science major that struggles with a stuttering condition. He begins his  journey towards fulfilling the requirement of his course load while tackling on his interpersonal communication skills knowing support would keep him on track. To ensure his success,  a speech specialist from his Universities Learning Team began to work with Greg and classmates on ways to assist him in his communication but, what he and his group found was an added victory. Read the story below and visit the original post here.


Discussion Groups Weaving Social Connections

Discussion groups can foster social bonds that are critical for student success.

Greg Johnson was a Computer Science major with a problem. He had a rather severe stuttering condition. Normally this wasn’t an issue in his CS classes, but Greg was required to take a small group communication class. The class had a heavy discussion focus. Greg petitioned his advisor to substitute another communications class that didn’t require group discussions.

When Greg met with the Learning Services Unit, they worked out a plan with the communication instructor. Greg would be assigned to a discussion group who would agree to work with him on his stuttering issue. An intern in the Learning Services Unit was a Speech Pathology major and she joined the class and was placed in Greg’s group. Throughout the semester a specialist met with Greg’s group to show them how they could help Greg. Greg also met with the specialist privately. “Let’s see if we can make this work,” responded Greg’s advisor. “One of the complaints about IT professionals is that they don’t work well with others. But I’m going to see what our Learning Services Unit can do to help.”

As the semester progressed, Greg was able to better manage the speed of talking with the help of finger signals from his group. Each of his group also practiced breathing regulation with him. The comradery of the group also helped him reduce his anxiety. The group also was very mindful not to intervene when he was struggling with a word. But perhaps the greatest benefit of all was that Greg finally had friends on campus to socialize with. Up until that semester, he was a loner who was embarrassed by his stuttering.

Discussion groups can play an important role beyond just the classroom experience. In Greg’s case, they were a support group that was helpful in reducing his stuttering. Discussion groups can also become relationship groups, building social bonds that are critical for student success and retention.

Rather than thinking of discussions as simply an academic activity, faculty should also think about how these groups can benefit students in other ways. Discussion groups can create student enrichment opportunities in ways that traditional lecture-based classes cannot.

* * *
“Stuttering is painful. In Sunday school, I’d try to read my lessons, and the children behind me were falling on the floor with laughter.” – James Earl Jones (An actor with one of the most famous voices in show business )

This post is part of our “Think About” education series. These posts are based on composites of real-world experiences, with some details changed for the sake of anonymity. New posts appear Wednesday afternoons. 

Join Virtual Book Club Discussion with Author of Engaged

The McCourtney Institute for Democracy, an NCDD member org invites you to an exciting discussion with the author of Engaged: A Citizen’s Perspective on the Future of Civic Life. The event will take place via Zoom on Monday, December 7,  at 4 pm Eastern, 1 pm Pacific. Register for the call here!

On the call, author and Penn State alumnus Andrew Sommers, will be available for a group Q&A session, and then participants will have the option to break out into smaller groups for further discussion. You don’t need to read the book to join the event – check out the additional resources provided in the post below to get an understanding of the book’s contents and be able to better participate in the conversation. Read more below and find the original announcement for this here.


Virtual Book Club
Engaged: A Citizen’s Perspective on the Future of Civic Life

By Andrew D. Sommers

Discussion with the author
Monday, December 7th, 4:00 pm ET

Purchase the book from Bookshop

Written by Penn State alumnus Andrew Sommers, Engaged provides a unique perspective on the state of our civic life today and why it matters to democracy. It explores key aspects of engagement through personal stories, vignette’s from the Shaw neighborhood in Washington, DC, and inspiring examples of those who are trying to make a difference. The book speaks to all Americans — veterans, entrepreneurs, religious leaders, community organizers, educators, parents, and everyday citizens — who want to make a difference in the country we all love.

Andrew has a B.A. from Penn State and an M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania. He has over a decade of experience, primarily as a management consultant working with federal agencies, bringing innovation to their business and technology programs. Andrew has been an active member of numerous Washington, D.C. non-profit and civic organizations — most notably, as a board member of DC Social Innovation Project (DCSIP) and member of the Sons of the American Revolution. When he’s not playing with his son, he’s an avid soccer and chess player.

Andrew will join us for a virtual book club discussion on Monday, December 7.  The first half of the event will be a large group Q&A session, followed by optional smaller group discussions in Zoom breakout rooms.

Register for the discussion

Additional Resources

As with any book club, reading the book is not required to attend the book club discussion. Here are some additional resources to help you understand its main ideas:

You can find the original version on this on the McCourtney Institute for Democracy site at www.democracy.psu.edu/virtual-book-club/.

Exciting Updates from the Tufts’ Tisch College of Civic Life

We received this announcement from NCDDer Peter Levine at Tufts’ Tisch College of Civic Life, sharing many exciting updates happening at Tisch that we wanted to help boost to the larger NCDD network. Don’t miss out on the next announcement and sign up for this newsletter via the Frontiers of Democracy Updates Email List linked here. Do you have information you’d like to share with the NCDD network? Then check out this page to learn how to boost information with the expansive coalition.


Update about Frontiers of Democracy and Civic Initiatives at Tufts

Via Peter Levine on email list for the annual Frontiers of Democracy conference at Tufts’ Tisch College of Civic Life.

RE: Frontiers of Democracy conference and/or the Summer Institute of Civic Studies at Tufts’ Tisch College of Civic Life. We canceled both of those events in 2020 due to COVID-19. We will make decisions early in 2021 about whether to hold them in-person or to offer online programming instead next summer. The dates for Frontiers will be June 25-27, 2021; the Summer Institute will be June 21-25.

In the meantime, we wanted to update you about several projects involving Tisch College that may interest you.

CivicGreen is a new collaborative project (and website) meant to enrich our democratic imagination and to expand our policy options for sustainable, resilient, and just responses to climate crisis in the United States in the coming decades. It locates civic engagement at the heart of work that needs to occur in communities of all kinds, across cities and regions, and among professional and other institutional partners that are key to solving problems for the long run. CivicGreen is fundamentally about civic democracy at the intersection of green strategies to address our ecological and climate crises and to build healthy and sustainable communities for all.

Equity in America is a new online tool that allows anyone to explore dimensions of equity and inequity in the USA and generate easily-interpreted statistics and graphics. It is meant to inform public debate and deliberation (including in classrooms). The site also presents “research briefs” on current topics, including COVID-19 and policing.

Political scientists may be interested in the new Civic Engagement Section of the American Political Science Association, which is open to all members of APSA, and the APSA’s Institute of Civically Engaged Research, which is also held annually at Tisch College.

In the domain of k-12 civic education, please stay tuned for Educating for American Democracy: A Roadmap for Excellence in History and Civics Education for All Learners, a major project of iCivics, the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University, the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University, Tisch College’s CIRCLE (The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement), and Tisch College itself.

For youth voting and civic engagement and college students’ political engagement, please follow CIRCLE and the Institute for Democracy and Higher Education.

The Civic Studies Major at Tufts is going strong and offers a distinctive mix of theoretical, empirical, and applied courses.

Watch our Confab on D&D Pedagogy in an Uncertain Fall

Last week NCDD hosted our special July Confab Call for our Higher Education folks.  On the call, 30 participants engaged around how they are planning to teach dialogue and deliberation pedagogy this coming fall, and what resources or tools they could use to assist them. Thanks again to all who participated, and to those who captured notes from the breakouts!

During this event three topics were discussed by participants as they explored their plans for fall. The notes from these breakout groups have been captured in the Google Doc accessible here. This is the start of a gathering of resources for folks in Higher Ed which NCDD will pull together over the coming weeks and months. If you have a resource you would like to share so others know about it, or if you are interested in offering your expertise in a brief video, as a guest speaker, etc. please fill out this brief survey so we can get you in touch with those interested!

In addition to the notes, the event recording includes brief report-outs from each of these groups on their discussions. Check out the recording here.

Many thanks to Lori Britt for helping organize this event, and to all who participated! NCDD is pulling together resources to share more broadly, so if you know of something that could benefit the Higher Ed community, let us know below or in the survey linked above! We’ll follow up once this resource page is up and running.

Confab bubble imageTo learn more about NCDD’s Confab Calls and hear recordings of others, visit www.ncdd.org/events/confabs. We love holding these events and we want to continue to elevate the work of our field with Confab Calls and Tech Tuesdays. It is through your generous contributions to NCDD that we can keep doing this work! That’s why we want to encourage you to support NCDD by making a donation or becoming an NCDD member today (you can also renew your membership by clicking here). Thank you!

Join us TODAY for our Special Confab Call on Planning D&D Pedagogy in an Uncertain Fall!

In just a few hours, NCDD is excited to host a special Confab Call on Planning D&D Pedagogy in an Uncertain Fall: Using this as a time to collaborate, discover, and create shared resources!  

Register ASAP for this free event happening TODAY from 1:00-3:00 PM Eastern/10:00 AM-12:00 PM Pacific. All who are working with students using dialogue & deliberation are welcome to join. We encourage participants to complete this survey so that we can better tailor the session to respond to your needs!

The upcoming fall semester is full of uncertainties. Even if there will be in-person instruction, it seems for many in Higher Education that online components will be a significant part of courses. For those who teach dialogue and deliberation to students, this presents some challenges. How can we do this work with students smoothly in a hybrid or fully online format?

The special NCDD Confab Call is intended to help Higher Ed folks – faculty and student affairs staff working with dialogue & deliberation pedagogy – share and explore together resources for transitioning to a predominantly online format in the fall (and perhaps beyond). On the call, participants will share resources they have been using, as well as talk about what the kinds of resources are needed to assist in this new format. NCDD hopes to utilize this event to help boost collaborative efforts and identify many resources, tools, and approaches that can be cataloged as a resource for everyone going forward.

If you have developed lessons, or tools, or have experience with student dialogues in an online format, join us and share! If you are still figuring out what you will do, bring your questions and needs to the discussion! This Confab is all about working together to make everyone’s work easier, as well as to help show just how connected and vibrant this field is and reinvigorate D&D studies in Higher Ed. We’ll share and explore perhaps what still needs creating for the fall and beyond.

Unable to join us? Fill out the brief survey we have created so we can learn more about your needs and offerings.

Don’t miss this collaborative event – register today!

About NCDD’s Confab Calls

Confab bubble imageNCDD’s Confab Calls are opportunities for members (and potential members) of NCDD to talk with and hear from innovators in our field about the work they’re doing and to connect with fellow members around shared interests. Membership in NCDD is encouraged but not required for participation. Confabs are free and open to all. Register today if you’d like to join us!

NCDD Confab: Planning D&D Pedagogy in an Uncertain Fall

NCDD is excited to announce a special Confab Call for folks using dialogue & deliberation pedagogy in Higher Education:

Planning D&D Pedagogy in an Uncertain Fall
Using this as a time to collaborate, discover, and create shared resources

This free event takes place Thursday, July 30th from 1:00-3:00 PM Eastern/10:00 AM-12:00 PM Pacific. All who are working with students using dialogue & deliberation are welcome to join. Register today to secure your spot and complete a survey that will help us shape the session to respond to needs!

The upcoming fall semester is full of uncertainties. Even if there will be in-person instruction, it seems for many in Higher Education that online components will be a significant part of courses. For those who teach dialogue and deliberation to students, this presents some challenges. How can we do this work with students smoothly in a hybrid or fully online format?

The special NCDD Confab Call is intended to help Higher Ed folks – faculty and student affairs staff working with dialogue & deliberation pedagogy – share and explore together resources for transitioning to a predominantly online format in the fall (and perhaps beyond). On the call, participants will share resources they have been using, as well as talk about what the kinds of resources are needed to assist in this new format. NCDD hopes to utilize this event to help boost collaborative efforts and identify many resources, tools, and approaches that can be cataloged as a resource for everyone going forward.

If you have developed lessons, or tools, or have experience with student dialogues in an online format, join us and share! If you are still figuring out what you will do, bring your questions and needs to the discussion! This Confab is all about working together to make everyone’s work easier, as well as to help show just how connected and vibrant this field is and reinvigorate D&D studies in Higher Ed. We’ll share and explore perhaps what still needs creating for the fall and beyond.

Unable to join us? Fill out the brief survey we have created so we can learn more about your needs and offerings.

Don’t miss this collaborative event – register today!

About NCDD’s Confab Calls

Confab bubble imageNCDD’s Confab Calls are opportunities for members (and potential members) of NCDD to talk with and hear from innovators in our field about the work they’re doing and to connect with fellow members around shared interests. Membership in NCDD is encouraged but not required for participation. Confabs are free and open to all. Register today if you’d like to join us!

Discount on Davenport Local Gov’t Certificate – Apply ASAP

In case you missed it, NCDD member organization The Davenport Institute, in partnership with the Pepperdine School of Public Policy, is offering their next professional Certificate in Advanced Public Engagement for Local Government [non-academic] from February 7-9 in Malibu, CA. Excellent for anyone involved or working with local government, or in graduate school for local government/public policy. NCDD members receive a 20% discount off the tuition if you sign by tomorrow, January 15th, so make sure you register ASAP to receive this great benefit. They are accepting applications until the class is full, so sign up while you still can! You can read the announcement below or on the Pepperdine School of Public Policy’s website here.


Become a Certified Public Engagement Champion

The Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and the Pepperdine School of Public Policy invite you to become part of the 6th cohort to receive your Professional Certificate in Advanced Public Engagement for Local Government on February 7-9, 2020 at the Pepperdine campus in Malibu, CA.

During this three-day intensive program, you will be prepared to lead a publicly-engaged organization by gaining a deep understanding of the context, purpose and best practices for engaging residents in the decisions that affect their lives and communities. 

The cost is $1990 which includes instruction, materials, and meals. NCDD members get a 20% discount if they apply by January 15. You can find out more and apply here.

No other program harnesses the collective knowledge of frontline leaders quite like the Davenport Institute. My cohort helped me develop solutions to programs and introduce new strategies to fuel collaboration across my organization. I implemented what I learned the same week I got back ~ Yvonna Cazares, Director of Community Engagement, Office of the Mayor, City of Oakland.

You can read the announcement on the Pepperdine School of Public Policy’s website at www.publicpolicy.pepperdine.edu/certificate-public-engagement.

Join Frontiers of Democracy Conference from June 18-20

Frontiers of Democracy is now accepting applications for its upcoming 2020 conference happening from June 18th until June 20th! The conference will be held at Tufts University in downtown Boston, following the American Political Science Association’s Institute for Civically Engaged Research, and preceding the Summer Institute of Civic Studies. Frontiers will be an opportunity to connect with members from these programs, as well as, practitioners and professionals working in democratic social movements, political reform, civic engagement, dialogue and deliberation, and more! Applications for sessions will be accepted until April 1st and we encourage members from the Coalition to submit an application and/or attend the conference. You can read the announcement below and find the original version on Peter Levine’s blog here.


Frontiers of Democracy: June 18-20, 2020

Frontiers of Democracy is an annual conference hosted by the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University since 2009.

In 2020, the conference will take place from June 18 (5 pm) until June 20 (noon) at the downtown Boston campus of Tufts University: Tufts Center for Medical Education, Room 114; 145 Harrison Avenue, Boston. You are invited!

You can register for Frontiers now.

You can propose a concurrent session for Frontiers using this form. Proposals will be accepted until April 1, 2020

The agenda is still in development but will include short plenary talks, concurrent sessions, and interactive activities for the large group. Among other whole-group activities, we will experience Pre-Texts (“pedagogical acupuncture”) and will use several new “teaching cases” to prompt intensive discussions in small groups. (Teaching cases are short narratives about real events that conclude at a moment when the protagonists must make a difficult choice.)

Frontiers will follow the American Political Science Association’s Institute for Civically Engaged Research and precede the Summer Institute of Civic Studies and will convene members of those two programs plus about 100 others: activists and practitioners in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors; scholars, educators, students; and others. Participants will come from many countries and many streams of work related to democracy–social movements, community organizing, civic education, arts and media work, political reform, civil liberties, dialogue and deliberation, political theory, and more.

A major objective is to build relationships among people who work in diverse ways at the frontiers of democracy in the United States and around the world.