Doyle

Faculty Fellows Course Redesign ideas

General planning questions:

What assumptions do you bring to the conceptualization and teaching of your course? What is the organizing principle that creates unity in your course?

What helps you set boundaries and make decisions about what is in and what is out of your course? What is at the center of your course? What are the two or three central goals or objectives of your course? What key questions does your course seek to answer? How to make an existing course more inclusive (or multicultural):

Choose a perspective and imagine you are putting that one groups experience at the center of your course. Challenge the gods of your discipline: look at other theoretical perspectives. 1. How would this change what you do in the course? 2. What would this [new] course look like? 3. What new questions would need to be asked, and answered? 4. What new resources and/or pedagogies would you need? 5. What new assumptions are revealed about your course?

Creating a safe space in the classroom for learning & critical engagement: Define ground rules: discuss; hold class accountable Be mindful that many Americans are uncomfortable with emotions in the classroom. Encourage students to share personal stories to develop empathy. Use prior written short pieces submitted anonymously to share with the class. Intervene when students shut down: You are part of the larger social discourse. Be aware of and prepared for your own & your students hot-button issues.

 Strategies to set up an inclusive / multicultural learning environment:

Principles for responding to inappropriate remarks in the classroom:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Favorite movie and why Team projects Texts with different viewpoints Short bios of all class participants Role-plays Pro/con sides essays Blackboard discussions TA training & preparation

Never allow an offensive statement to go unchallenged. Use body language/facial expressions to show your negative reaction to the comment/s. Distinguish (and point out to Ss) the difference between negative emotional conflict and healthy debate (non-judgmental, no personalities or blaming). Acknowledge multiple perspectives on contentious issues. Articulate polarities in an argument. Use personal narratives to promote empathy for the opposition. Use active listening: reflect back whats been said. Ask students to interpret another point of view in a debate situation. Ask students to support their points of view with research or documentation for the next class period. If you have caused the conflict, apologize immediately. If appropriate, defuse anger with appropriate (not personal) humor. Strategies to respond to conflict in the classroom:

Call for a brief Time out! Allows individual reflection time. Cooling off techniques: rephrase; acknowledge limitations of your own position, positive points of the other view; debate the other side of the issue. Moderating conflict escalation: back up and re-direct the discussion. Have students pair off and discuss the issue. Takes the discussion out of the public realm. Silent writing (individual minute papers). Shift from public to private. Emotions whip (or pass). Students simply share what feelings they are experiencing.