Guidelines for Planning and Facilitating Discussions on Controversial Topics

The Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) has compiled the following guidelines to help instructors facilitate classroom discussion around controversial issues.  Whatever the context, discussion about such topics must be structured in a way that defines boundaries for the process and that provides some degree of closure within the classroom. Discussion may or may not include everyone in the classroom; it should be respectful of all.

Spontaneous Discussions: Dealing with the Unexpected

It is wise to be prepared to respond to the possibility that a student will raise a controversial issue in class unexpectedly. Immediate response is called for, if only to decide what to do next:

1. Acknowledge the student who raised the issue while noting that students may vary in their responses.
2. Decide whether you are ready and willing to engage with the topic right away.
3. Quickly assess whether the class would like to spend time sharing views about the topic.

If students want to have a dialogue, and you want to wait on it, schedule a discussion for a later class and suggest ways that students could prepare.

If a discussion seems inappropriate or undesirable, encourage students to identify campus forums and reliable sources of information to share with one another, rather than discussing the matter in class.

Planned Discussions on Controversial Topics

Planning a discussion on a controversial topic or issue benefits from consideration of the following topics, each of which is addressed below:

• Identifying a clear purpose
• Establishing ground rules
• Providing a common base for understanding
• Creating a framework for the discussion that maintains focus and flow
• Including everyone
• Being an active facilitator
• Handling emotional responses and tensions
• Summarizing discussion and gathering student feedback
• Handling issues that involve the instructor’s identity
• University resources

Identifying a clear purpose

Starting class with clearly articulated objectives will shape the nature of the discussion and link it to other course goals.

Examples of general objectives include:

• Connecting the topic with course material, including fundamental concepts and strategies for analysis and thoughtful reflection
• Promoting critical thinking by helping students to understand the complexity of the issues
• Enhancing skills for dialogue that students can take into other venues
• Relating classroom discussion to the roles that students have as citizens within the university community, and within larger society

Establishing ground rules

In class, instructors can either work with students to generate ground rules, or they can present a set of ground rules and then work with students to accept or modify them. The ground rules serve as guidelines for conduct during the discussion. Referring back to these can be very helpful if discussion becomes tense.  Some suggestions include the following:

• Listen respectfully, without interrupting.
• Respect one another's views.
• If you find another’s statement to be problematic, do speak up.
• Criticize ideas, not individuals.
• Commit to learning, not debating.
• Avoid blame, speculation, and inflammatory language.
• Allow everyone the chance to speak.

It is important that students agree on the ground rules before discussion begins.

Providing a common base for understanding

Providing students with a common base for understanding from the start will help keep the discussion focused and provide concrete case studies or examples.  For instance, you can assign readings on a specific conflict, instruct students to select their own readings to bring to class, or show a video clip to prompt discussion. Another option is to have students review materials during class and follow up with a structured discussion.

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Creating a framework for the discussion that maintains focus and flow

Because any social conflict is a complex topic, it is important to create a framework for the discussion in addition to having clearly defined objectives.  Your framework needs to be a guide, balancing the need to have clear purpose and direction while being open to student observations and interpretation. 

Here are two good options:

Plan to have students brainstorm ideas, and then follow up on these. 

• In class, ask students to identify key issues or key points of information (depending on the assignment).
• Make a list of all of the points, distinguishing observation from analysis and opinions, and distinguishing views of different sources or authors.
• Proceed to an open discussion, but make reference to as many of these points as possible, showing their connectedness.

Prepare a list of questions to guide the discussion.

• Begin the discussion with clear, open-ended questions.
• Queries should be short, simple, and easily understood by students.
  • Avoid “double-barreled questions” which pose two problems simultaneously, or “hide the ball” questions that search for a specific answer.
  • Ask questions that prompt multiple answers rather than short factual responses or simple “yes” or “no” replies.
• Prepare specific questions to use if the class is silent or hesitant about speaking. Some examples include: “What makes this hard to discuss?” and “What needs to be clarified at this point?”

In either case (or another pattern), encourage student participation through the following devices:

• Encourage students elaborate their comments (where needed). With probing questions, an instructor can prompt students to share more specific information, clarify an idea, elaborate on a point, or provide further explanation.
• Be prepared to re-direct the discussion if students go beyond the intended focus. Drawing attention to the readings or reminding the class about the discussion objectives are useful management techniques.
• When students raise points that are extraneous to the focus, note that these are important but tangential.  Recap them at the end of class as other topics to think about on one’s own, to validate student contributions.
• Recap the key discussion points or issues at the end of class, in writing if possible.

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Including everyone

To include all students’ perspectives can be challenging in a whole group discussion, especially if students are dealing with unfamiliar or controversial material.   Moving beyond a whole group discussion format allows all students to participate.  Using small groups, your class can hear from students who may not speak otherwise, from those who may see their views as marginalized to those who want to explore ideas they are not sure about.  Some methods for increasing the number of discussants include:

• The Round:  Give each student an opportunity to respond to a guiding question without interruption or comments. Provide students with the option to pass. After the round, discuss the responses.
• Think-Pair-Share:  Give students a few minutes to respond to a question individually in writing. Divide the class into pairs or trios. Instruct the students to share their responses with group members. Provide students with explicit directions, such as “Tell each other why you wrote what you did.” After a specified time period, have the class reconvene in order to debrief.  You can elicit what the students’ wrote, or you can ask for comments on how much their pairs of views coincided or differed. 
• Sharing Reflection Memos:  Prior to the discussion, have students write a reflective memo in response to a question or set of questions that you pose. As part of the discussion, ask students to read their memos, and/or share them in pairs or threes.

With each of these methods, the instructor needs to summarize the various responses and relate them to the discussion objectives.

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Being an active facilitator

In order to keep a discussion focused and purposeful, be an active facilitator rather than a passive observer. On the other hand, be careful to maintain some control but not over-control. A facilitator intervenes throughout the discussion to reword questions posed by students, correct misinformation, make reference to relevant reading materials or course content,

Active facilitation can keep talkative or opinionated students from dominating the discussion, and students who have personal connections to an issue from claiming that their knowledge dominates.  Active facilitation also brings out statements that are uncommon, and helps more silent students enrich the discussion.

When facilitation allows students to bring something of their personal backgrounds into discussion, the classroom becomes a setting conducive to thoughtful exchange about differences.  The instructor can help create this environment by affirming the importance to the discussion of the groundrules, and additional principles like these, for students to keep in mind:

• Listen actively and with an ear to understanding others views.
      (Don’t think about what you are going to say while someone else is talking.)
• Comment in order to share information, not to persuade.
• Keep from making assumptions about any member of the class (including the instructor).
• Make sure no one is put on the spot, or asked to represent their social group.
• Recognize that students may have strong feelings and perspectives on the topic, and these feelings and perspectives may be unpredictable.

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Handling Emotional Responses and Tensions

Even within a well-planned and thoughtful discussion, statements can be made, and tones of voice used, that will cause emotional responses of anger, confusion, hurt, fear, surprise, or embarrassment. Such moments can be called “triggers.”

It can be helpful to identify these responses to triggers for the students, and to reassure them that such responses are normal. Concepts that help students accept discomfort of learning include the notion of having a comfort zone (that can be stretched or disrupted), or having a learning edge that includes uncertainty.

When tensions arise in a discussion, or between individual, two useful strategies are:

• Dividing the class into small groups for a few minutes to closely examine a specific point.
• Instructing students to spend some time writing a “Minute Paper” about a specified issue, or writing about why the discussion has raised strong feelings for oneself and/or others.

Then, in either case, ask students “What did you discuss?” or “What did you write?” which can be more comfortable than “What do you think?”

To handle moments when statements trigger emotional responses in you, it is important to have strategies for remaining steady. A brief pause is healthy, allowing you as well as students to step back and gain perspective.  If you need more time to gather your thoughts and let your emotions subside, have students do a brief writing exercise.  Talking with someone outside of class about this later is a good idea, too. 

In the event that one or more students try to draw you  into an emotional response, invoking the ground rules for discussion can be stabilizing.  Also, you can model constructive behavior in demonstrating how to unpack such a heated moment by reviewing what led up to it, pointing out differences between baiting, debating, and discussing, and/or steering the discussion into a more useful direction.

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Summarizing discussion and gathering student feedback

It is very important to save time at the end of class to conclude by summarizing the main points of the discussion. Students are more likely to feel that a discussion was valuable if the instructor, with the help of the class, synthesizes what has been shared or identifies the key issues explored.

To obtain student feedback about the quality of the discussion and to identify issues that may need follow-up, save the last five minutes of class for students to write a Minute Paper. Ask them to respond to some or all of these questions: 

• What are the three most important points you learned today?
• What important questions remain unanswered for you?
• What did you learn specifically from what someone else said that you would not have thought of on your own?

Review the student responses before your next meeting with the class. During the next class, briefly summarize the student feedback and thank the students for their participation.

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Handling issues that involve the instructor's identity

Discussing an issue of social conflict can involve the instructor's identity in a number of ways. Students may make assumptions about the expectations an instructor has in leading the class discussion. Assumptions may be based on the students' perception of the instructor's identity, on the way that the instructor has handled other class sessions, and on their personal interactions with the instructor. Taking the role of facilitator may reduce the extent to which an instructor's identity is an issue for students.

Students may expect their instructor to express his or her own point of view, or they may ask explicitly for this view. In deciding how to respond, instructors should consider their comfort in expressing personal views, and also the impact such expressions will have on this and future discussion in class.

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University Resources

To discuss additional strategies or concerns, contact CRLT consultants by phone (764-0505), by email (crlt@umich.edu [1], or in person (1071 Palmer Commons). CRLT can also develop customized workshops for units.

Resources specific to student conflicts are available through The Office of Student Conflict Resolution [2], http://www.umich.edu/~oscr/ [2] Their counseling staff provides mediation and counseling to assist with any conflicts involving students. They are also available to come to classes to discuss conflict resolution.

The Office of Institutional Equity [3] (http://www.hr.umich.edu/oie/ [3]) provides training, consultation, and other programming for faculty, staff, students, and management.

The Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives [4] (http://www.oami/umich.edu [4]).provides programs and resources that support students from underrepresented groups, individually and through student organizations

For The Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities that applies to all U-M students, see http://studentpolicies.dsa.umich.edu/statementstudentrights.htm [5]. For a statement of University policy on Violence in the University Community, see the Standard Practice Guide [6]: http://spg.umich.edu/pdf/601.18.pdf [6]

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