Navigating Difficult Conversations in the Classroom

Are you concerned about disruptions related to current events occurring in your classroom? Are you unsure of what to do if a discussion on a complex topic goes awry?

This page provides some strategies and resources for navigating challenging moments so that student learning remains at the fore.

Adopt a Disposition for Dialogue

You, the instructor, set the tone for classroom discussion. Your disposition—the behavior you exhibit and the language you use—serves as a model for students. Often, when students make a comment that we regard as problematic, what is needed from us is guidance so that we can engage students in thinking more carefully and critically about topics, and about their use of language.

Try these behaviors and language to demonstrate productive dialogue.

But what if a student’s comment is deliberately offensive or provocative?

If this is the case, it is important to clearly state why that comment or term is inconsistent with the community standards of the class as well as Virginia Tech’s Principles of Community.

For more on building a disposition for dialogue, explore the resources available through the Constructive Dialogue Institute.

Know When to Pause

Sometimes, despite our best efforts to be proactive and to model a disposition for dialogue, a disruption occurs. Tensions between students reach an impasse. The topic derails into chaos, making it impossible to salvage a discussion. A single voice dominates causing other students to disengage. Your leadership of the class is undermined, making it impossible to continue.

In these instances, it is best to pause.

Acknowledge the disruption. Indicate that the class needs to pause. Ask students to take five minutes to write quietly and anonymously about what they observed and how they are feeling in the moment. When the allocated time has ended, decide what the appropriate next steps might be:

• Invite students who wish to share aloud what they wrote, making sure to let more reticent students speak first.
• Ask the class how they want to move forward from the pause and what they need to resume a productive learning environment.
• Dismiss the class, indicating that you will be available in your office if anyone needs to talk. Then, before resuming for the next class session, communicate your reflections about what happened and how you want to move forward.
• Revisit your objectives and desired outcomes for the discussion and share those with the class.

If you assess that the classroom disruption is due to a conduct issue, you are advised to document what happened and share it with your department chair, as well as share your concern through the University Student Conduct System.

For more information on navigating challenging classroom moments, enroll in the Professional Development Network course, Handling Difficult Conversations in the Classroom

Be Proactive

The best strategy is to be prepared. This begins with establishing a classroom environment that fosters trust and common purpose among students.

Develop community guidelines for engagement.

Revisit the guidelines throughout the semester.

For more information on writing community guidelines, check out: Preparing for the First Week of Class or enroll in the Professional Development Network course, Fostering an Inclusive Classroom Environment.

Anticipate topics that might generate conflict.

Review your classroom guidelines in advance. Design discussion prompts that invite students to consider multiple perspectives and to probe more deeply their chosen beliefs. Provide students with tools for accessing data and source material to build their knowledge of the variety of perspectives around the topic. Identify upfront those opinions that are not in consideration because they lack evidence or have been debunked by the discipline.

Some resources offering excellent models for organizing dialogue across perspectives include Everyday Democracy, the National Issues Forum, and the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation.

Need Timely Advice?

Consider these resources from our colleagues:

• Georgetown University Inquiry and Discourse Toolkit: Cultivating the Environment
• University of Virginia Teaching in Turbulent Times
  

AAC&U in conjunction with the Sustained Dialogue Institute (SDI), launched the Campus Conflict and Conversation Help Desk, a virtual resource designed to provide free, timely and confidential advice to any campus instructor or administrator facing difficult dialogues, whether in class, meetings with colleagues, co-curricular activities or off-campus events. Use the AAC&U Help Desk Inquiry Form to ask your question today.

Check back soon for more information.