By JOSIE RUSH

In the past few years, the University Center for Teaching and Learning has seen increased interest in strategies for designing class discussions that tackle “difficult,” “high-stakes” or “controversial” topics.

Within the broad range of topics instructors introduce to students and the variety of disciplines where these conversations take place, some common goals emerge: Instructors want students to deepen their knowledge on a topic through discussion while also developing dialogic skills. Achieving these goals often requires careful planning, as well as a willingness to sit with students in discomfort as they explore new ways of learning. This piece intentionally focuses on the planning and design stages that precede a difficult discussion — often overshadowed by facilitation techniques — as crucial steps for setting yourself and your students up for success.

If you anticipate that a topic will be perceived as high-stakes or difficult, consider taking time to ask why: What about your own and students’ contexts or the topic itself helps to create the sense that the conversation will be tough?

Some research points to common contributors to difficulty in classroom conversations about potentially “difficult” topics. Chen and Lawless (2020) argue that students often perceive conversations as difficult when topics draw attention to power relations, traumas, and injustices. Journell (2016) points out that some topics require more time to adequately cover than exists within a class session, and that feeling under-prepared for a discussion often increases anxiety for both the instructor and students. 

Perhaps the most obvious contributor to nonproductive difficult conversations is fear of negative reactions (Ibid), whether students worry their peers will judge them for responses, or instructors worry about students’ perceptions of their own opinions on the topic. In my own classroom, I’ve noticed that confusion about the goals of the discussion or activity greatly hinders conversation: How should students utilize what they learn from this conversation in future class activities or assignments? Are students meant to debate with one another or reach some level of mutual understanding about the different opinions in the room? What does a successful conversation about this topic look like in the context of this classroom?

Many of the above considerations can be addressed through course design and planning. As instructors, our goal isn’t to take away the difficulty, but to help students navigate difficulty in a way that enhances their learning. 

After you’ve considered the goals for the discussion, ask yourself what contributes to the difficulty of the conversation you’re planning. Pinpointing sources of difficulty can allow you to, for example, plan early activities where students work on correct terminology or familiarize themselves with important context about the class topic.

Or, perhaps, if the difficulty of the topic is tied to its relation to power or trauma, you can consider setting aside class time to explain how exploration of these subjects connects to the course’s learning objectives, or designing opportunities for students to contribute without the requirement or expectation of sharing personal information. You might even consider asking students to briefly reflect on the topic before they jump into discussion with peers: Why do they think the topic matters? What concerns do they have about engaging in conversation? Setting the stage for a potentially high-stakes conversation is extremely important, and some of that work starts by simply trying to anticipate where difficulty might shift from productive to counterproductive. 

Classroom norms/communication agreements can also go a long way in ensuring difficult conversations are productive. Many instructors at Pitt work with students at the beginning of the term to create a list of agreements about how individuals will engage in discussion. Even when these agreements surface behaviors that instructors may take for granted (e.g., not interrupting one another), they serve the function of making expectations visible.

When students do not have to guess what “appropriate” or “productive” engagement in conversation looks like in your classroom, they’re better equipped to get the most out of an activity. Communication agreements also give the instructor a method to guide conversations in a way that serves the classroom community: If, for example, a student continues to interrupt peers during a discussion, an instructor can remind the room of the communication agreement and what learning goal(s) the agreement is meant to support. 

In addition to connecting the discussion to a course learning goal (i.e., making it clear how engaging in discussion will help students reach a course objective), instructors can also utilize scaffolding to make difficult discussions more manageable. For instance, in a seminar class, perhaps in addition to individual reflection, students begin by talking to a partner or sharing ideas in a small group before a full-class discussion takes place.

In a large enrollment course, maybe students can engage in an introductory online discussion through discussion boards to start to get comfortable interacting with peers and sharing thoughts on the topic at hand (this strategy also gives the instructor a chance to find generative starting points for later discussion based on what students posted). Ask yourself how you might break up the task of discussion, so students feel more confident sharing and listening. Remember, the goal isn’t to take away the difficulty, but to make a task feel useful and approachable. 

Finally, while reflection can be used as a tool for preparation as mentioned above, it’s also helpful to create time for reflection after the discussion. What did students learn from their peers? How has their knowledge about the topic evolved? What have students learned about discussion or dialogue from the activity? Some student reflection might also take the form of feedback: Do students have suggestions on what could be changed about future discussions? Ideas about what worked particularly well? Desires for further learning opportunities about the topic? 

Designing for difficulty is ongoing work, and no single strategy will fit every classroom and every topic. If you’re planning a discussion that you suspect will be high-stakes, or you want to think through scaffolding, norms or reflection prompts for your course, CTL consultants are available to work through design with you. Reach out anytime to set up a consultation. 

Josie Rush is senior teaching consultant, University Center for Teaching and Learning

References

Lawless, B., & Chen, Y. W. (2020). Still a “sensitive” subject? Unpacking strengths and struggles of intercultural communication pedagogies. Howard Journal of Communications, 31(2), 171-186.

Journell, W. (2016). "Teaching Social Issues in the Social Studies Classroom." Teaching Social Studies in an Era of Divisiveness: The Challenges of Teaching Social Issues in a Non-Partisan Way. 2016.