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“Hot moments” may come up during class due to controversial course content or simply due to interpersonal dynamics in a classroom filled with unique individuals. Before opting to simply ignore unpleasant classroom interactions, faculty might want to consider how they can help equip students to be engaged global citizens capable of interacting with people who are different from one another or those holding conflicting views.
Among others, Lee Warren of Harvard’s Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning offers some tips for handling these tricky moments, including:
- Probe more deeply, but keep the focus on learning and understanding, not winning an argument.
- Help students tolerate discomfort and expect that they won’t always be able to come to consensus.
- If they can’t figure out a way to deal with the issue in that moment, the professor might tell students this seems like an important issue she or he would like to take up at a later time. That lets students know s/he has noticed and takes the issue seriously but also provides time to plan strategies, perhaps ones that include providing resources that frame the controversy.
More tips and information can be found at the Inclusive Classrooms: Handling “hot topics” webpage.
Inclusive Classrooms is a faculty resource project spearheaded by Associate Director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning Mary Jo Festle. This project was created out of a research-based recognition that students perform better if they feel they “belong.” For more ideas and resources on how to foster inclusive classrooms in regards to both content and pedagogy, as well as to read about what other faculty are doing and student experiences visit the Inclusive Classrooms website.
Image by Flickr user miki / Creative Commons licensed BY-NC-SA 2.0
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