Supporting Constructive Dialogues in the Columbia Classroom: Considering a Pluralistic Framework
Learning and collaborating with others in the classroom can be challenging, especially when doing so requires navigating different perspectives that are deeply held and/or central to one’s identity. Moreover, students may enter our classrooms with limited experience engaging constructively with those who think differently from them. Instructors interested in helping their students develop skills to work collectively on complex or contentious issues may consider strategies from pluralism. Originally designed to support communities with fundamentally divergent worldviews, pluralism is a framework that focuses on fostering respect, relationships, and cooperation, and offers strategies that can be readily adapted to the classroom setting.
This resource introduces pluralism as well as accompanying strategies to help students work through and learn from their differences.
These resources are designed to help instructors facilitate productive dialogue across lines of difference, and the CTL is happy to work with all instructors as they implement pluralism in the classroom. Please reach out to the CTL at CTLfaculty@columbia.edu with any questions or concerns, or to set up a one-on-one consultation.
What is pluralism?
Pluralism “is the energetic engagement of diversity toward a positive end” (Patel, 2016). It frames fundamental differences and disagreements as opportunities for cultivating deeper understanding, connection, and collaboration for the greater good, not unlike what many instructors aim to do in their courses.
The pluralism framework shared here, adapted from Interfaith America, has three parts, which readily translate to the classroom setting:
- Respect: Acknowledge and value diverse perspectives, even when we disagree.
- Relate: Build relationships and trust across lines of difference.
- Cooperate: Work together toward shared goals and collective understanding.
Students must be supported across all aspects of this framework to help them successfully cooperate to advance their learning or work.
Why can it be challenging for students to work cooperatively across differences?
Many students have had limited educational opportunities to critically engage with opposing viewpoints and have their fundamental values, self-conceptions, and worldviews challenged (Brown & Enos, 2021; McKenzie, 2024; McCartney, Orellana‐Li, and Zhang, 2024). Increased polarization and self-segregation have resulted in many students growing up with few opportunities to engage constructively with others who have seemingly intractable differences. Additionally, media and algorithms prioritize engagement and select divisive content, modeling unproductive ways of thinking and interacting. These contribute to a “perception gap,” the difference between what one might perceive an opposing group to believe and what that group actually believes, which can lead to misunderstanding and mistrust (Yudkin, Hawkins, and Dixon, 2019).
These dynamics can carry over into our classrooms. Students may react strongly when encountering unfamiliar or opposing views that they perceive as personal judgments or attacks. This can lead them to remain silent, withdraw, become defensive, or engage in conflict, all of which disrupt the learning environment.
What does pluralism look like in the classroom?
What are some ways that pluralism can be cultivated in the classroom? Let’s begin by focusing on the three pillars of pluralism.
Foster Respect
- Make respect and dialogue explicit learning values (e.g., in your syllabus)
- Co-create shared agreements defining what respectful engagement looks like.
- Model curiosity and humility in your responses to students.
- Teach students how to disagree respectfully (e.g., begin by asking clarifying questions).
Foster Relationships
- Build trust through icebreakers and small group activities tied to course themes.
- Use structured dialogue formats (e.g., think-pair-share, story sharing).
Foster Cooperation
- Design learning experiences that require collaboration (e.g., assignments that depend on multiple perspectives or skills; collaborative note-taking).
- Invite students to reflect on their work with peers (e.g., what is one thing you learned from someone whose experience differs from your own?).
- Connect course material to real-world issues of collective wellbeing (e.g., how might what we’re learning here matter for others?).
- Help students navigate tensions constructively.
These approaches tend to work best when they allow for connections to the course material. For more information about cultivating pluralism in your classroom, please see our Skills for Bridgebuilding resource.
Engage Tension Constructively
One approach that instructors can use to preventively de-escalate classroom tension is to teach students how to separate the impact of a statement (how it affected them) from the intent of the speaker (the motivation behind the action). For example, ask students to practice using “I statements” to share personal impact without assigning motive or blame.
Reflection: Pluralism in your classroom
Consider how the three pillars of pluralism show up in your teaching practice:
- Respect: How do I currently communicate that diverse perspectives are valued in my classroom?
- Relate: What opportunities do students have to build trust and connection?
- Cooperate: In what ways do my course activities, discussions, or assignments require students to work toward shared understanding? Are there additional opportunities to incorporate collaborative learning in the course?
Try these questions to identify additional potential strategies to increase student engagement in classroom discussion.
Pluralism is an approach that can strengthen classroom community and belonging, deepen critical thinking, and prepare students for participating in a diverse society.
References
- Interfaith America. Skills for Bridging the Gap
- Patel, E. (2016). Interfaith Leadership : A Primer. Beacon Press.
- Brown, J. R., & Enos, R. D. (2021). The measurement of partisan sorting for 180 million voters. Nature Human Behaviour, 5(8), 998–1008. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01066-z
- McCartney, W. B., Orellana‐Li, J., & Zhang, C. (2024). Political Polarization Affects Households’ Financial Decisions: Evidence from Home Sales. The Journal of Finance (New York), 79(2), 795–841. https://doi.org/10.1111/jofi.13315
- McKenzie, B. (2024, Feb 16). Political differences? Neighbors may make a move. UVA Today. https://news.virginia.edu/content/political-differences-neighbors-may-make-move
- Yudkin D, Hawkins S, Dixon T. (2019). “The Perception Gap: How False Impressions are Pulling Americans Apart.” More in Common.
CTL on-demand resources
- Community Agreements. TeachingTalks by Columbia CTL
- Community Agreement: Make Space, Give Grace. TeachingTalks by Columbia Faculty.
- Community Building in the Classroom
- Collaborative Learning
- Learning Through Discussion
- Navigating Heated, Offensive, and Tense (HOT) Moments in the Classroom
- Fostering Belonging in the Classroom: Strategies for Instructors
CTL Services for Faculty
General Consultations
Faculty can meet one-on-one in person, speak over the phone, or via video conference with a FPS staff to receive support on a range of teaching and learning topics, including pluralism.
CTL To Go
Invite the CTL to your next department, program, or school gathering! The CTL is available to facilitate an introduction to our offerings, conversations on teaching and learning, and pedagogical and instructional technology workshops to meet the teaching needs of your faculty.
Questions?
Reach out to our team at CTLfaculty@columbia.edu for support with specific inquiries.