Pluralism in Action: Crafting Inclusive Teaching and Learning Communities at Columbia

The Pluralism in Action (PiA) initiative is designed to provide instructors with practical tools to cultivate classroom environments where diverse perspectives are freely and openly shared, and students who disagree with one another can listen to and learn from each other as they develop their understanding of complex topics.

In a classroom that embraces pluralism, students don’t just sit next to people with different perspectives and backgrounds; rather, they actively engage with those differences to build relationships and solve problems together.

Pluralism can improve the academic rigor of classroom discussions by applying critical thinking and intellectual humility to complex problems. It also prepares students as future civic leaders, equipping them with the tools to work effectively with others, even when they hold diverging views.

While fostering pluralism in the classroom can have significant benefits, it can also be a challenge to implement. The work involved in cultivating a pluralistic space is often referred to as “bridge building.” The workshops and resources below are designed to support the integration of bridge building into the classroom.

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. 

Skills for Bridge Building

Bridge building–the intentional act of building respectful, trusting, cooperative relationships to allow pluralism to flourish–is central to fostering critical thinking, communication, and collaborative teamwork skills in the classroom.

Building Community and Belonging in the Classroom

Creating a sense of community and belonging is foundational to student engagement, motivation, and success. In this session, faculty will explore practical strategies for fostering rapport with students and supporting meaningful student-to-student connections. Instructors will learn how to co-create community agreements, integrate inclusive practices, and design early-course activities that promote trust, respect, and collaboration. Whether teaching a large lecture or small seminar, this session offers adaptable strategies to help cultivate a classroom culture in which all students feel seen, valued, and ready to learn.

Building Bridges in the Classroom: Pluralism Pedagogies in Practice

How can instructors prepare students to engage constructively across diverse perspectives and beliefs? This interactive workshop invites faculty to explore pedagogies of pluralism through Interfaith America’s “Respect, Relate, Cooperate” framework as a practical lens for fostering connection and collaboration across worldviews and experiences.

Participants will practice bridge-building strategies that strengthen classroom dialogue and consider classroom strategies that cultivate curiosity, empathy, and shared learning purpose among students.

Monday, March 30, 2026
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM, Butler 212

Navigating HOT Moments: Before, During, & After Class

Regardless of course topic or content, HOT—heated, offensive, or tense—moments in the classroom are always a possibility. Though never fully avoidable or predictable, there are steps faculty can take to help mitigate the potential for these moments, and strategies to help better equip instructors for navigating HOT moments when they occur. This session will help instructors identify strategies for engaging with, facilitating, and navigating HOT moments before, during, and after class.

Partner Resources

Columbia’s Pluralism in Action (PiA) initiative adapts materials from Interfaith America and Resetting the Table, organizations championing constructive dialogue across divides. While these partner organizations have roots in interfaith dialogue, this initiative applies their bridge-building frameworks broadly to all forms of difference and disagreement in academic settings, including disagreements along political, ideological, and cultural lines.

Below is a curated list of resources from both organizations that may be useful to instructors as they consider how to apply pluralism to the classroom or if they want to learn about pluralism more deeply.

Interfaith America Resources

Fostering Pluralism in Higher Education: A Playbook – Review this actionable resource distilling over two decades of research into a roadmap for institutional change, focusing on leadership, capacity building, lesson plans, and co-curricular engagement.

Interfaith America’s Pluralism Framework – Learn about the three main pillars (Respect, Relate, and Cooperate) of Interfaith America’s to cultivating pluralism.

Pedagogies for Pluralism – Explore Interfaith America’s Pedagogies for Pluralism, which are designed to help faculty prepare students to engage productively across lines of difference.

Pluralism Texts Bibliography – Review the foundational scholarship that established the American intellectual tradition of pluralism, in both theory and practice. 

Skills for Bridging the Gap Curriculum – Examine this bridge-building curriculum for educators and facilitators.

Voices of Interfaith America – Podcast with experts exploring how pluralism manifests in our everyday lives. 

Interfaith America YouTube channel – Videos of stories, interviews, and resources for bridge building.

Resetting the Table Resources

Resetting the Table for Higher Education – Resetting the Table equips leaders in higher education to overcome escalation, engage in disagreements constructively, build meaningful communication across divides, and disseminate bridge-building skillsets and mindsets.

Resetting the Table YouTube Channel – Explore videos on building meaningful relationships in professional spaces from RTT.

Additional Resources

• The Pluralism Project at Harvard University has a library of case studies and other resources to help bring thoughtful discussions of pluralism into the classroom.

• The Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution at Teacher’s College is an innovative Science-Practice Center dedicated to developing knowledge and practice to promote constructive conflict resolution, effective cooperation and social justice.
• Columbia University’s Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity (AC4) enables and supports integrative research and practice on sustainable peace, constructive conflict engagement, and sustainable development.
• TC Academy’s The Conflict Intelligence (CIQ) Executive Education Program prepares managers to be transformational leaders using a practical, research-backed system.

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