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Supporting Constructive Dialogue and Inclusive Pedagogy at Columbia

Center for Teaching and Learning Resources

The following opportunities and resources are offered by the CTL to foster and support learning communities that are built upon trust, support constructive dialogue, and help students disagree productively.

Navigating HOT Moments: Before, During, and After Classes

Faculty are introduced to a framework for navigating heated, offensive, or tense (“HOT”) moments, after which they practice applying this framework using case studies that explore resolving conflict and re-establishing a supportive classroom culture.

Ways to Be More Inclusive in Your Course

Faculty apply research-based principles of inclusive teaching to their courses, empowering them to create classroom environments in which all students feel they belong and can engage in constructive dialogue around divisive topics.

Teaching in Times of Stress and Challenge: A Conversation for Faculty

Facilitated discussion focusing on the ways faculty can support their students during times of stress by grappling with campus disruptions, addressing anti-semitism, and discussing how to help students have difficult conversations.

Building Community in the Classroom

Faculty engage with pedagogical research demonstrating the value of community and practice community-building activities at the beginning of the semester; strategies focus on creating a sense of trust to enable students to engage in the classroom culture and disagree productively.

Clinical Teaching Series: Applying Inclusive Teaching Principles

Faculty learn to apply research-based principles of inclusive teaching to a clinical teaching and learning context to create trust and establish a supportive culture for all students.

Entering Mentoring: Addressing Equity and Inclusion

Part of our Advancing Mentoring Practices initiative, this workshop prepares faculty to cultivate inclusive labs and research environments.

Guide for Inclusive Teaching at Columbia

Offers five inclusive teaching principles derived from research and evidence-based practices along with practical, accessible, and usable strategies that instructors can use immediately.

Creating a High Trust, Low Stress Class Environment

In a high trust classroom environment, students feel that they belong; they feel heard and are comfortable asking questions, and sharing ideas. Offers strategies instructors can leverage throughout the semester to help foster a high trust, low stress environment with students.

Inclusive Teaching: Supporting All Students in the College Classroom

Faculty consider multiple facets of inclusive teaching, including the creation of a welcoming course climate, the design and implementation of accessible and inclusive classroom practices and assessments, and the selection of content.

Campus Collaborative Resources

The following university-wide resources have been tried by members of our campus community and recommended to the Columbia Campus Collaborative. If you’re interested in learning more, please reach out to the contributing school, department, or program.

Awakening Our Democracy

Awakening Our Democracy is Columbia’s conversation series on disparities and justice issues at the forefront of the University’s and the nation’s consciousness. Events foster University-wide dialogue through discussions with thought leaders, advocates, journalists and scholars.

Campus Conversations

Campus Conversations is a dialogue-based initiative created to promote understanding across differences.

Community and Connection Learning Series

The Office of Well-Being, in collaboration with several CUIMC partners across the institution, host informational sessions aimed at cultivating empathy and community connection by providing tools to promote effective communication and enhancing our understanding of diverse perspectives.

Effective, Inclusive, and Anti-Racist Teaching

Discussions among faculty, and in faculty-student working groups, have yielded a number of strategies and techniques for creating and enhancing an inclusive learning experience.

Helping Columbia Faculty Navigate Difficult Conversations in the Classroom and Beyond

Dr. Beth Fisher-Yoshida, program director of the Negotiation and Conflict Resolution program in the Columbia University School of Professional Studies, provides guidance to helping faculty across the Columbia campus navigate difficult conversations.

How to have Constructive Conversations on Divisive Topics

Dr. Peter T. Coleman of the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution provides a new approach to having constructive conversations on divisive topics through 10 tips.

Listening Tables

Listening Tables are meant to generate connection and understanding as well as a reservoir of feedback and new ideas in these most difficult areas.

The CTL researches and experiments.

The Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning provides an array of resources and tools for instructional activities.