Classroom Conversations

How faculty facilitate informed, respectful dialogue around issues of the day

The ability to have informed, respectful and potentially difficult conversations is key to being a curious, engaged, ethical, and purposeful citizen and leader.

The skill is especially important in an era of deep political divides and global conflict. However, in the classroom, North Central faculty observe that the current national climate can hinder dialogue, causing students to pull back from discussing certain issues or offering personal viewpoints.

How do faculty help get productive dialogue flowing? And what is perhaps different about how today’s students approach classroom conversations?

“One of the challenges is getting students to be willing to talk, because if they don’t know how their views will be received by others, they don’t want to say anything,” said Dr. Suzanne Chod, professor of political science.

Chod’s colleague, Dr. Bill Muck, agrees. Muck is professor of political science and chair of the department of political science.

“Today’s students tend to have stronger views but may not be as willing to share those views in the classroom,” he said. “Ten years ago, students were more comfortable jumping into a topic. They were more comfortable with being wrong; it didn’t seem like there was so much at stake.”

At the same time, once the classroom conversation gets started, Muck said the current generation demonstrates a willingness to listen and learn.

“I find that today’s students are better equipped to have hard conversations than my or my parents’ generations,” said Muck. “Older generations are more challenged to talk across partisanship. This generation is thoughtful and respectful of others with differing viewpoints and backgrounds. They are eager to learn.”

According to both Chod and Muck, the key to productive classroom conversations — even regarding hot-button issues and current events — is creating a safe space and providing the necessary background and context before diving in.

“There are places in the classroom to have these conversations every day,” said Chod. “The question is, how do we equip students to feel like there’s a space to have it, and how do we equip faculty members to facilitate these conversations?”

We do not speculate; we do not use hyperbole. If we want to elevate our discourse, we have to model in the classroom what everyone should be doing outside of the classroom.

-Dr. Suzanne Chod, professor of political science

Difficult conversations are not just confined to politics. “Every academic discipline presents opportunities to help students explore and understand differing perspectives,” said Dr. Laura Lohman, assistant provost for faculty development and innovation and director of North Central’s Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence (CAFÉ). “That’s really important, because we want our students to serve as leaders in their communities and workplaces and help others navigate challenging situations with compassion and integrity.”

Through CAFÉ, the College provides online resources and a fall colloquium to help faculty develop the skills to facilitate challenging conversations. In the past, faculty have learned from peers about how to develop and use community agreements — informal contracts that outline the basic expectations class members agree to abide by — within their classrooms, as well as how to navigate “hot moments” in class.

An issue Muck sees in today’s political environment is the tendency to offer simple solutions to complex problems. He takes the opposite approach by helping students explore the complexity of the issues at hand.

“Before we get into what’s happening and why, or what’s right or what’s wrong, we need to unpack the event,” said Muck. “What’s the history? What are the differing perspectives? Why did those actors make those choices? Once we’ve walked through that complex history and background, it’s much easier and more productive to have those harder conversations.”

With hyper-partisan media outlets and social media often serving as primary sources of news, Chod pointed out that it’s essential for classroom discussions to be based on the same set of facts.

“I ask students what they’re hearing in the media, what they’re seeing in social media, and then we fact check it,” she said. “I provide students with the resources that I trust and that political scientists use.”

Chod added, “We do not speculate; we do not use hyperbole. If we want to elevate our discourse, we have to model in the classroom what everyone should be doing outside of the classroom.”

The classroom provides space and structure to have productive conversations, and faculty can set ground rules and help guide discussions. It is beyond the classroom, however, where students find that the ability to engage in thoughtful discussion and navigate disparate viewpoints is a vital life skill.

“By engaging in these conversations, you develop skillsets that allow you to see the complexity in the world around you, and to adapt to changes throughout your life and in your career,” said Muck. “It helps you see and think and express yourself in more sophisticated ways.”

For Chod, the ability to engage in civil discourse is the answer to a fundamental question.

“It’s about: How do we exist in this society?” she said. “It’s an interpersonal skill that helps students in all aspects of their lives, including their work life. Without being disrespected or dehumanized, how can we learn from and work with one another? If we model in our classrooms what everybody should be doing out there, then our students can take that out in the world with them and model it for others.”

NEWS MEDIA TURN TO NC FACULTY

If you live in the Chicago area and have tuned into the local news in recent years, there’s a good chance you’ve heard from the College’s political scientists on a myriad of issues, including local and national elections, U.S. Supreme Court decisions, and the war in Ukraine. Chod, Muck, and Dr. Stephen Maynard Caliendo, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, have emerged as go-to political experts and analysts, appearing regularly across every major Chicago TV network: CBS 2, NBC 5, ABC 7, FOX 32, and WGN-TV.

They don’t offer hot takes or partisan talking points. Instead, their media appearances are extensions of their teaching.

“As civic educators, the world is our classroom,” Chod said. “We are trained in a way that enables us to explain things that are complicated, frustrating and important.”

Similarly, Muck differentiates between his role as a political scientist and that of a political pundit.

“My goal is to elevate the discourse, which is very different from the pundit,” he explained. “I try to bring some perspective and complexity to the issue, to give the public more tools to have thoughtful conversation and to think beyond the talking points. It’s very similar to what I try to do in the classroom.”