In today's episode of Let's Talk Facilitation , I share with you my top five strategies for building real community in class. In last week’s episode, I talked about the importance of students experiencing belonging as a central factor in their willingness (or lack thereof) to engage in your class, and I talked in detail about how to position the cultivation of belonging as a cornerstone of your pedagogy. How do we inspire feelings of belonging? Through community building. Today I am following up...
Jul 19, 2022•40 min
If you are like most college educators in the U.S. who have been teaching during the pandemic, you're experiencing a very particular challenge when it comes to teaching your classes: Students aren’t showing up! The lack of recent student engagement has educators feeling helpless and stuck. They are asking: What do I do when my students aren’t doing any of the work? How do I respond to the students who do complete their work, but who submit it at the last minute, and clearly didn’t pay attention ...
Jul 12, 2022•20 min
In today's episode I talk about the unsustainable amounts of work and inadequate compensation weighing down many college educators, resulting in burn out and a mass exodus of faculty leaving academia across the U.S. I share with you a strategy I've honed for saving tons of time on class preparation. Not only does this strategy save time, but it can make the discussions we lead even better as well. Time-saving hacks are not the same as dismantling the capitalist system. But we need to save up our...
Jul 05, 2022•20 min
When the Covid19 pandemic hit, were you among the majority of college educators who had to make an abrupt switch to teaching online? Despite how many educators began teaching through Zoom and other online meeting platforms, very few ever received formal training in remote pedagogy. Most were simply thrown into the deep end and forced to figure out how to swim on their own. As a result, many attempted to recreate an in-person experience through an online platform, and were not satisfied with the ...
Jun 21, 2022•48 min
Of all the challenges teachers say they struggle with, trying to facilitate a discussion when students aren’t engaging–or aren’t engaging meaningfully–seems to come up the most often. One of the most common reasons students are hesitant to share their ideas in class is because they are worried that what they have to say is “wrong.” In other words, they think that to participate effectively in class discussion they are supposed to answer the teacher’s questions correctly . They don’t actually und...
Jun 14, 2022•30 min
Whether you are outgoing, shy, or “it’s complicated,” when we find something we are excited about and in the mood to talk about and we get into the zone… any one of us can go on and on and on! There is nothing more fun (if I do say so myself) than talking at length about a subject you care deep;y about, especially when you are with others who also share your enthusiasm. And there are certainly times, in the classroom included, when you should be in the spotlight, pontificating and storytelling a...
Jun 07, 2022•18 min
What do you do when you’ve worked hard to get everything ready for your class to have an amazing discussion–picking out interesting readings, creating provocative discussion prompts, making a plan for leading interactive activities to engage those questions about the readings–and then you get to class only to discover… Many of the students HAVEN’T EVEN DONE THE READING, so there is no way for them to participate well, if at all! In today’s episode I share a series of pedagogically sound approach...
May 31, 2022•17 min
Picture it: You’re teaching a discussion-based class. It could be anything–a first year seminar, an intermediate tutorial for majors, a capstone group–whatever. You’ve got a certain amount of material to cover and have worked hard to create an agenda that, if you can get the timing right, will help the group arrive at the biggest take-aways by the end of the class period. Despite your best efforts to keep everyone engaged and on track, there are a few students who often shift the discussion off ...
May 24, 2022•15 min
Even experienced educators who consider themselves decent discussion facilitators can get stressed out during difficult discussions, and are always looking for ways to improve their skills. In today’s episode, I focus on the kind of discussions that are difficult because a class is talking about injustice of some kind, and privileged students and facilitators (unknowingly or not) perpetuate the injustice through their means of engagement. This oppressive behavior creates conflict, as the student...
May 17, 2022•12 min
What do you do when you’re passionate about teaching for justice, but your students are just not there for it? If you’ve ever wrestled with how to bridge the gap between your radical ambitions and your students’ more conservative inclinations, today’s episode of Let’s Talk Facilitation is for you! In it, I share with you the go-to strategies you can use in discussions with students who would rather simply be told what they need to know, take the test or write the paper, get a good grade, and get...
May 10, 2022•19 min
Most big-hearted educators I know recognize that as vital and rewarding as social justice work can be, it can also be difficult, messy, and intimidating. One of the reasons facilitators may experience stress in anticipation of a difficult discussion around injustice is because they are relying on their good intentions to carry them, but they don’t always have all the tools they need to deliver on those good intentions. In other words, there is a disconnect between what they value in theory and h...
May 03, 2022•15 min
What would it mean to facilitate a transformative, socially just experience for your students, rather than simply paying lip service to the “inclusion” buzzword? Many educators are full of conviction about wanting to create inclusive spaces, but don’t have the tools to do so effectively. Today I talk about how to make class discussions inclusive, for real. Not just stating the intention and going about business as usual, but actually changing how we may be used to engaging. In particular, I’m go...
Apr 19, 2022•14 min
Do you aspire for your class discussions and activities to be more inclusive, but feel confused about what exactly to do beyond trying to be kind and fair to everyone? One of the reasons educators have a hard time creating inclusive learning spaces is because they don’t have a clear idea what inclusion means. Indeed, the words “diversity and inclusion” are thrown about pretty frequently on college campuses without any real attention to defining what that means. As a result, a lot of people talk ...
Apr 12, 2022•11 min
Do you love the idea of leading discussions and interactive activities but worry students might not get all of the important takeaway knowledge they would if you were to lecture? Lecturing has its time and place. In fact, if you stay tuned, you’ll hear me talk about reasons why, for certain purposes, lecturing is important. But I don’t want you to resort to lecturing just because you don’t trust your ability to teach in a different way. To support you in teaching confidently with more interactiv...
Apr 05, 2022•19 min
Do you dream about becoming an even stronger facilitator but don’t really know where to begin? The difference between having a dream and having a goal is that a goal has an action plan and a timeline connected to it. In the spirit of setting new year’s resolutions, in today’s episode I talk about taking purposeful first steps towards your facilitation goals. To do so, I walk you through my 3-part method for developing a plan of action that is personalized to your particular opportunities for gro...
Mar 29, 2022•14 min
Do you find yourself avoiding facilitating important discussions because you worry you won’t be able to handle any conflicts that might emerge? Do you feel guilty when you shy away from addressing important topics or posing important questions because you know such conversations are necessary for change? In the last episode I talked about how to prepare for difficult conversations. Purposeful preparation can minimize the risk of conflicts emerging. Nevertheless, discussions will sometimes still ...
Mar 22, 2022•21 min
Is the fear of messy conflict holding you back from bringing up difficult topics or questions for your class to discuss? Difficult discussions can be intimidating. They are a particular sticking point for facilitators who feel nervous about their ability to effectively guide a group when there is discomfort, tension, or outright conflict. I don’t want you to be stuck feeling guilty by shying away from difficult discussions, because you know remaining silent perpetuates the problems your discussi...
Mar 15, 2022•20 min
Raise your hand if you’ve ever facilitated a discussion where one or a few students talk and talk and talk to the exclusion of everyone else! Dealing with dominating students is one of the most common sources of frustration that facilitators share with me. They care deeply about creating equitable and accessible spaces for all of their students, but worry about causing harm to overly talkative students by shutting them down. Students themselves report that this is one of the most frustrating dyn...
Mar 08, 2022•23 min
Do you ever get frustrated when you come prepared to teach your class full of interesting discussion prompts, and your students just stare at you with blank faces? In today's episode, I dive right into how to get students to talk in class. In particular, I share three of the biggest mistakes I see facilitators make when students are quiet, and what you can do instead. Most college educators are eager to get more students engaged. And while we are all experts in our subjects, and intuitively tale...
Mar 01, 2022•16 min
