Amid a growing number of politically-charged topics that face our society, it is more important than ever that we address these issues in our courses. These issues might be a planned part of your curriculum or they may come up spontaneously in discussion, so it is important to be prepared to frame the conversation in productive and inclusive ways. These resources will help you be ready to treat controversial topics as valuable learning opportunities.
The Northern Pact outlines the values of the NIU community and describes how students can help support them. NIU's Division of Student Affairs reinforces the Pact with students throughout their journey at NIU. Reminding students of these expectations can help you promote a more caring, connected environment.
I am a Huskie and I take pride in my pack. I support the values of the NIU community with my words and actions. By taking care of myself and others, I support the health and well-being of the entire university community.
It’s best to set the expectations for student participation in discussions early in the semester. By doing so, you establish the importance of learning through talking, listening, and responding to others. This approach fosters a collaborative environment where students understand the value of their contributions and engagement.
You can adopt the GROWS model developed by the NIU Division for Academic Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, or work with your students to establish your own ground rules.
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects important freedoms like speech, press, religion, and assembly. As a public university, NIU is required to open the campus for people to exercise their constitutional right to freedom of speech. Protecting a person’s right to speak does not mean the university approves or condones the message.
Difficult or politically-charged conversations may result in conflict that needs to be de-escalated or addressed to maintain a productive classroom environment.
Before delving into potentially challenging topics, take some time to lay the groundwork with the class. Ensuring that everyone understands the purpose of the discussion and the expected behaviors can make the conversation more productive. Following best practices for facilitating difficult conversations will help prepare students to engage with these topics effectively.
There is no one right way to respond to biased or offensive comments. Consider your goal and the context, and try one or more of these approaches (either publicly or in private).
Adapted from Diane Goodman's Responding to Biased or Offensive Comments
The Oops and Ouch protocol can be used as a tool to give all members of the course a common language to use when discussions get heated in class. When used in courses with challenging topics, the Oops and Ouch protocol allows community members to share diverse perspectives and learn from others and destigmatizes asking for clarity or identifying harm as necessary during class.
When to use 'oops:' Mistakes are a natural part of learning, but the fear of making a mistake or inadvertently using hurtful language may prevent students from engaging in difficult conversations. Ask students to preface a potentially controversial or provocative statement with "this might be an oops, but here's what I'm trying to say." This helps other students recognize that the speaker is trying to be respectful even if they do not have the right language to articulate their thoughts.
When to use 'ouch:' Introducing 'ouch' empowers students to speak up when they perceive a statement shared by someone else to be problematic or hurtful. Ask students to wait until after the speaker is finished and simply say 'ouch'. You can then pause the conversation and ask the student who made the statement to explain why they said that. This allows you to get to the root of the idea rather than making assumptions about intent.
'Oops' and 'Ouch' can also be a useful framework for addressing microaggressions.
Regardless of intent, it's crucial to address microaggressions, bias, and insults as they occur in conversation. The Open The Front Door (OTFD) strategy provides a structured approach for doing this by allowing participants to pause, reflect, and consider the impact of their communication without implying ill intent. This method facilitates correction and learning during moments of discomfort.
Students are often afraid of making mistakes and being punished for them long-term. It can be difficult to get students to engage in challenging conversations if they don’t trust their classmates and instructor will listen to them without judgment. Likewise, a mistake or reaction to a mistake changes the level of comfort students have when speaking up. Learning how to build and repair trust and comfort in the classroom can help keep the classroom an environment where students feel comfortable sharing and learning together.
To learn, students may be exposed to ideas that make them uncomfortable. Create a brave space in class so students can share ideas and ask controversial questions. Instead of avoiding hard conversations, structuring your classroom environment as a brave space creates opportunities for everyone to engage in learning and critical thinking within a framework.
List adapted from Victoria D. Stubbs’ “The 6 Pillars of a Brave Space”
Instructors may facilitate discussions but everyone in the classroom deserves the opportunity to be a part of building and re-building the community and creating expectations. Part of this process is recognizing the individuality of everyone in the classroom and demonstrating appreciation when students share their experiences and feelings. When trust is broken, everyone deserves the opportunity to express their feelings and determine a new way forward.
Students need to make mistakes and take risks in the classroom to participate in the learning process. While some students might come into the classroom with beliefs, terminology, and attitudes that can hurt others, everyone deserves an opportunity to think critically about the class topics and change their minds.
Instead of ‘cancelling’ a student, which enforces compliance rather than learning, address hurtful actions and words head-on, give opportunities to apologize, and remind everyone that mistakes are opportunities to learn, unlearn, and grow.
It can be difficult to find unbiased and non-partisan information on many of the most politically-charged topics. This is an incomplete list that will be added to over time.
NIU faculty are highly knowledgeable on these critical issues. Consider reaching out to a colleague to ask for advice, a guest lecture, or some readings/resources on the issue. You can use the NIU Experts Guide to find someone who has expertise in your area of need.
The MAPit Strategy equips students with tools to evaluate sources before relying on them. This is important because students might bring information and ideas to class that are biased due to unreliable sources. By using the MAPit Strategy, students can critically assess the resources they reference, considering factors such as the source's bias, purpose, and overall quality.
A list of resources compiled by the Harvard Library to fact-check news media sources across the political spectrum.
A chart that evaluates the bias of a media covering US political content.
Phone: 815-753-0595
Email: citl@niu.edu
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