The Deliberative Pedagogy (DeeP) Faculty Collaborative consists of faculty from Davidson College and other higher education institutions who are committed to learning and implementing new ways to improve and deepen the quality of their class discussions. These faculty come from a wide array of disciplines and backgrounds to study and discuss deliberative pedagogy methods, share their ideas and questions with one another, and work to embed deliberation in their classrooms. In this special blog series, members of the Collaborative describe and reflect on their experiences developing and teaching their deliberation-involved courses.
Neurologist Dr. Helen Riess argues empathy is at an all-time low due, in large part, to the role that social media has played in allowing people to hide safely behind a computer screen, spewing negative comments at one another (2018). According to Riess, 90% of effective communication is non-verbal, including gestures, tone, eye contact, and body posture. And we live in a time where we are more ideologically divided than any time since the 1970s (Pew Research Center*) with no common ground to be found. In fact, many states, including my own, are following Florida’s lead in dissolving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) offices and staff positions across universities, implementing bathroom bills, and forcing teachers to out their transgender students to parents. The world could use a little empathy.
My job is to prepare candidates to become middle and high school teachers. In this country, we have seen a shift from a majority white student population in public schools to white students now outnumbered by students of color. With the increasing diversity of students in our classrooms, it is critical that future teachers develop an understanding of and appreciation for students from culturally-rich communities that might be different than their own. It is not an option for my teaching candidates to explore issues of race, gender, immigration, and sexuality. It is a must!
Given our polarized climate where DEI is being erased from PK-12 classrooms and universities, I was faced with two challenges: 1) How do I help teaching candidates develop an understanding of and empathy for PK-12 students who likely come from populations significantly different than theirs, especially when DEI is no longer valued by the State? 2) In a cancel culture where people cannot share their opinions without the fear of social repercussions, how do I engage teaching candidates in rich dialogue about controversial topics in a safe and instructive way?
Searching for solutions to these two challenges led me to engage in a year-long professional development program run through Davidson College’s Deliberative Citizenship Initiative. I wondered, “Could a deliberative approach, paired with studying the neuroscience of trauma and empathy, provide the safe environment to have tough conversations that develop empathy for a diverse set of PK-12 students?” I drew up a plan to integrate empathy and deliberation into my 15-week course called Inclusive Classrooms. A brief outline of key activities follows.
Readings
Course Textbook:
Perry, B. D. & Winfrey, O. (2021). What happened to you? Conversations on trauma, resilience, and healing. Flatiron books.
Excerpts:
Reiss, H. (2018). The empathy effect: Seven neuroscience-based keys for transforming the way we live, love, work, and connect across differences. 2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc.
Milner, R., Cunningham, H., Delale-O’Connor, L., & Kestenberg, E. (2019). “These kids are out of control”: Why we must reimagine “classroom management for equity.” Corwin Publishing.
Activities
Weekly journaling with prompts such as “Are you comfortable with talking about controversial topics? What support can I give you if you start feeling anxious during a deliberation or class period?”
Read or watch news that is ideologically opposite of your position for 30 minutes; write a reflection.
Empathy plays in which two students act out a scene depicting an empathic or non-empathic interaction between a student and teacher; use an empathy observation protocol to note key empathic moves.
Deliberations
Engage in three class deliberations, twice as an observer and once as a participant. The three class deliberations were facilitated by the instructor with eight new students each time. Observers were given an observation guide to note the facilitator’s moves, the norms of the deliberation, and new content that was learned. All candidates were given a deliberation guide and one class period to work in small groups to help the deliberator prepare. The three topics involved poverty, book banning, and tracking in PK-12 education.
For the fourth deliberation, candidates were divided into four small groups, assigned a facilitator, and given a deliberation guide on the North Carolina Parents’ Bill of Rights. The facilitators were responsible for video recording the deliberation and sending it to me for assessment.
For all four deliberations, each participant and observer turned in a reflection afterward. For the first three deliberations, teaching candidates were allowed to argue their own position, but for the last deliberation, I assigned each person a role that I knew would take them out of their ideological comfort zone.
Final project
Deliberation and me portfolio – each student submitted five artifacts that signified their growth in deliberation over the 15 weeks and a one-page reflection that explained how these artifacts illustrated their growth.
Overwhelmingly, students reported that they are more comfortable talking about controversial topics and can see themselves taking this newfound confidence and skill set to discussions outside the classroom. Additionally, they said that the trauma and empathy readings helped them understand why they needed to develop their empathy skills and that deliberation was the approach that helped them do this. As one student said, Overall, I have learned so much about the deliberative process and the beauty that different perspectives and collaboration can bring. I look forward to extending this knowledge and applying it to my educational career.
* Desilver, D. (2022). The polarization in today’s Congress has roots that go back decades.
