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Resources on Facilitating Productive Course Discussions

How can instructors encourage student participation in course discussions? During challenging times, how can they help students engage in productive, civil dialogue when tensions can run high, and discussions can become heated?

This page compiles relevant resources from TIIP and across the Rutgers-New Brunswick campus that share tips and strategies on facilitating productive student discussions.

Start by Building Community

Building community is essential for fostering active student engagement in course discussions. When students establish a sense of mutual trust, and when they know that their contributions are valued and respected regardless of differences in opinions or perspectives, they may more readily engage in productive course discussions.

Preparing for the Upcoming Semester: This TIIP resource provides guidelines on preparing for an upcoming semester. Review this resource to learn about practices for setting the tone before the course starts, fostering a welcoming environment, and maintaining a positive climate in your course.

Screenshot of the front page of the resource "Supporting Student Success Through Teaching: A Resource for Instructors". There is a logo at the top for the Rutgers-New Brunswick Institute for Teaching, Innovation, and Inclusive Pedagogy. The image shows a female student holding a book and standing in front of a building.

Fostering Belonging in Asynchronous, Online Courses: This TIIP resource shares strategies for fostering belonging in an asynchronous, online course setting. You can learn about how to cultivate active engagement, establish a culture of learning, and provide structured support for your students.

Venn diagram showing the Community of Inquiry framework, including social, cognitive, and teaching presence overlapping to support educational experience.

Share Resources with Students

An icon of an open book, representing reading, learning, or educational content.Share with students the following resources, which offer helpful tips and strategies on how to effectively participate in course discussions and activities. Consider using these resources as a basis for engaging in conversations with students about discussion norms and expectations.

 

  • Speaking Up in Class: This Rutgers Learning Centers resource shares tips for building confidence and skills in participating in class.
  • Let’s Discuss Online Discussion Boards: This Rutgers Learning Centers resource addresses challenges and benefits of discussion boards and shares tips on how to successfully engage in online discussions.

Additional Resources for Facilitating Discussions During Challenging Times

Two overlapping speech bubbles, one gray and one blue, representing conversation or communication.Students bring into courses their own experiences and emotions that might impact the way they engage with one another and with the instructor. The following resources can provide instructors with ideas and tools for navigating difficult conversations in their courses.

  • A Toolkit, Navigating Challenge: Teaching in the Present Moment: This video resource is a toolkit of frameworks and strategies for facilitating productive discussions and cultivating positive learning environments for students (developed by TIIP in collaboration with the School of Arts and Sciences Office of Undergraduate Education; and the Tyler Clementi Center for Diversity Education and Bias Prevention).
  • Talking Across Difference: This is a university-wide initiative, based at the Eagleton Institute of Politics, and it aims to equip educators, staff, and students to have productive conversations about difficult and sometimes divisive issues. It offers support and opportunities to learn and apply the theory and the practice of respectful dialogue.
  • Dialogue Across Difference: This is an initiative led by the Office of the Chancellor to promote constructive conversations across diverse perspectives at Rutgers–New Brunswick. The initiative includes workshops, panels, and seed grant funding opportunities for efforts that promote civil discourse. It also highlights new and existing partnerships across the university in support of these aims.
  • Civil Discourse Resources: This page shares resources available through departments or programs within the Division of Student Affairs and the university to further one’s knowledge and skill development in the areas of understanding and civil discourse.

 

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