Professionally guiding difficult conversations in the classroom

It's important to have meaningful conversations in the classroom about topics that are relevant to society. But how do you handle strong statements? For example, about sexual diversity, the climate, war or terror, refugees, or religion. How do you handle statements that are discriminatory, hateful, or incite violence? Creating a positive environment for discussion in your classroom can sometimes be quite challenging.

The importance of dialogue

A good dialogue in which participants feel they have the space to participate, listen to each other and are willing to learn from each other is of great value on the way to an inclusive educational organization.

• It helps students to explore and deepen social themes.
• It is valuable in discussing sensitive topics.
• It helps to exchange perspectives and contributes to identity development and mutual understanding.
• It is a good way to gather important input for policies or measures that strengthen diversity, inclusion and equality.

Online module: Dialogue under Pressure
Sometimes, tensions rise during conversations. Dialogue under pressure offers valuable tools to help with difficult conversations. Last week, the School and Safety Foundation launched an e-learning module—based on their "Dialogue under Pressure" training—and made it available free of charge. Would you like to follow it online at a time that suits you? You can. through this link.

Prefer a physical workout?
Would you rather follow the physical training with your team? Practorate Relational Work offers a comprehensive training program for Summa colleagues. It's a great mix of theory, exercises to help you handle difficult conversations, and, above all, plenty of practical tools you can apply directly in the classroom.

Learning and progressing through dialogue

“Dialogue plays a central role in our action research,” says Bennie Krol, action researcher at Practorate Relational Work“We have collected and developed various conversation techniques that help to have constructive conversations about topics related to relationship work and diversity and inclusion. Dialogue under pressure "Provided us with incredibly useful techniques to guide those sometimes difficult conversations effectively. We combined the knowledge from School and Safety with our own findings and incorporated them into a practical training course."

For training on Dialogue Under Pressure and other training options, please email: practoraatrelationeelwerken@summacollege.nl