Controversies in the classroom
Thursday 27 March 14:00-16:30
Hardened discussions in society make it difficult to address sensitive topics in the classroom. Thursday 27 March, you can attend two sessions that focus on new insights for discussing controversial or sensitive topics in the classroom. You can also choose to attend one of the sessions.
This event will take place at Handboogstraat 2 and both sessions will be held in English. Entry is free. Organised by Special Interest Groups: SIG Scholarship on Teaching and Learning (SoTL) & SIG International Classroom
Learn more about controversies in the classroom
More and more topics in society become polarised and this polarisation also enters the classroom. It can be scary to decide that you want to organise a discussion about a controversial or otherwise sensitive topic in your education. Quite some lecturers report to refrain from this because they don’t feel equipped to lead such a discussion. That also applies to students. However, education can have tremendous transformational opportunities when we learn to switch perspectives and are able to both critically and empathically approach a multitude of perspectives.
Choose for 1 or both sessions
Thursday 27 March, you can attend one or both of the following sessions. Those are organised by Special Interest Groups (SIGs): inter-faculty groups of teachers working on a specific theme. Both sessions will be held in English and take place at Handboogstraat 2 (Co-creation space ‘Social’).
- 14:00-15:00 – Session 1: SoTL & sensitive topics
Organised by SIG Scholarship on Teaching and Learning (SoTL).
What are the challenges and opportunities of addressing sensitive issues in teaching and learning? What works and what does not? In this session, we reflect on recent research findings and explore future directions for integrating SoTL work around sensitive topics into everyday teaching practice. - 15:00-16:30 – Session 2: Discussing controversial topics in the classroom
Organised by SIG International Classroom (in collaboration with Dr. Geerte Savenije).
How can we take advantage of diversity in the classroom and teach students to empathise and learn from different perspectives? How can we manage discussions on controversial topics? What practical advice can we find in the literature? In this interactive workshop, Dr. Geerte Savenije will share insights from the research she contributed to. Furthermore, there is room to exchange experiences and expertise in small group discussions.