Deep Democracy in your education practice

Are you looking for ways to include your students more actively in your education? Would you like to stimulate students to actively govern their learning process? Are you interested in hearing all your students? Would you like to make fair decisions in class, together with your students? 

Deep democracy might be the method to encourage you in this!

Course details

Originally the deep democracy method is designed to make better decisions. A deep democratic decision is not only motivated by the majority vote. It is shaped with the ‘wisdom of the minority votes’, so that the perspectives of the 1 – 49% percent of people that voted different are used to enhance our decision making process. The result is a qualitatively better decision that is supported by every group member. 

To be able to make these kinds of decisions it is necessary to actively look for differences and get all perspectives on the table. By doing so we can than have ‘the right conversation’. Using principles from the deep democracy method we can therefore enhance decision making processes as well as having better discussions. Better discussions and better decisions can also have a huge impact on our education and result in more inclusive education. 

In this workshop you will be introduced to the theoretical principles that underlie the deep democracy method, experience deep democratic practices and identify tips and tricks to use in your classroom.

Intended learning outcome

  • Formulating core principles of the Lewis method of Deep Democracy
  • Experience how differences can enrich conversations and decisions
  • Examining your own assumptions on perspective taking

Good to know

Target audience UvA teaching staff
Prior knowledge The workshop builds on your teaching experience of working in and with student groups
Language English en Dutch (see dates)
Trainer Erjo Beitler (TLC Central)
Participants Minimum of 8, maximum of 20 participants
Location At one of our UvA locations (see Registration).
Dates
  • Monday 26 May 2025 (1:30 – 4:30PM) – English
  • Thursday 6 November 2025 (1:30 – 4:30PM) – English
  • Thursday 2 April 2026 (1:30 – 4:30PM) – Dutch
  • Wednesday 27 May 2026 (1:30 – 4:30PM) – English
Organised by TLC Central

Registration

The course is funded from central funds. Signing up is not non-committal, we will count on your participation.

 
After registering, you will receive an automated invitation for your Outlook calendar. If there are multiple dates, you’ll get a separate invitation for each (please don’t forget to accept). If the location is not yet known at that time, an update will follow later.

A proof of participation is available upon request. Please send an email to tlc@uva.nl after the course.

More information?