University students are increasingly becoming more fearful and anxious of speaking up in the classroom, for a variety of reasons--they fear challenging the professor's ideas, inadvertently offending a peer student, or that their comments may be posted on social media. Sometimes professors and universities unknowingly foster such anxiety and, as a result, less viewpoint diversity is shared in the classroom and on campus. Viewpoint diversity is characterized by multiple perspectives being shared by a collective group, and is more likely to occur when intellectual humility, empathy, trust, and curiosity are cultivated. This workshop focuses on how students can prepare themselves for fostering productive dialogue in their role as instructors, trainers, or facilitators inside and outside the academy. It may also help students feel more confident speaking up in class on controversial topics.

Learning Goals:

• Develop a basic understanding of viewpoint diversity and its importance to learning

• Explore the importance of having a growth mindset, rather than a fixed mindset

• Critically analyze conscious versus unconscious reasoning

• Consider the moral foundation of your own views and how it may affect student learning

• Facilitate constructive disagreement to learn, rather than to be right

Facilitator:

• Dr. Emily Salisbury, Associate Professor, Criminal Justice

Lifecycle Stage: Early, Mid, and Late Master’s and Doc

Learning Experience: Lecture & Interactive