Discussion Guides & Other Resources
Looking for discussion guides or other materials to help facilitate or organize an interactive discussion program? We have over 30 discussion guides on a wide variety of public policy topics. Our discussion guides are non-partisan, presenting 5-9 different approaches or policy “possibilities” for the topic. You can view them online or download them for free. We also have other discussion resources available without charge, including “how-to” guidebooks on facilitating and other practical aspects of planning and conducting a discussion program.
Planning a Discussion Program?
We may be able to help. We have partnered with a wide range of organizations, including public, private, educational, nonprofit, and other groups, to provide direct in-kind assistance in planning, organizing, and conducting different discussion programs and initiatives. We’re always looking for new partners to work with in developing more and better exploratory and generative conversations. Depending on the particular goals and circumstances of your program, we may be able to help with planning, facilitating, or training facilitators.
Resources for Educators
Interested in using student-facilitated discussions in your classroom or online course? For over a decade, we have partnered with faculty to integrate our discussion process into higher education settings. We have a number of different resources for instructors and students for use in both in-person and online courses. These resources provide practical guidance on implementing student-facilitated discussions and include guidebooks, workbooks, sample syllabi, evaluation forms, and other course materials.
Recent News
Practicing What We Teach?
How well do we follow the collaborative discussion practices we try to teach to others? Dr. Gloria Benson taught a course on Discussion Facilitation. Most of the grade in the class was based upon students’ facilitation performance, but she also used a written...
Using Reinforcing Questions to Expand Discussions
Expanding perspectives to avoid groupthink and promote cognitive empathy Professor Stephanie Taggart was concerned about one of her discussion groups. Since her classes largely attracted female students, she tried to place a male in each discussion group. In one...
Insight Journals and Collaborative Learning, Part Two
Encouraging the practice of self-reflection Pamela Washburn was convinced to try out the use of insight journals (check out Part One on Insight Journals) in her class after seeing how effective they were in Dr. Anderson’s class. But as she was putting together her...