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
Silent Thinking
Using silent thinking to disrupt herding behavior Yolanda Cooper was frustrated. She liked to have her students discuss concepts she presented in class. But what usually happened is that the first student’s comment became the focus of the entire discussion. The...
Why Do People Migrate?
What IF? A Discussion Summary of the 1st of a series of 4 Online Community Conversations About Migration and Coming to America This is a summary of the main ideas discussed during our Zoom event on September 17, 2020. It was the first event in our Coming to...
Discussion Groups Weaving Social Connections
Discussion groups can foster social bonds that are critical for student success Greg Johnson was a Computer Science major with a problem. He had a rather severe stuttering condition. Normally this wasn’t an issue in his CS classes, but Greg was required to take a...