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
The “Climate” of Climate Discussion
It would probably surprise few that the tone of climate change discussions has changed considerably over the years. I have been involved as facilitator, participant, or observer in over fifty such discussions over the last fifteen years. Early on I (and many...
Clues, Cues, and Queues…in Online Discussions
How can we manage the flow, when conversations shift to videoconferencing? "One of the skills you are going to need to develop is to look for discussion participation clues,” Professor Sonja Berenson told her class. “These skills will tell you when someone wants to...
Prompting Deeper Discussions
Herbert Watson was an English professor teaching a course on American poetry when the COVID-19 pandemic closed the campus. Like faculty members across the country, he quickly shifted to remote instruction. Watson was old school and not quite ready to do Zoom...