Consider the following imaginary scenario, in light of recent moves by a number of states to regulate what they perceive to be liberal bias in higher education. Dr. Oliver Madsen was appearing before his college’s General Education Curriculum Committee. The...

Dr. Jimenez was frustrated as he read the discussion summaries from his students. One student from each discussion team served as a facilitator. The facilitators took notes on a flip chart and then wrote up a summaries of their team’s discussions. Most of these...

It was the first day in Dr. John Tatum’s class. After class he was approached by Eddie Gibson, a freshman. “Professor, I get panic attacks whenever I’m in front of a group. I don’t think I can do the discussion facilitation that’s required. Can I be exempt from...

Introducing a human dimension to engage with complexity Taylor Mathis was a trained facilitator who had earned a reputation for helping organizations think through very tough issues. His approach was to help facilitate the identification of possibilities before the...

Hot and Cool Facilitation Styles It was a crazy day in Professor Anita Waldman’s class. One discussion group, which she called the “Brady Bunch,” was really riled up. Normally this group was very docile. It was hard for the facilitator to get an energetic...

What's the real value added from higher education? Kay was an unassuming student. Her shyness held her back. She was afraid to ask questions in class and didn’t have a study group to depend on. Her senior year, she took a class that focused on facilitation skills....

Professor Benny Smith was disappointed in the quality of discussions in his class. He used student small-group discussions to explore possibilities for topics being covered. The standard opening line he gave students was: “How might we think about…?” He wanted...

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...

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...

Inclusive accommodations as a path to enhancing learning for all Before the semester started, Dr. Evelyn Walters was contacted by one of the university's Special Needs Coordinators. Henry Barrow, the coordinator, explained that Jake, one of Walters’ students, was...