This chapter focuses on effective preparation for civic reasoning, discourse, and problem solving. It reviews literatures, including major synthetic reviews and studies from the science of learning and development (SoLD), civics education, and mathematics education. Based on these reviews, the authors make the case for a more comprehensive form of…

The past decade has seen significant changes in our country's political landscape, some of which have spilled over into higher education. One change that has impacted millions of students is recent legislation in many states (such as Florida, Texas, Utah, Alabama, and North Dakota) and from the federal government intended to inhibit diversity,…

Controversial topics may be uncomfortable for teachers to include in their in-class discussions. However, there are considerable cognitive and social-emotional benefits to engagement in controversial conversations, or classroom discussion about controversial topics. It is critical that teachers support students in respectful discussion to help…

Risk-taking in honors education entails not only anxiety about grades and intellectually disturbing ideas but also painful emotional responses to course materials. Rather than censoring such "dangerous" materials, faculty should compassionately encourage vulnerable students to acknowledge their pain safely in an open and accepting…

Forty-two percent of LGBT youth say the community in which they live is not accepting of LGBT people (Human Rights Campaign). That's 4 out of 10. And lesbian, gay, and bisexual young people are almost five times more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to have attempted suicide. It is very, very hard for an LGBTQIA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,…

Through a collaboration between a professor in academia and an industry professional, entry-level food science students were given the opportunity to critically evaluate the safety of energy drinks. This evaluation occurred through a General Education (Category A3) course designated "Critical Thinking" at California State University --…

In light of a national reckoning with racism in the U.S., many instructors are assessing their own pedagogical practices with regard to handling these topics in their classrooms. In developing my authentic teaching philosophy over the course of 18 years, I have adapted many practices I used in my prior career in dispute resolution. To clarify, I…

Content warnings--notices to students that class material may evoke their past traumas--have become entangled in (over)heated debates about the role of free speech on campus. Critics denounce content warnings as silencing tools intended to promote censorship, preclude discussion of difficult topics or punish professors who hold unpopular views.…

Courses: News Reporting, Advertising, Strategic Communication, Media Studies, Introduction to Communication, Intercultural and Interracial Communication, Business Communication, and Hybrid Public Speaking. Objectives: This module facilitates a process for students to interrogate how they relate to the public and to understand the profound…

In a divisive age, how do we support beginning teachers in taking up the challenge of teaching controversial topics and creating classroom environments that promote civil discourse? For insights, the author looked to the work of teacher educators in Northern Ireland, a region that is still affected by many generations of intense sectarian…

Grade 12 students in my son's psychology class had been asked to share their deepest reactions and thoughts toward the victims of the "Charlie Hebdo" incident in Paris. "Charlie Hebdo" is a satirical magazine that had published controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Students felt sympathetic toward the victims and…

Purpose: Even as sites for higher education work to transform curricula and strive for greater diversity among students and faculties, little is done to create safe, inviting environments for people to openly discuss the contradictions and challenges in teaching about differences. The authors' purpose is to examine multiple and intersecting…

As sociology instructors increasingly include materials on sexual violence in their courses, both instructors and students express anxieties over how best to handle such sensitive conversations. This article critically examines the conventional advice to offer a trigger warning, which can interfere with student education (e.g., requiring survivors…

The current divisive presidential election highlights the importance of teaching students the skills of constructive public discourse. This article discusses the role teachers play in teaching students how to exchange ideas, listen respectfully to different opinions and experiences, try out ideas and positions, and give--and get--constructive…

This article examines how scripts that circulate among culturally and theologically conservative Christian students, whether they are categorized as "born again," "Religious Right," "Christian Right," "nondenominational," "evangelical," or "fundamental," aim to prime students for the…