Creating safe but brave learning communities in teaching

Sensitive topics can be full of triggers. A person who is triggered cannot learn effectively. Hence, it’s important to keep a learning environment respectful so that we don’t trespass on anybody’s boundary of safety. However, controversial and sensitive topics may come up during class discussions, and students may have strong opposing views. Because of this, it is important to first set ground rules that can frame discussions and create ‘safe but brave’ learning communities, where students are able to maintain differing opinions.  

Zeeshan Tirmizi, Masters student at Sussex 2023-4

Introduction

Respectful and meaningful learning communities encourage open dialogue, critical thinking, and empathy, where all members of the community respect diversified viewpoints and all community members feel like they belong in a conversation. It is important for students to feel that they belong in their course and in their modules. When teachers take time and effort to create a safe space, it makes students feel that they can get the most from their learning environment. Being part of a respectful and meaningful learning community will help prepare students for future challenges in society. In this way, studying at university not only gives students knowledge of their subject matter, but helps them recognise that challenging and uncertain situations can provide positive learning experiences and an opportunity for growth. This blog post provides guidance on creating respectful and meaningful learning communities in your teaching spaces. It was co-created by colleagues from Educational Enhancement and the University of Sussex students who took part in the project: Supporting the International Student Experience at Sussex and Beyond.

A photo of the three students who developed this resource. Liwen, who studied for a BSc in International Business, Zeeshan, who studied for an MA in Media Practice for Development and Social Changes, and Abby, who studied for a BA in Media and Communications.
Meet the University of Sussex students who created this resource.

Listen to Liwen describe how safe, but brave, learning communities enable students to talk freely.  

Transcript

Liwen: For myself, I think brave is a scenario [where] you can talk. That no one will say you cannot talk, even though other people don’t agree with that. But you can still talk. This is other people’s decisions for that. Safe means you feel like you are not threatened. You are not forced to say those words. You just want to explain that for yourself. So, I think those things still need to exist together, I think, even though other people maybe do not agree [they] respect you. 

Zeeshan explains how safe, but brave, learning communities allow people to express their opinions without fear of consequences.

Transcript:

Zeeshan: Having a safe, inclusive, and brave space allows people to feel that kind of sense of safety, that my opinion is going to be acknowledged, and I will not face any consequences for that. And it is okay to be different than others, and it is okay to hold a different opinion. So, having a safe and inclusive space would allow us to not be confined by any kind of boundaries and not think about what the consequences would be having a different perspective of things. When we are talking about learning sensitive topics, I think people mostly feel threatened to hear different things than what they have been believing. So I think it is very difficult to get over our own biases, prejudice. So having a safe space where we can express ideas without fear allows us to look at things from different perspectives which we would have otherwise ignored. 

Five recommendations that can help facilitate safe, but brave, learning communities  

  1. Welcome your students into the class and make space for them to get to know one another’s backgrounds. Making students feel they are welcomed is crucial, especially for international students, who may not have the same background knowledge and networks as home students. Being from a different cultural background can make it harder for students to feel comfortable when they interact with others. You can help students feel more comfortable with one another by undertaking welcome activities that require students to work in groups and start mixing with their peers. Here are some recommendations for how this can be done across a module:
    • Before teaching familiarize yourself with your incoming students by sending out a short ‘Getting to Know You’ survey, and providing a space (e.g., a discussion board) where learners can introduce themselves to you and to one another. 
    • At the start of the module pace your introductions, allowing time for the cohort to get to know one another through activities that foster understanding and empathy.
    • At the start of the module learn to pronounce your students’ names via taking the register and requesting that every student repeat their name back to you, so that you (and the class) can hear how to pronounce their name correctly.
    • Throughout the module invite students to speak with you privately, or in small groups, during your office hours.
  2. Acknowledge your own positionality with your students. Modelling your own vulnerability as an educator is key to creating safe but brave learning communities. By acknowledging your positionaility, you are showing that it’s okay to not have all the answers.
    • Before teaching reflect on how your identity (e.g., race, educational background, gender, class) has shaped your teaching methods, expectations of your students, and interactions with them.
    • At the start of the course discuss your positionality with your students and encourage them to privately reflect on their own. 
    • Throughout the course periodically reflect on your teaching experiences and consider whether your approaches to teaching and your interactions with students have changed over the course of the term. What has caused this change? What have you learnt from this experience?  
  3. Co-create (with students) clear class rules to maintain a structured and secure environment. You can set class rules by:
    • Starting a dialogue about students’ positive and negative experiences of classroom discussions (you could ask students to do this in groups and feedback in a class discussion).
    • Discussing what kind of learning environment students would like to foster in the classroom and what rules would protect such an environment.
    • Writing the ground rules into a class contract or charter and store them on Canvas for future reference.
  4. Provide context for any challenging material and help students understand its relevance to your teaching. This can be achieved by:
    • Using real-world examples, objects, narratives, or multimedia to introduce the topic in a relatable way.
    • Providing guidelines for respectful engagement, such as active listening, acknowledging diverse viewpoints, and avoiding personal attacks.
    • Presenting a variety of viewpoints to encourage balanced and critical engagement.
  5. Equip students with the resources they need to engage confidently with challenging material. This can be achieved by:
    • Using guiding questions or sentence starters to facilitate discussion. For example:
      • What might be the reasons behind this perspective?
      • How does this idea connect to what we’ve already learned?
    • Providing access to glossaries, summaries, or introductory readings to help students understand complex terminology or concepts.
  6. Use role play and debate to put students in others’ shoes: Pippa Morgan suggests using role play activities to broaden students’ viewpoints. You can facilitate debates in which students are randomly allocated to one side of an argument. This type of activity can allow students to explore points of view that they don’t hold themselves. For example:
    • In a mock negotiation or debate, students must listen carefully to their counterparts to craft appropriate responses.
    • Following on from the debate, discuss the role of listening in the outcome of the activity and provide feedback on how students engaged. 
  7. Manage potentially emotive conversations by:
    • Asking questions to understand the students’ perspectives, which also allows additional time for you to choose how to respond.
    • Summarising the issues with the statement and state whether you agree or disagree.
    • Stopping conversations if they are becoming too emotive and refer to the ground rules.
    • Redirecting the conversation back to the initial focus of the discussion. 

Some of this guidance has been adapted from the University of Sussex webpage, Teaching sensitive subjects. Please see this web page for further information.

This resource was generated from an Education and Innovation Funded project aimed at closing the international awarding gap. To help understand why this gap exists, ten international students participated in a focus group to discuss their experiences at the University. A key theme from the focus group was the importance of understanding assessment expectations and knowing what steps to take to succeed. Drawing on the focus group discussions, the students then worked hard to develop resources aimed at helping you welcome your students to Sussex. They hope you find these resources useful. 
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