UMBC’s Difficult Conversations pages present research-based ideas to help you facilitate classroom conversations that involve sensitive topics. Here we have collected resources to support you as you guide students towards healthy, productive, learning-oriented discussions. Our website is intended to be an evolving resource that builds on UMBC faculty and staff expertise and responds to your needs as they develop in the classroom.
We provide links to more detailed resources for specific contexts for difficult conversations:
- Planning Difficult Lessons: Resources to help you structure a lesson, activity, or module involving sensitive issues
- Learning with Current Events: Tools to help you engage emerging current events
- Handling Hot Moments: Resources to help you handle difficult conversations when they emerge unexpectedly in the classroom
- Navigating the Post-Election Period with Students: Resources to support teaching in a post-election period
See The Diverse Classroom to prepare for difficult conversations by becoming familiar with best practices in the welcoming classroom. See Faculty Reflection & Advance Preparation for ideas on how to plan ahead and cope with difficult conversations. See UMBC Support for Students for student resources.
This site is a work in progress and is not intended to be definitive or exhaustive. Please consult your discipline’s professional association for best practices designed specifically for your discipline.