Category: Teaching the Navigation of Difficult Dialogues
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Our second class discussion on developing a policy on guns in our hypothetical school district was a “world cafe” style facilitated meeting. The facilitators laid the groundwork for productive dialogue from their initial invitation: Please join your local School Board and fellow community members for a facilitated group discussion of the conceal and carry referendum…
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Both policy-makers and the public can make wiser decisions if they think through an issue together. This means involving the public in some way when defining an issue, when thinking through what might be needed to fully understand that issue, when identifying the options to discuss, and when weighing those options. Having a sequenced approach…
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There are many different ways to start a public conversation. Unfortunately the ways that are most often used can make the navigation of difficult issues even more difficult than it needs to be. For example, we often move to deliberation too quickly in our public processes. The public is invited to give input on one…
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Last semester (Fall 2013), I (Sarah) was asked to redesign and teach the Public Policy Dispute Resolution class at the University of Missouri School of Law which I greatly enjoyed doing. The last third of the semester the students planned and participated in a series of dialogues around the issue of gun violence in the…