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Dealing with hot topics: learn to guide with courage and empathy

Workshop Teaching in Times of Fracture

What do you do as a teacher when tensions arise around sensitive (social or political) issues in your classroom? How do you create space for difficult conversations, and what do you do when a situation becomes heated?  

In the workshop Teaching in Times of Fracture, you will learn tools for dealing with ‘hot topics’ in your teaching practice. Through active learning exercises, exchange, and reflection, you will discover how to create a safe and brave space in which students feel heard and difficult topics can be discussed.

You will explore which themes can trigger you personally and learn strategies to deal with them consciously and professionally. Together, we explore how you can set boundaries, but also how you can make room for discomfort and tension in the classroom. You will receive practical tools for guiding hot moments on hot topics, so that you don't have to avoid difficult conversations, but can instead use them to deepen understanding and enhance learning.

The workshop is based on the three phases of the Mixed Classroom in Practice model, which offers guidance on how to use diversity and difference in a constructive way. This session provides ample opportunity to exchange experiences with colleagues, learn from each other, and discover new perspectives. This way, you not only build your own repertoire of actions, but also contribute to a learning environment where differences become a source of insight and development.

For whom?
This workshop is relevant both for teachers who are familiar with the Mixed Classroom in Practice and have attended the workshops and those who haven’t. While being based on the three phases of the Mixed Classroom model, this workshop concentrates specifically on ‘hot moments’ around ‘hot topics’ and on concrete methods and interventions for dealing with them.

This workshop is open to participants from within and outside the VU Amsterdam.

Related workshop: Hot Moments (tailored)
Our “Hot Moments” workshops are upon request and tailor made. In this workshop, you - as a lecturer - explore moments of tension you've experienced, discover what triggers them, and practice the skills you need to respond calmly and thoughtfully.

More about the 'Teaching in Times of Fracture' workshop
Dates and registration

Overview CTL courses

for professionals in higher education

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Do you have questions about this workshop?

If so, please contact programme leader Kerstin Hämmerling via k.haemmerling@vu.nl.

Contact

Kerstin Hämmerling

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