Facilitating class discussions is an essential yet challenging part of postgraduate teaching. This is especially true for discussions on sensitive topics such as racial justice, societal inequalities, and social policy. This study – in progress – evaluates the use of student-developed group norms on class discussions. Preliminary results, based on one cohort of 23 students, indicate that group norms can be an effective tool for increasing student comfort level with class discussions. For this cohort, students believed that the group norms did not help them participate more actively, but did help them listen more openly. A second cohort is planned for fall 2022.

Author: Rachel S. Kirzner

Published in: Canada International Conference on Education, 2022

• Date of Conference: 21-23 June, 2022
• DOI: 10.20533/CICE.2022.0035
• Electronic ISBN: 978-1-913572-49-5
• Conference Location: Virtual (Mississauga, Canada)