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49 EqualBITE Creating a safe space for classroom discussions
Creating a safe space for
classroom discussions
Andy Hancock
(As told to Judy Robertson.
With thanks to Zach Murphy
for his comments.)
I have worked in initial teacher education
(ITE) for fifteen years. In this time, I have
learned that it is important for teachers
to explore their own values, beliefs and
assumptions about their learners as part
of their journey towards creating inclusive
classrooms. In our ITE programme, we direct
students to the work of Bourdieu and his
notion of habitus. Bourdieu explains this as a
system of dispositions, and unconscious ways
of thinking and behaving, that individuals
internalise over time as a result of their
location in particular environments and sets
of social relationships (Bourdieu & Wacquant,
1992). We want our students to reflect on
their view of the world and engage with
socialised norms and dominant discourses.
You can find some of the approaches that
I and colleagues at Moray House School of
Education use to discuss social justice with
student teachers in our book Social Justice
Re-examined (Arshad et al., 2012).
In other disciplines, e.g. STEM subjects
(science, technology, engineering and
mathematics), the content of classroom
discussions will generally be on curricular
areas unrelated to equality or other sensitive
issues. However, on the occasions when
it is appropriate to discuss equality in the
classroom, it is important to establish an
atmosphere of trust. For example, consider
informatics students studying material
relating to the low numbers of women
in IT in their professional issues course. In
such a class, the few women students in
the room will ideally take an active part in
discussion, and will not feel uncomfortable
or marginalised by the opinions of their
male peers. This recipe contains some of
my thoughts about how to create a safe
space for discussion in the classroom.
Ingredients
• Time.
• Ground rules. You may choose to
develop these with the students. Section
12 of the University regulations might
be a good starting point: http://www.
docs.sasg.ed.ac.uk/AcademicServices/
Discipline/StudentCodeofConduct.pdf
• Recognition that your students
have different world views
and life experiences.
• Commitment to teach all
students with respect.
• Desire to give all students a voice.
• Empowerment.
Method
1. Choose the design of the lesson. It will
probably be most effective to enable
the students to discuss their opinions
in small groups, at least initially. In this
way, members of the minority groups
have a voice in a smaller, safer space. The
“think, pair, share” approach might be
helpful even if you’re timetabled to be
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EqualBITE 50 Creating a safe space for classroom discussions
in a large lecture theatre. Students think
about their responses to a discussion
question individually for a time, then
pair up with the person sitting next
to or behind them to exchange views,
before the pairs join up to form small
groups to share their thoughts. Lecture
format is not ideal. The experience
of listening to a single authoritative
voice (of the lecturer) or the opinions of
vocal classmates during question time
might be uncomfortable or alienating
for students in the minority groups
under discussion. Being reminded of
negative stereotypes of a group to
which we belong makes people anxious
and concerned that we don’t reinforce
that stereotype by our behaviour (see
Stereotype threat). A woman electrical
engineering undergraduate, for
example, might avoid joining in a large
lecture discussion about acceptable
professional conduct precisely because
she doesn’t want to confirm a societal
stereotype about women “over-reacting”
to sexist jokes. It may be productive
to ask the students to privately reflect
on why they find something funny.
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51 EqualBITE Creating a safe space for classroom discussions
2. Plan how to include students who are
in the minority. There is a tension in
valuing the knowledge of a minority
student without turning them into a
cultural artefact. We want to give the
student an opportunity to share their
insight as a member of the minority
group under discussion, but we don’t
want to put them under the microscope
because of it. For example, in my
class where I discuss Islam with my
student teachers, I try not to keep the
spotlight on the few Muslim students
in the class. If you’re not sure how a
student in the minority group would
react to the class, have a quiet word
beforehand about what they would
like their involvement to be and what
they might find uncomfortable – don’t
spend the class worrying about how
they are feeling. It is also important
not to make assumptions about
students’ faith or cultural heritage as
there is diversity within diversity.
3. Establish ground rules. Spend some time
establishing ground rules with the class
(or reminding them). There needs to be
a code of conduct for what is acceptable,
starting from the basics of respectful
listening and allowing others to be
heard. Part of the lecturer’s job is to be
aware of inappropriate behaviour and
call students out on it. “Banter” and mild
jokes may seem borderline offensive,
but can escalate so it is worth drawing
attention to this. What one student finds
funny might be offensive to another.
Ideally, the students themselves will
start to challenge unacceptable conduct
– a recent study of “laddism” in sports
courses reported that mature students,
particularly women, were vocal critics
and challengers of disruptive behaviour
in the classroom (Jackson et al., 2015).
4. Model and promote good listening.
As you interact with and observe
groups of students, be a good
listener and encourage the students
to listen. This involves making
sure everyone is listened to, being
mindful of body language such as
nodding and focussing entirely on
what someone is saying rather than
deciding what you will say next.
5. Deal with challenging conversations. In
a situation where a student voices an
opinion with which you disagree, take
a moment to unpack where they’re
coming from. It’s useful to think about
why they might have these views.
You want to encourage each student
to have a voice, but it is necessary to
challenge them at times. Acknowledge
their contribution and summarise
their view: “I hear what you’re saying.
You mean that…” If appropriate you
can go on to say: “I disagree for these
reasons” and then articulate them.
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EqualBITE 52 Creating a safe space for classroom discussions
There may be students who have
strong views but have chosen not to
express them so far. In this case, you
can offer them the chance to join in –
“What do you think? Do you agree?”
or “You have been very quiet during
this discussion. How do you feel? How
would you like to be included?”
6. Challenge prejudice. If you do encounter
prejudice among students, then there
are three levels of response. In the
immediate term, you should make it
clear that prejudice is not acceptable
in class. This includes the nature of the
context and any impact on a possible
victim and students in general who
are being exposed to it, and how
you respond to all those involved. At
the next level, consider whether the
University’s code of conduct is clear
on this matter, and whether it needs
to be updated, clarified or challenged.
Lastly, in the longer term, there is both
a responsibility and an opportunity
to think about how you can change
these attitudes and behaviours
through your teaching. Teaching can
be a powerful force for social justice.
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