Teaching Students How to Have Healthy Conversations
This talk is a powerful reminder that building a healthy, collaborative classroom community isn’t just about content—it’s about teaching students how to truly hear one another.
Building a strong classroom community requires that students not only know how to speak—but how to truly listen to one another. In this TEDx Talk, journalist Celeste Headlee shares 10 practical, memorable rules that center active listening, thoughtful questioning, and staying present. I assign this video at the start of the semester to spark a conversation with my students regarding what it means to engage in dialogue that strengthens—not splinters—our learning environment. When breakdowns occur, we now have a common language to name what’s happening and troubleshoot together. This lowers the stakes of disagreement and offers us a clear, compassionate path forward when conflict arises.