Educating Character: Student Engagement and Civil Discourse in the Classroom

Student engagement in the classroom, as well as in civil discourse with their peers, is essential for developing character within the classroom. Research supports that increased levels of engagement for college students has benefits for their character development. Students being more actively engaged in their coursework can lead to increased development of ethical reasoning, a deepening of self-understanding, and increased civic engagement (Kuh & Umbach, 2004). More specifically, engaging in conversation across lines of differences with peers allows for students to practice ethical communication, gain wider perspectives, and aims to create an educational environment built on trust, mutual respect, and critical thinking, leading to the further development of student character (Crosby, K.D. 2018). This civil discourse between students in the classroom is also beneficial to the student outside of the classroom. Engaging in civil discourse with one's peers allows for students to practice civic discussion and prepares them to be civically engaged in the wider community (Winthrop, R. 2020).

While part of the responsibility of student engagement and discourse lies within students, there are important actions and strategies that professors can incorporate into their classroom that can encourage and facilitate these practices. This article will explore practices that I have observed as successful in my own classes, practices my peers have identified to be successful, as well as what some professors have reported to be their useful strategies for increasing and navigating student engagement and civil discourse in their classrooms.

A Personal Testimony to Student Engagement in the Classroom

Before diving into specific strategies for fostering student engagement and civil discourse in the classroom, I would like to offer a glimpse into the most engaging and thought-provoking class I have taken during my time at UVA. During the fall semester of my fourth year I took Professor Indrani Chatterjee’s “Globalizing Gender, Historicizing Modernity: South Asia.” This course offered a deep dive into Indian history with a focus on gender and sexuality and how western perceptions of “modernity” fail to capture the nuanced history of India and Indian culture. As a history minor who has primarily studied American history, the material of the class was extremely new and daunting, but incredibly fascinating as well. This small discussion-based class transformed the way I approach reading historical texts critically and also provided a framework for analyzing the history of nonwestern societies that decenters the western conception of “modernity.” While at first glance one may think that the engaging nature of this course was solely due to its class size, a small 15, it was actually due to several strategies Professor Chatterjee employed that allowed me, as well as my peers, to fully immerse ourselves into the course material and deeply engage with each other’s diverse perspectives.

Individual “Student-Professor” Discussion Posts

One strategy that helped further my engagement and understanding of course material was the weekly individual discussion post assignments that Professor Chatterjee assigned our class. These weekly “discussions” were personal reflections guided by a prompt that required students to engage with the assigned class readings. These prompts helped students frame their thinking when reading assigned material. The assignment allowed for a personal response from the student on the reading and prompt that only the professor could see, essentially creating a Student-Professor discussion board. Not only did this method ensure that we were engaging critically with assigned meetings and held us accountable for our own progress in class materials, but it also allowed a safe space for students to share their thoughts and practice critical thinking free from the potential stress of speaking in a more daunting setting. Professor Chatterjee would often respond to our individual posts in the comments of the assignment with her own thoughts, questions, and comments, creating a personal dialogue with each student.

Student Autonomy in Class Curriculum: Shaping the Course to Students’ Interests

One of the characteristics of Professor Chatterjee class that I found to be extremely engaging was the amount of autonomy that she provided my classroom and me when determining course topics. We often had assignments to submit questions on our weekly readings, specifically asking probing topics we wanted to learn more about. She would then use these questions to construct her following lecture on the course topics. The result was a lecture that fit the course curriculum while incorporating the small topics that piqued her students’ curiosity. By doing this, Professor Chatterjee put our specific interests in the course at the forefront of the class discussion, allowing us to effectively be navigators of our own learning. This led to a classroom environment in which my classmates and I felt extremely engaged in the course material.

But How Does this Work in Larger Classrooms?

After reading details of Professor Chatterjee’s strategies that led to a highly engaged classroom you may be wondering how this translates into larger classes, or even claiming that this level of engagement is only possible in such a small class. While there is no doubt that the smaller nature of the class allowed for Professor Chatterjee to engage the specific interests of her students, that does not mean that there are not valuable lessons to be learned from her methods. For example, her model for student autonomy could be used as a framework for large class lectures in which students have individually assigned projects. This could look like an open-ended research project in which students select their own topic to dive deep into, providing selections of readings for students to choose from when assigning homework, or even just collecting data from the class on which topics they enjoy learning about in the class in comparison to others. While this is by no means catering to the unique interests of all students, it is applying the concept of student autonomy in class curriculum on a small scale. Incorporating this into larger classes could potentially prove to increase overall student engagement in the classroom.

Although the above testimony details one individual class at the University of Virginia, and is my own personal lived experience, it does offer an impactful glimpse into how deliberate actions taken by professors to increase student engagement, and discourse with peers, can have a profound effect on the learning of their students. A few strategic choices in pedagogy can lead to students in a class being more invested in the material they are learning about, engaging deeply with the course content, and with their peers around them.

Strategies for Student Engagement

Civil Discourse: Professor Facilitation and Navigating Meaningful Classroom Discussion in a Politically Polarized Environment

While navigating discourse in the classroom related to contemporary political topics can be difficult, professors can play an important role in facilitating discussions on how classroom topics relate to the current world around us. This connection of course topics to the lived experiences of those around us allows students to engage more deeply with course material and to think critically about societal issues.

A Professor’s Role in Facilitating Political Discourse

Professors may vary in their beliefs on whether to present as an apolitical figure, with some professors thinking it is inevitable that their students will be able to infer their political orientations and others hiding their beliefs exceedingly well. However, what most professors seem to agree on is that when it comes to a professor’s direct role in facilitating civil discourse in the classroom as it relates to politics is not to directly shape the beliefs of their students, but to provide a landscape for them to try out their ideas, engage in critical thinking, and discuss nuances of issues with their peers.

The pressure to be an impartial moderator of political discourse between students seems to be at an all time high, with palpable political polarization in the U.S. From personal experience, many of the political topics discussed in classroom curriculum have increased dramatically in relevance as we enter a turbulent time in our nation’s history. I argue that this should encourage us to bring up contemporary issues in the classroom instead of shying away from civil discourse. With current political events there arises a unique opportunity for students to be able to make meaningful connections between their coursework and what is happening around them, leading them to think more critically about their learning and their community.

In practice this could look like students bringing up recent policies surrounding DEI when taking a class on Civil Rights and Education, tariff policies in an international relations or finance class, or even the defunding of certain research grants in different science classes. Political events and policies have real tangible impacts on students and allow them to make connections of what they are observing in the real world, or even experiencing first hand, to the course content that they are learning. Because of the extreme relevance of political discourse in the classroom, it is of the utmost importance that professors can act as appropriate facilitators for their students to be able to engage in meaningful discussion.

Norm Setting and Respectful Discussion

Norm setting is a common classroom strategy that is a great way to ensure that students feel that the classroom is a safe place to engage in civil discourse. Although this may seem like an obvious first step to take in a classroom that engages in discourse between students, I have been in several classes at UVA that have not employed this strategy. However, some of my classes in the School of Education and Human Development at UVA have used this strategy as a way to not only set ground rules and expectations for appropriate discussion between students, but as a method of actively engaging students in setting their own norms and expectations. Allowing students to be the driver of setting those first norms encourages more student buy-in and creates a class community centered around those norms.

While norm setting in the beginning of the semester is a great way to set expectations for appropriate discourse between students, it is also helpful to amend norms as needed, or even return to a discussion on class norms during difficult conversations to ensure that all students feel supported in sharing their views. This strategy is a great way to set expectations for students in civil discourse and reinforce the importance of respectful discussion when engaging in discourse across lines of difference.

What to do when “Respectful Discussion” Becomes not so Respectful

One of the questions I asked all professors in my interviews was “What do you do in a class when a political discourse between students gets out of hand?” While all professors' approaches vary slightly, all agree on the general path that is best to follow when political discussions reach a point of far contention. Something most professords mentioned was the need to return to norms that were set in the beginning of the class. Returning to norms set, as was stated above, is a good way to get back on track when discourse between students gets heated. Students may need to be reminded of appropriate behaviors for interacting with their peers and be given the opportunity to ground their interactions within this framework again.

There is not a one size fits all model for facilitating civil discourse in the classroom, as every semester different students with different perspectives and lived experiences come into the class. However, from my own experiences, and interviews with peers and professors, I have compiled a set of recommendations for facilitating discourse. These recommendations help lay the foundation for healthy and respectful discourse and can be employed again as needed, especially when discourse becomes not respectful.

Recommendations on Facilitating Civil Discourse in the Classroom From UVA Professors

1. Set norms in the beginning of the class, and adjust them as needed. As stated earlier, norm setting is necessary to engage in before successful civil discourse in the classroom. Students should be active participants in setting these norms and even reforming them to meet the growing needs of the class.
2. Root civil discourse in personal experiences. Rooting one’s arguments and class contributions in their own observation and experiences keeps students from making generalizations about other groups of people. Students may need to be taught to do this early in the semester and then reminded throughout.
3. Ask students to bring in evidence. Asking students to base their arguments in evidence requires students to reflect on their point and make sure that it is based in evidence. Similar to rooting contributions in personal experience, this keeps students from making contributions that may be rooted in generalizations or stereotypes as it requires them to reflect on what place they are bringing this information from.
4. Urge students to consider the other side, even if it may not be in the room. One of the most important parts of civil discourse in my opinion is the opportunity to respectfully disagree with those around you. Teasing out the nuances of issues and where we dissent with one another helps us think critically about why we hold certain beliefs. Professors are able to facilitate this by 1) creating a class environment in which those who may hold different viewpoints feel comfortable contributing and 2) in times where the class may hold similar views, produce a counter argument for the class to consider and discuss. Through doing this, professors are able to foster discussion even when there may not be those in the room who hold that specific opinion. This lets students question their beliefs and opinions and allows for critical thinking.