Should I Cancel Class? Responding to Difficult Issues in the Classroom

Date: October 14, 2016

Time: 12:00pm

Location: University Hall Room 1070

TItle: Should I Cancel Class?: Responding to Difficult Issues in the Classroom

Presented by Dr. Becky Wai-Ling Packard, Professor, Psychology and Education, Mount Holyoke College

At the national level,  conversations have focused on how campuses can be more supportive and responsive to students from a range of diverse backgrounds, with an eye toward racial, gendered, socioeconomic, and religious inclusion, among many other important features of our students' identities. But how do faculty respond to difficult issues when they arise in the classroom, particularly when the pressure to "get it right" is so high, and chances to talk candidly with one another are less frequent than we would like? Which strategies can help us to be more effective in our interactions with our students? In this talk, Professor Becky Packard will present research that informs inclusive mentoring and teaching practices, to both shed light on the challenging experiences students face on a daily basis and to provide hope that we, in our roles, can make a difference by changing the nature of our daily interactions. Rather than hoping the difficult moments will not happen, we can become (more) ready for them, as we contemplate questions such as: "Should I cancel class to make space for talking about the news?", "What if race/gender/class/religion/ is not my area of specialty?" and "What do I say to let students know I value them even when I don't know the answers/disagree/find classroom dynamics problematic?" Engaging in these questions collectively through on-going conversation can only help us to build the kind of community within which we want to work and where our students will thrive.

Follow up workshop - 2:00 - 3:30pm    Difficult Moments in and out of the Classroom (select below; limited seating)

Location: University Hall ADP Center Room 1120

In this workshop, Professor Becky Packard will facilitate a discussion involving a set of case scenarios, so we can talk candidly about difficult moments in and out of the classrooms. We will share strategies, whether in advising, in the classroom, or among colleagues. For example, how do we provide critical feedback on performance, interrupt problematic classroom dynamics, or ask challenging questions of students/colleagues who may differ from us in terms of race, gender, class, or other identities? How do we do so in a way that keeps us moving forward productively through the difficult moment without glossing over or avoiding, or without fear of straining relationships further? Participants will leave with a range of do-able action steps and ideas of ways to continue the conversation with their colleagues into the future.