Promoting Democracy Teaching Series

Winter 2026 WORKSHOP SERIES

Classroom Activities for Engaging with Politics, Policy, & Social Issues 

Thursday, March 12th, 2026 2:00pm-3:30am (IN PERSON @ Ginsberg Center) - REGISTER NOW

• Across the disciplines, we can help our students to build skills for civic and democratic engagement that will serve them throughout their careers and lives. This role can be challenging, however, particularly in politically polarized times. Our goal for this in-person, interactive workshop is to strengthen instructors’ toolkits for incorporating civic skills-building in the classroom and discipline. We’ll explore specific classroom activities for class sessions discussing policy, politics, and social issues, such as deliberative dialogue discussions and conversation cafes. We’ll focus on how to select and design activities well-suited for the specific skills we are seeking to foster during a class period. This interactive workshop is in person and includes a brief pre-reading.
• Open to UM faculty, graduate students/GSIs, post-docs, admin/staff. 

Fall 2025 WORKSHOP SERIES

Classroom Activities for Engaging with Politics, Policy, & Social Issues 

Thursday, October 16th, 2025 10:00am-11:30am (IN PERSON) 

• Across the disciplines, we can help students build skills for civic and democratic engagement that will serve them throughout their careers and lives, even in politically polarized times. We will explore specific classroom activities for incorporating civic skills-building, and consider how to adapt them for our disciplines and contexts. This interactive workshop is in person and includes a brief pre-reading.
• Open to UM faculty, graduate students/GSIs, post-docs, admin/staff. 

Winter 2025 WORKSHOP SERIES

Framing & Facilitating High Stakes Discussions: Post Election Edition

Thursday, January 16th, 2025 10am-12pm (IN PERSON) 

• Do you plan to engage your students in classroom discussions about the 2024 elections ot current political issues? How can you design and facilitate conversations in the classroom that might involved difficult classroom dynamics, controversy, or big emotions? In this session for instructors, participants will learn about a framework for designing high stakes discussions and will begin to create or refine a plan for their own course. Through individual work and peer feedback, you'll identify discussion goals, tone-setting strategies, participation guidelines and activities that can help you facilitate these discussions well. Participants are encouraged to bring ideas for a specific lesson or topic that they want to create a plan for. This event is offered as a part of the Promoting Democracy Teaching Series by CRLT & Ginsberg Center.
• Open to UM faculty, graduate students/GSIs, and post-docs. If you are UM staff with instructional responsibilities who would like to register, please reach out to [email protected]

Classroom Activities for Engaging with Politics, Policy, & Social Issues 

Thursday, February 20th, 2025 10:30am-12pm (IN PERSON) 

• Across the disciplines, we can help our students to build skills for civic and democratic engagement that will serve them throughout their careers and lives. This role can be challenging, however, particularly in politically polarized times. Our goal for this in-person, interactive workshop is to strengthen instructors’ toolkits for incorporating civic skills-building in the classroom and discipline. We’ll explore specific classroom activities for class sessions discussing policy, politics, and social issues, such as deliberative dialogue discussions and conversation cafes. We’ll focus on how to select and design activities well-suited for the specific skills we are seeking to foster during a class period.  
• Open to UM faculty, graduate students/GSIs and post-docs. If you are UM staff with instructional responsibilities who would like to register, please reach out to [email protected] 

Teaching in Tumultuous Times: Post Election Edition

Monday, February 24th, 2025 10am-12pm (IN PERSON) 

• We continue to live in unprecedented times with heightened anxiety and stress in regards to many issues: the crisis in the Middle East and concurrent debates about antisemitism and Islamophobia/anti-Palestinian politics on college campuses, continued anti-Black policies & systemic racism, anti-queer and anti-trans policies, financial crises, the ongoing challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, and a contentious political climate as we enter the tail end of the 2024 electoral season, among others. Students report feeling alienated, or confused, when instructors in their courses do not acknowledge such unsettling events, locally, nationally, and globally. As instructors, we make decisions whether, when, and how, to address such events with our students. This interactive in-person workshop provides an opportunity for instructors to think together and work through strategies for engaging with students in the classroom about emerging events on campus and beyond. This session is offered as part of the Promoting Democracy Teaching Series, co-sponsored by CRLT and Ginsberg Center.
• Open to UM faculty, graduate students/GSIs and post-docs. If you are UM staff with instructional responsibilities who would like to register, please reach out to [email protected] 

Fall 2024 WORKSHOP SERIES

Framing & Facilitating High Stakes Discussions: Election Edition

Tuesday September 24th, 2024 10am-12pm (Zoom) - 

Monday October 21st, 2024 10am-12pm (Zoom) - 

• Do you plan to engage your students in classroom discussions about the 2024 elections ot current political issues? How can you design and facilitate conversations in the classroom that might involved difficult classroom dynamics, controversy, or big emotions? In this session for instructors, participants will learn about a framework for designing high stakes discussions and will begin to create or refine a plan for their own course. Through individual work and peer feedback, you'll identify discussion goals, tone-setting strategies, participation guidelines and activities that can help you facilitate these discussions well. Participants are encouraged to bring ideas for a specific lesson or topic that they want to create a plan for. This event is offered as a part of the Promoting Democracy Teaching Series by CRLT & Ginsberg Center.

• Open to UM faculty, graduate students/GSIs, and post-docs. If you are UM staff with instructional responsibilities who would like to register, please reach out to [email protected]

   

Connecting Your Course to the 2024 Election

Thursday September 26th, 2024 1pm-2:30pm (Zoom) - 

• The 2024 Presidential Election is fast approaching and students and faculty alike will be highly impacted by both election rhetoric and election outcomes. Moreover, U-M instructors are in a unique position to support our students as new voters during this time. Connecting your course and discipline to the election and issues at stake in the election is a valuable way to approach this topic for a number of reasons. In this workshop, participants will explore specific, cross-disciplinary examples of classroom activities and assignments that build connections to the issues raised by this election into courses. Participants will have the opportunity to engage with resources and brainstorm strategies for promoting democracy in and beyond their own classrooms.This event is offered as a part of the Promoting Democracy Teaching Series by CRLT & Ginsberg Center.

• Open to UM faculty, graduate students/GSIs and post-docs. If you are UM staff with instructional responsibilities who would like to register, please reach out to [email protected]

   

Making the Most of 'Hot Moments': Election Edition

Friday September 20th, 2024 12pm-2pm (Zoom) - 

Friday November 8th, 2024 10am-12pm (Zoom) - 

• Teaching and learning centers use the term 'hot moments' to describe a sudden eruption of tension, conflict, or big emotion during class, often connected to a heightened awareness of the social differences in the room. Election seasons can generate 'hot moments' in every discipline, whether your courses frequently raise potentially sensitive subjects or never do so deliberately. How can you navigate those interactions in ways that are responsive to students and also advance course learning goals? In this interactive workshop for instructors in all academic disciplines, participants will reflect on their own experiences of 'hot moments', consider a range of pedagogical choices, and practice language for responding to hot moments in the classroom. This session is offered as a part of the Promoting Democracy Teaching Series by CRLT & Ginsberg Center.

• Open to UM faculty, graduate students/GSIs and post-docs. If you are UM staff with instructional responsibilities who would like to register, please reach out to [email protected] 

   

Teaching in Tumultuous Times

Thursday, October 17th, 2024 10am-12pm (IN PERSON)

• We continue to live in unprecedented times with heightened anxiety and stress in regards to many issues: the crisis in the Middle East and concurrent debates about antisemitism and Islamophobia/anti-Palestinian politics on college campuses, continued anti-Black policies & systemic racism, anti-queer and anti-trans policies, financial crises, the ongoing challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, and a contentious political climate as we enter the tail end of the 2024 electoral season, among others. Students report feeling alienated, or confused, when instructors in their courses do not acknowledge such unsettling events, locally, nationally, and globally. As instructors, we make decisions whether, when, and how, to address such events with our students. This interactive in-person workshop provides an opportunity for instructors to think together and work through strategies for engaging with students in the classroom about emerging events on campus and beyond. This session is offered as part of the Promoting Democracy Teaching Series, co-sponsored by CRLT and Ginsberg Center.

• Open to UM faculty, graduate students/GSIs and post-docs. If you are UM staff with instructional responsibilities who would like to register, please reach out to [email protected] 

   

Summer 2024 RETREAT

Promoting Democracy Course Planning Retreat 

August 15th, 2024 | 9am-3pm | Ann Arbor, MI

About 

36 faculty representing 12 schools/units and two U-M campuses gathered for our series kickoff event gathered on August 15th, 2024 for the Promoting Democracy Course Planning Retreat sponsored by Office of the Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education, CRLT, & Edward Ginsberg Center. Participants were selected through a competitive application process in June 2024.

Our cohort spent the day at Ann Arbor campus identifying connections between their Fall courses and the issues raised by the upcoming election, clarifying their learning goals for students, exploring instructional resources, and preparing for potential challenges in the classroom. By sharing ideas across disciplines, they’ve built a powerful network of support for each other this Fall. All participants will share instructional materials from their courses to support the development of future trainings and resources for teaching during elections at U-M. Each faculty will receive $500 stipends for their participation in the program.

Congrats to these incredible faculty who put in a lot of hard work this preparing to teach during this upcoming election season:

2024 Cohort

• Sara Awartani | LSA - American Culture
• M’Lis Bartlett | School for Environment and Sustainability 
• Scott Beal | LSA - Sweetland Center for Writing & Lloyd Scholars for Writing and the Arts
• Netta Berlin | LSA - Classical Studies
• Elizabeth Bondi-Kelly | College of Engineering - Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
• Rolf Bouma | LSA - Program in the Environment
• Christi-Anne Castro | School of Music, Theatre, & Dance - Musicology
• Joshua Cole | LSA - History
• Oren Eubanks-Segal | LSA - Middle East Studies
• Joseph Galura | School of Social Work
• Greer Hamilton | School of Social Work
• Kelly Hanson | College of Engineering - Program in Technical Communication
• Rusty Hills | Ford School of Public Policy
• Justin Hodge | School of Social Work
• Philippa Pham Hughes | UMMA & Ford School of Public Policy
• Terence Joiner | Michigan Medicine -  Pediatrics
• Grace Kanzawa-Lee | School of Nursing - Health Behavior & Biological Sciences
• Erin Khang | School of Social Work
• Lisa Lapeyrouse | UM Flint College of Health Sciences - Public Health & Health Sciences
• Avery Lawrence | Stamps School of Art & Design
• Bobby Madamanchi | School of Information
• Kelsey McLendon | College of Engineering - Program in Technical Communication
• Christine Modey | LSA - Michigan Community Scholars Program
• Thuy-Anh Nguyen | LSA - Asian Languages and Cultures 
• Angie Oehrli | University Libraries & LSA Applied Liberal Arts 
• Benjamin Paloff | LSA - Slavic Languages and Literatures
• Nansook Park | LSA - Psychology
• Stephen Raiman | College of Engineering - Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences
• Nitesh Singh | School of Social Work
• Shea Streeter | LSA - Political Science
• Nicole Sunstrum | School of Information
• Scott TenBrink | School of Information
• Deepti Wilson | School of Information
• Ruth Zielinski | School of Nursing - Health Behavior & Biological Sciences, Midwifery

For more information about this retreat and its outcomes, contact the Promoting Democracy Teaching Series Team at [email protected]

Looking for a different faculty workshop? 

See Ginsberg Center's full workshop schedule and CRLT's full workshop schedule

Overview of Resources 

Read Preparing to Teach During the 2024 Election, a blog post by CRLT and Ginsberg Center that outlines resources and strategies for teaching during the 2024 election season. Get a broad view of what to expect and some of the major resources available to instructors at U-M. 

Workshop Materials 

A selection of resources shared in our Fall 2024 Promoting Democracy Teaching Series sessions. For use permissions, contact [email protected]. 

Strategies for Responding to Hot Moments - Election Edition handout

Language and facilitation strategies that instructors can use to respond to sudden or intense expressions of emotion in the classroom. From the workshop Making the Most of Hot Moments: Election Edition, 9/20/24 & 11/8/24.

Making a Plan for High Stakes Discussions - Election Edition worksheet 

Full cycle planning worksheet for instructors to develop an intentional plan for difficult conversations about the election or election related issues in their courses or programs.  From the workshop Framing & Facilitating High Stakes Discussions: Election Edition, 9/24/24 & 10/21/24.

Identifying Goals Worksheet for High Stakes Discussions - Election Edition worksheet

Worksheet to help instructors identify and articulate explicit goals for each election-related discussion, in relation to course learning, disciplinary and civic/democratic engagement learning objectives. From the workshop Framing & Facilitating High Stakes Discussions: Election Edition, 9/24/24 & 10/21/24.

Open-Ended Discussion Questions - handout

Open-ended discussion questions to use when facilitating discussions about elections and election-related issues. From the workshop Framing & Facilitating High Stakes Discussions: Election Edition, 9/24/24 & 10/21/24.

Connecting Your Course to the 2024 Elections: Your Motivations  - worksheet

A reflection activity to help instructors identify their motivations for addressing the election and election-related issues in their courses, with a focus on civic and democratic learning impacts. From the workshop Connecting Your Course to the 2024 Election, 9/26/24.

Identifying & Strengthening Course Connections to the Election - worksheet

A reflection activity designed to help instructors explore potential connections between their course and the election, or issues at stake in the election. For instructors who already have ideas for these connections, this activity also offers reflections questions to strengthen connections to student learning objectives. From the workshop Connecting Your Course to the 2024 Election, 9/26/24.

Selecting Classroom Activities for Discussing Policy, Politics and Social Issues - CRLT & Ginsberg article

Discusses a range of discussion-based activity formats that instructors might choose when discussing policy, politics and political issues. Activities are organized by learning goals promoted by the activity, including uncovering one's own beliefs and values, moving toward action, considering other's perspectives and more. 

Full Collection of Faculty & Staff Resources for Election 2024

Explore our full collection of civic and democratic engagement resources for instructors, including: 

• resources to support student voter engagement 
• activities and ideas for instructors, based on how much time you have available
• U-M policies at-a-glance
• workshops 
• readings & resource guides