Promoting Democracy Teaching Series

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]

Please note that all workshops require advanced registration

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

Framing & Facilitating High Stakes Discussions: Election Edition

Tuesday September 17th, 2024 10am-12pm (Zoom) - REGISTER NOW

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

• 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) - REGISTER NOW

• 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) - REGISTER NOW

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

• 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] 

   

Looking for a different faculty workshop? 

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

Explore our 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