On Course – Diversity

Back to Table of Contents for the On Course I Workshop

1. Strategy: Silent Socratic Dialogue 

Application: Discrimination Exercise

Educator: Chris Landrum, Counselor, Mineral Area College, MO

Implementation: I had students write about a time when they were discriminated against, discriminated against someone else, or viewed discrimination taking place with other parties. We then broke into pairs and practiced the Silent Socratic Dialogue. When finished, we got into a circle and discussed their reactions to the exercise. Some students were a little unsure of themselves when asking questions of the other person, but they did feel that it started a dialogue and challenged them to think things through more fully. Also, I think additional benefits came from that exercise. Students were in more of a mindset to talk about these discrimination issues, and we spent the next twenty minutes allowing students to share their stories and discuss them. I could not have gotten them to that point if we had not first participated in the Silent Socratic Dialogue. This exercise has also set the stage for the additional diversity exercises I plan to do. I’m so excited about having this great tool to help me in my classes.