Steps to take to embrace productive conflict: Opinion

Postsecondary instructors and institutions need to take steps to embrace productive conflict to support their students’ growth, writes Todd B Kashdan. Kashdan discusses some of the challenges students may experience expressing their genuine opinions in class as students self-censor out of a fear of being told their opinions are wrong or offensive. The author proposes a charter including 10 university principles that institutions can use to build their communities. These principles include encouraging students to ask any questions and speak what is on their mind, reducing the impact of how likeable or dislikeable people are, promoting open-mindedness and diversity, and relying on evidence as much as possible. Inside Higher Ed (Subscription) Note: Archived stories may contain dead links or be missing source links.