Academic freedom on campus: resources and information

As we get ready to return to classes this fall, Advance at UNM and the Office of Academic Affairs are hosting a series of workshops Aug 12 – 15 for faculty, staff and graduate students on developing communities in academic settings and on responding to conflict and stress in the classroom. The workshops are part of an ongoing series on academic freedom and civil campus conversations.

The workshops for faculty and staff will be led by Mikhail Lyubansky, a teaching associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Lyubansky, who teaches several restorative justice and positive psychology classes, presented at UNM earlier this year on keeping campus conversations civil. Steph Posey, a doctoral student in the School of Information Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana- Champaign, who is also a youth development practitioner, will co lead the sessions that are for graduate students.

The series includes two workshops, each of which lasts two hours and includes time for interactive exercises and discussion. Each workshop is offered twice in separate sessions for faculty and staff and for grad students. The workshops are:

Developing Community in Academic Settings, Aug. 12 and 13 

While the traditional “banking model” of pedagogy, in which the instructor makes deposits of knowledge into students who receive, file, and store the deposits, continues to have a place in higher education, the easy availability of information and the emergence of generative AI make critical thinking, problem-solving, perspective-taking, and adaptation to different contexts increasingly essential. At the same time, the political polarization and culture wars make classroom dialogue, collaborative learning, and even self-reflection assignments more fraught than ever for both students and instructors. The purpose of this workshop is to examine the potential benefits of dialogue and collaboration in the classroom and the various strategies for building the sense of community that makes such activities possible. Consistent with the philosophy and goals of community building, the workshop will include a variety of interactive exercises.

When Things Go Wrong: Responding Effectively In the Moment to Classroom Conflict and Stressful Situations, Aug. 14 and 15

Despite our best efforts to anticipate and minimize classroom conflicts and stressful situations in the classroom, not everything is preventable. The purpose of this workshop is to examine our own tendencies during moments of stress and conflict and discuss strategies for responding effectively in the moment to the different things that can go wrong. Among other issues (which we’ll gather from those present), we’ll discuss student expressions of mental health symptoms, escalation of tension between students during class discussion, and hostility towards the instructor. Participants will be provided with information on UNM support resources as part of this session.