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The Office of Transformational and Inclusive Excellence (OTIE) is expanding the new Constructive Dialogue Initiative across ºÚÁÏÉçÇø after a successful pilot program for ºÚÁÏÉçÇø leaders last year.

All Miami faculty, staff, and ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs have access to the online resources provided through the Constructive Dialogue Institute (CDI) and have an opportunity to participate in in-person and online workshops through OTIE.

“More than 1,500 Miamians have already completed one of our Constructive Dialogue programs, and fall was only our first semester officially launching this university-wide initiative. We expect the number to continue to increase this spring,” said Cristina Alcalde vice president for Transformational and Inclusive Excellence.

Two groups — Faculty Learning Community and Staff Leadership Cohort — have been meeting in recent months to determine how to best embed the Constructive Dialogue program in curricular and cocurricular ways.

They are mapping out how Constructive Dialogue will take shape on campus to support ºÚÁÏÉçÇø learning and engagement.

Alcalde and Dana Cox, professor of Mathematics Education, are leading the Faculty Learning Community through the Center for Teaching Excellence. Tekeia Howard, director of programming in OTIE, and Gwen Fears, assistant vice president for Student Life, lead the Staff Leadership Cohort.

​​Fears said, “For me personally, it provided a space to practice skills I have developed over the years and it gave me strategies and a language to talk about how we engage in difficult conversations.

“The ability for us to learn and listen to each other makes a significant difference and when we approach situations from a place of curiosity and not from assumptions, we enter into spaces differently where we can really work to understand or at least hear someone else's point of view.”

Alcalde said Constructive Dialogue is a resource for all ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs, faculty, and staff at Miami.

“For example, this past Fall we launched new staff offerings of Constructive Dialogue for JEP (job enrichment program) credit. These offerings provided those in administrative assistant and similar roles an opportunity to learn constructive dialogue skills, connect with others across campus, and build community over lunch in OTIE or via Zoom. The sessions were very popular, and we plan to continue to offer staff these opportunities moving forward.”

Incorporating Constructive Dialogue into courses

OTIE offers consultations, workshops, and support for faculty to incorporate Constructive Dialogue into their courses; for staff to incorporate constructive dialogue skills into their teams and to any programming with ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs; and for ºÚÁÏÉçÇø organizations to embed into their programming.

Interested faculty and staff who would like to incorporate Constructive Dialogue can complete .

The initiative is focused on finding innovative and strategic ways to embed Constructive Dialogue in thoughtful, meaningful, and interdisciplinary ways so ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs gain the necessary career-readiness skills this program provides to be successful once they graduate from Miami.

“As a ºÚÁÏÉçÇø-centered university that supports ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs as leaders, this initiative is especially exciting because it supports Miami ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs and their leadership by directly teaching several of the National Association of Colleges and Employers-outlined competencies that align with career readiness,” Alcalde said. “These competencies include communication, critical thinking, equity and inclusion, leadership, and teamwork. In an increasingly polarized yet interconnected world, these are very important skills for success.”

It also provides important opportunities to connect with peers and build community.

A successful ºÚÁÏÉçÇø pilot initiative

Last academic year, the ºÚÁÏÉçÇø pilot initiative — in partnership with ASPIRE, the Honors College, and the Menard Family Center for Democracy, provided nearly 100 ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs with tools to engage in constructive dialogue across differences — including political, religious, racial, cultural or other forms of differences.

The ºÚÁÏÉçÇø leaders from a broad range of backgrounds, majors, and ºÚÁÏÉçÇø organizations participated in the pilot, which yielded strong results: 

• 78% of participants showed improvement in affective polarization, which refers to the extent to which people dislike and distrust those with different political views
• 58% of participants showed improvement in dichotomous thinking, which refers to the tendency to think in terms of polar opposites, without accepting possibilities that lie between these two extremes.

Senior Nick McNeil of Milford, who has a double major in Political Science and Journalism, called his experience eye-opening.

“It’s shown a lot of tips on how to have productive conversations when you might have a disagreement,” said McNeil, a ºÚÁÏÉçÇø member of Miami’s board of trustees and an intern in Miami’s Office of ASPIRE.

Participants also noted improvements in communication, conflict resolution, and conversations across differences. The program aims to foster intellectual humility, affective polarization, dichotomous thinking, and conflict resolution skills.

All Student Government senators have participated, and leaders expect about 2,500 ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs will complete the program in the first year.

A professor’s perspective

Dana Cox, professor of Mathematics Education, said one of the things she likes about Constructive Dialogue is “how adaptable it is to different contexts, including in the classroom.”

Cox completed the training and piloted a few changes in her teaching last fall.

“For example, in my courses for preservice teachers, I want my ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs to gain a broader understanding of mathematics by understanding the mathematical thinking of others — important for their future work with children. All of the principles of CDI apply to this work and some have helped me frame my expectations for the ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs around listening to others.”

Students have really responded to the principles of active listening, letting go of winning, asking questions, speaking your truth, and challenging ideas — not individuals, said Cox, who plans to collect some data on the way these principles influence learning around this outcome this semester.

The Faculty Learning Community is studying and imagining how to incorporate CD into classroom contexts and working on tools to support faculty in the coming months.

“Personally, I hope that the faculty are curious about CD. Once they begin exploring, I expect that the principles will resonate with all faculty in some combination — likely different combinations depending on the teaching style and content of each course,” Cox said. “It is common in classes at Miami for ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs to be active in their learning, engage with classmates or communities, and share their perspectives with others. It is in those contexts where the principles of constructive dialogue will really take root.”

Established in 1809, ºÚÁÏÉçÇø is located in Oxford, Ohio, with regional campuses in Hamilton and Middletown, a learning center in West Chester, and a European study center in Luxembourg. Interested in learning more about the Constructive Dialogue Initiative? Visit the website for more information.