Showcase Nomination and Application Form

Feature

Be one of three featured faculty; larger time commitment. See About for details.

Profile

Have your innovative work included in brief form on the Profiles page. Note that this feature is not available in every edition. See examples.

Use the form linked above to suggest someone you believe should be featured in the Showcase. Nominees will be contacted prior to the selection process to verify interest and to provide additional materials. Instructors nominated by students will not see the nomination text during the active quarter.

Instructors may use the form linked above to apply to be included in the Showcase. Email relevant syllabi and/or additional documentation as attachments to: cii@wwu.edu

This year's Showcase, themed "Difficult Conversations," seeks to honor faculty who facilitate important conversations in their courses, embracing challenges and promoting communication strategies that both support learning goals and serve students in life beyond college. Participating in debates and intense discussions can feel uncomfortable, but practice in this area helps students develop essential skills as they "learn to speak in critical and democratic ways by watching people in positions of power and authority model these processes."¹ As higher education delves deeper into inclusion and equity work, those who make space in their curriculum for challenging student dialogue give hope for a more civil society.

• Raising challenging questions, addressing how they could become controversial, contentious, or isolating, and modeling pathways for constructive debate and possible solutions.
• Exploring privilege, power, and oppression dynamics in a way that bolsters trust and supports students’ identities.
• Employing pre-discussion strategies such as providing context to texts, texts with multiple viewpoints, and terminologies to help inform discussion, and other methods to set the tone for constructive discussions.
• Utilizing techniques such as critical incident questionnaires for students to do critical self reflection or using background surveys to inform teaching and meet students' needs.
• Addressing social positioning and personal bias by inviting students to investigate their implicit biases, knowledge gaps, and assumptions before entering difficult conversations.
• Facilitating rich experiences to transform and expand thinking about ideas, beliefs, and values.