Managing Classroom Disagreements

One of the key goals of any training session or workshop is to stimulate people to think more deeply, or differently, about a subject than they had before. Since all participants are created not only equal but different, this thinking is bound to diverge at times. And if the facilitator has created an atmosphere that encourages open and honest discussion, these differences of opinion will naturally emerge as disagreements and even arguments. Though natural, to most of us, disagreements can at first appear like dragons in the path of our knight's errand: unexpected, blocking our way, even threatening, no matter how well armed we are with arguments.

As a first step to approaching classroom disagreements productively, and taking full advantage of them, I suggest we change the dragon in our minds from the European figure of evil to the Chinese symbol of auspicious power. As Chinese dragons are comprised of elements of nine different creatures (from a demon's eyes to a snake's tail), so disagreements can be made up of a complex of ideas resulting in a thrilling whole if skillfully managed by the facilitator.

There are five key elements I have found we need to pay attention to when managing a classroom disagreement. How we respond to them can make the difference between harnessing the dragon's auspicious power and being consumed by it.

• The content of the disagreement: In the heat of disagreement, people can speak confusedly and not understand one another clearly. Frame the points of view clearly for all sides. Ask questions to clarify when necessary. Then summarize the points of view and get confirmation that you have them right.
• The emotions behind it: Note how the parties seem to feel about the issue and the other positions. Acknowledge and verify the emotions if particularly strong. When you respond, keep these emotions and positions in mind. The goal is to understand each person's feelings and for them to understand these will be respected, hopefully taking some of the edge off the emotions.
• Your own emotions in response: You have feelings too, about the topic, the ideas expressed and/or the way the disagreement is stated. Pausing for a moment to think about your own emotions will help you respond in a calmer, more effective way. Acknowledge your emotions to yourself, why you might be feeling them (e.g. you feel strongly and differently about the topic, don't like being challenged, feel time pressure), and refocus your attention on being openly curious about what others are thinking and feeling, and on the engagement and enrichment taking place.
• The impact on others in the class: The content and tone of the disagreement has a ripple effect on the other people in the room. They can become engaged on one side or the other, or turned off by the whole process. Similarly, how you handle the disagreement can engage, calm, disaffect, anger or cause any number of other responses. Keep attuned to the responses of the other participants -- how they look (facial expressions, body language), what they say or don't. This will influence how quickly you need to intervene between the arguing parties, and how you engage others. Also how quickly you move on. If there is apparent interest in the debate, you can draw on others' ideas after clearly framing the issue ("What do others think about x?"). The goal is to balance the juggling of three balls: discussing/resolving the issue for the person(s) who disagrees, deepening the discussion/insights for the whole group, and keeping on track with your agenda so you can achieve the objectives of the course.
• The process you use to work through all of these elements: Implicit in all the above is a process you might use to respond to disagreements between participants. It might look like this:

1. Stop the argument and ask each side to summarize their point of view, or summarize what you understand and ask for verification from each person.
2. Acknowledge their ideas/positions ("I can see what you're saying/why you're saying that...") and the emotions they are feeling, if appropriate ("You clearly both feel strongly about your positions.")
3. Note or ask for points of agreement and points of disagreement. Then ask how we might deal with the points of disagreement.
4. Expand the discussion to the rest of the class if there is interest. If not, move on more quickly. You might need to agree to disagree, stating that the discussion was valuable for raising a number of possibilities/issues,expanding our thinking on the topic. You might offer to discuss the issue further during a break.
5. Conclude the discussion by asking for a summary from the class, or summarizing yourself. Then link back to the topic you were discussing when the disagreement occurred, or ahead to the next topic.

By using these tips and others you come up with when you think of classroom disagreements as opportunities, you will harness the dragon's auspicious power and turn the Chinese curse "may you live in interesting times" into a blessing.

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