2025/03/13 by Joseph I. Eisman, Tiferet Ani, Timothy J. Patterson +5
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Communication in Education and Healthcare #Education and Critical Thinking Development #Teacher Education and Leadership Studies
paper · doi:10.1080/00405841.2025.2453355
openalex publication_date 2025/03/13 · crossref created 2025/03/13 · crossref issued 2025/03/21 · crossref published 2025/03/21 · crossref published-online 2025/03/21 · crossref published-print 2025/04/03 · crossref deposited 2025/04/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref indexed 2026/07/31 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Facilitating discussions on topics perceived as contentious is associated with complex emotions that may disrupt curricular aims. Unsurprisingly, such discussions are generally absent from the classroom. Yet, discussions are one of the most effective pedagogies for deeper learning. Guided by the Dynamic Systems Model of Role Identity (Kaplan & Garner, 2017), we frame the dynamics involved when a teacher plans for, enacts, and reflects on a potentially contentious classroom discussion. This framework situates discussion facilitation in a teacher’s identity — the contextualized sense of who they are as a teacher that involves the interplay of their actions, beliefs, emotions, goals, and self-perceptions. We advance a view of discussion facilitation as centered in the teacher’s role and the strategic consideration of the fit between self-knowledge, beliefs about students, discussion content, context, curricular and personal goals, and pedagogical and emotion strategies. We provide strategies for preparing for classroom discussions and navigating emotions.