Rules created following a class discussion.

• [ ] If a student has a different perspective, students should be receptive to hearing it with an open mind.
• [ ] “Clarity is kind”: If a student seeks further clarification, their peers should attempt to clarify or acknowlege their own need for clarification as well.
• [ ] Assume good intentions about what others are saying. We all know each other and respect each other. We agreed that one way to respond is to say: “I acknowledge that point, I personally have this different experience...[explain].” Additionally, students may ask the professor to offer some insight/resolution.
• [ ] Trying to be present in the flow of the conversation even if it flows away from some thought you had earlier. If you would like to share a thought but the moment has passed, you may share it in Slack later in the #course-discussion channel.
• [ ] Engage in active (vs. passive) listening during discussions. Active listening entails acknowledging, synthetizing, summarizing, and/or directly responding to peer comments. The goal: care about what our peers have to say more than the professor and/or getting academic points.
• [ ] Build in pauses throughout the class to encourage people who speak less often and may need an opening to speak
• [ ] Stay open minded, be willing to have your mind changed by othes’s perspectives. As one student put it, we should strive to “Come together to form a more collective truth.”
• [ ] Allow people to work through their thoughts and help them develop those thoughts. To signal that this is not a complete thought and that help would be welcomed, students can preface their comments with: “This is not a complete, perfectly formulated thought” (or something similar).
• [ ] Acknowledge the value of smaller conversations (e.g., Think-Pair-Shares). We want everyone to have opportunity to share their thoughts.
• [ ] Be mindful of the space you’re taking in the conversation. Be willing to pass the mic. When you have contributed substantially to a current topic, you might say: “If anyone has anything else to say please go ahead.”
• [ ] Signs to indicate whether it’s a topic change (raised index finger) or continuing the conversation (full hand).