Creating Safe Spaces for Learning Through Disorienting Moments in Unsafe, Polarizing Times: Developing a Toolbox

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Session Type: Concurrent Sessions

Session Capacity: N/A

Location: N/A

Room: Plaza A

Floor: Lobby Level

We will address complex issues in creating safe, non-judgmental learning environments for our students while also challenging them and encouraging “disorienting moments.” The session will be highly interactive with opportunities for both small and large group discussions. As part of this session, we will revisit the literature and practice around creating disorienting moments, including its ability to challenge assumptions and encourage transformational learning. Clinical education is at a particularly challenging time. On the one hand, we want to create safe environments where judgment can be suspended, as many of our clinics are situated in a world of polarization. At the same time, we don’t want the environment to be so safe that we don’t challenge students to think critically.
The toolbox we create in this session will include: setting the tone in advance, including respect for different approaches and emotional awareness; designing exercises that can help produce intuition and value challenges; methods for conflict de-escalation and re-direction; transparency in our teaching goals; and the importance of modeling.