SCENARIO 8
Conflict Resolution and Bias Reduction
A 60-card deck to reflect on our interior condition for democratic culture.
Learning to show up in the world of education with democratic values in mind
Content
- Introduction to Scenario 8
- Activity Example
- Aim
- Expected Outcome
- Preparation
- Procedure
How you show up in the world matters. This is why Cards for Democracy are an important tool today. They help us develop our interior condition to support democratic environment in our life and work.
Ready to use the Cards for Democracy? We offer some suggestions for you in the form of loose frameworks in which you can develop your creativity, as an educator, facilitator, or trainer.
These frameworks – we call them “Scenarios” – are intended to help you find inspiration to create your own activities.
L2C will share activities for download regularly in the C4D community of practice: Cards for Democracy Facebook group and on its media pages.
For an Introduction to the Cards for Democracy click here.
Scenario 8: Conflict Resolution and Bias Reduction
As we interact, we “run into trouble” at times.
Such situations can be experienced, in a growth mindset, as learning opportunities. That is if and when we create space for such learning to happen. The cards may be harnessed towards more complex interpersonal situations and contexts, to help protagonists understand and change the situation.
Incidents of conflict, othering, stereotyping and scapegoating can be mediated with the help of the Cards for Democracy.
Here is an example of such a context.
Teachers learning with the Cards for Democracy
Activity Example – Learning from Conflict with Cards for Democracy
Aim
- To helps the protagonists of a crisis incident to resolve their conflict
- To explore conflict as a matter of communication
- To explore conflict as a resource for democratic education
Expected Outcome
- Participants will engage together to resolve an interpersonal conflict
- They will consider how much they, as individuals, can contribute to a more democratic environment*.
*the environment can be of many sorts: classroom, school, university, sports club, training…
Preparation
- Make sure you have printed all the cards that you want to use (this may vary depending on what you have explored and how long you want this part of the session to last).
The cards are available in the products section of Learn to Change.
You can become a member by clicking here.
Context
This is a true story.
A 16 year old student, Käre, in the vocational college grade 11 used to joke around with one other student, Adri, of this class in such a way that he pretended to be hitting him in his private parts. That is, Käre made this sudden threatening movement but never actually touched Karl’s body.
Adri, more and more annoyed by this behavior, went to his friends and told them that he believed that Käre is gay. Then, during breaktime one of these friends, Raven, went to Käre and said to him: “I hear you’re gay and you like doing things to boys!”. Hearing this, Käre saw red and started a physical fight with the boys.
Other’s from the class intervened and stopped them from fighting.The incident then reported to a teacher.
Procedure
Step 1: Gather all the protagonists
Gather all the students that are involved in the incident and the bystanders.
Step 2: Gather testimonies
Take the protagonists one by one. Ask the involved students and the eyewitnesses and/or bystanders, to tell their own version of the story.
Step 3: Facilitate a dialogue
The point at which the conflict is an opportunity to learn can be supported by the use of the cards.
In the case of this incident describe above:
- Gather three or four students:
- the three boys involved;
- a bystander who witnessed the incident;
- Give each student two cards and invite them to reflect on these cards and start a conversation together with your support. Give students some time to read the cards and reflect on them and the incident. Then, in rounds give each the opportunity to speak about how they understand the card, how it might be linked to the incident, the behaviors of the people involved.
For example:
- Käre who was ‘playfully attacking’ his classmate could be given the car
- Adri who got annoyed could be given the cards
- Raven who attacked verbally could be give the cards
- Bystanders
Step 4: Conclude with ‘future thinking’
Once all have spoken about their cards, lead the conversation towards more general perspectives:
- What can we learn from this incident?
- Have you discovered new paths to manage conflict? Explain.
- How would you manage similar feelings the next time you experience them?
Step 5: Disbanding
Ask each student to choose a card to keep: this should be the card they feel they want to develop and progress on the most. You may then make an appointment with them in a couple of weeks to have a conversation on their inner development and how they feel today regarding that observable behavior (the card) they chose.
Important tip
In the conversation focus on behaviors more than the people: be mindful not to characterize students, but to stay on the level of their actions. Help students reflect on the cards they have.
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