Difficult Discussions: Improving Psychological Safety In The Online Classroom

Abstract: As our instructional world becomes more online, our class environments have become increasingly fraught with the pitfalls of separated and masked identities. The online environment is known to encourage rude, inappropriate, and uncivil behaviors. Missing non-verbals and other social cues, along with anonymity, may contribute to mean or insensitive comments. This can become especially true when difficult classroom discussions happen about important or politically charged polarized topics, such as race, gender equity, or political and economic policy. While we rely on syllabus statements about behavioral expectations and university’s codes of conduct, dealing with difficult discussions and mean comments real-time in the online environment takes finesse and a plan. It is our responsibility to make the classroom a safe environment for a diverse group of students, and must be equipped to do so. This section aims to assist instructors in addressing difficult discussions in their online courses.

Keywords: online environment, psychological safety, management education

Topic: DEI   |   Format: Symposium / Panel Discussion