Effective teaching to counter misinformation

We are beginning the planning to host a joint study tour of University of Maryland masters and doctoral students and University of San Diego masters students in January 2010. We've created a new model of mutual learning where the visiting tours will engage with us before, during, and after the visit to understand Arab/Islamic world dynamics, learn about Education City, and engage with us in addressing issues that are important to our future success. I like to contrast this to the "edu-tourism" that so frequently occurs when groups visit Europe, Asia, or the Middle East. North Americans want to visit these places but we haven't had models to really engage in mutual learning so that those touring and those at the site benefit.

As part of our planning, we've begun to exchange publications and ideas about how to make the most of our experience. Susan Komives shared an article by Jack Meacham, "Effective Teaching to Counter Misinformation and Negative Stereotypes: The Example of Islam," (AAC&U Peer Review, Spring 2009, pp. 13-16) which I found particularly helpful. The basic premise of the article was that faculty may be reluctant to include potentially controversial content in their courses because these topics may stimulate negative reactions among students that will be disruptive in class and/or that faculty do not know how to handle. Jack also said that many times faculty invite experts to discuss controversial topics but that singling out the topic and having an expert detracts from the responsibility that all faculty and students should take in relation to difficult and contenscious topics.

A couple of the lessons that Jack Meacham concluded from his efforts to include Islam and Islamic history in his course were: start small and without the assumption of great expertise or profound impact (learn as you go along); treat Islam in the same way as other topics rather than singling it out as a special and more difficult case; use original sources (i.e. the Qur'an) to expose students to foundational rather than derived or interpretted views; start with "cool" topics and grow toward those that are more controversial; and finally, don't attempt to tell students what they should think, but let them come to their own conclusions. These may seem commonplace but they are very important when approaching a topic, like the Arab/Islamic world, that has been portrayed so negatively by Western government officials and news coverage. And, Jack found that his strategy worked because students' views changed significantly, and were less negative and stereotypic, by the end of the term.

The approach here seems to be one of normalizing the portrayal of something that is quite unfamiliar to students. The core of the Arab/Islamic world is much more like Western values than it is different, although a significant amount of the focus is typically on what's different. I'm not minimizing the differences because there are many and they are important. What I am saying is that the Arab/Islamic world as I've experienced it values education, family, balance, prosperity, and justice just as much as the West. The West and Arab/Islamic worlds approach these topics and others in different ways but, in order to grow in our understanding and appreciation of each other, we need to find ways of discerning the commonality rather than accentuating the difference. It appears that Jack Meacham's "countering misinformation" pedagogy has promise even in courses where first-hand experience is not possible. Imagine what can happen when the 2010 study tour actually visits with us and learns through direct exposure.

Indelible mark

The May 29, 2009, Chronicle of Higher Education has a special insert, Senior Convocation '09, that continues to tell the story of what's happening through Qatar Foundation at Education City. While the summaries in the supplement are all interesting, one particularly reflects what we seek to accomplish in students' lives. Dana Hadan, recent CMU-Q graduate, reflects on her experience in "A Final Destination? No, 'Life-Long Learning'" by talking about the critical importance of pursuing a breadth of learning opportunities in and out of the classroom. In addition to the article about Dana in the Chronicle, there is an ongoing blog where she responds to questions raised by NYTimes readers about her experience.

The type of education offered at Education City doesn't fit or isn't even possible for all Gulf countries and it's important to understand why. The difference is essentially a matter of depth of engagement. Engagement is a broad term that reflects everything from the pedagogy used in the classroom (critical reflection, discussion, experimentation, team work, and other participative methods) to where learning opportunities are available (classroom, residence hall, student organizations, sports, service, travel abroad). While educators in the U.S.A. take these pedagogical and experiential opportunities for granted, it becomes very obvious when you're in a setting where this type of learning is so new for students and so different from the form of learning environment offered elsewhere.

The indelible mark being made in the lives of Education City graduates and on the country and region are significant. This is not comfortable or easy work and those who are dedicated to it know how important it is to strike a balance that makes the indelible impact acceptable at each step along the way.

Conviction and action

I've had several e-mail exchanges with a former student over the last couple of weeks. He was a student I had in a first-year leadership seminar and saw only occasionally over the rest of his time at Miami. He completed law school and inquired if he could list me as a reference to pass the bar. Our e-mail exchanges caused me to ask at the end of one why he had come back to correspond with me after several years of no interaction. His explanation was what I've found repeated throughout the deeper relationships I've had with students - he described the "seed planting" that so often occurs which then germinates and takes root at a later time. The process goes something like this 1) solid foundation from prior family and educational experience, 2) leads to comfort and curiosity about others' experience, 3) resulting in discernment of core convictions, and 4) eventually leads to a willingness to act with courage.

This progression isn't earth-shattering but it does reflect the steps that we see in many young adult development theories and the progression is especially reflective of the stages of the "presence" model upon which Deeper Learning in Leadership is based. The progression also mirrors James Fowler's stages of spiritual formation where spiritual understanding begins with a solid base, strong enough to allow for questioning. Then the questioning and exploration of others' views allows for a deepening of one's own beliefs or convictions. Once the deepening occurs, it then becomes possible to act with greater courage because conviction has taken root inside of us, rather than imposed from the outside on us.

The challenge is that this progression comes in one's own time and it is influenced heavily by the cultural context. I've always understood that we experience the stages at the times when our heads and hearts were ready but I didn't realize how powerful the cultural context could be until I began to understand the Gulf, Asia, and other collectivist societies. In more collectivist cultures, the importance of family, kinship, and tribe are very powerful. In many ways the power of collectivism may look somewhat like the pattern of young women in North America coming to their understanding of values and core purposes through relational rather than differentiating (as is more characteristic of men) processes. Arab, Asian, and other groups have far greater reverance for their elders and deference for authority which may result in different dynamics during the curiosity and discernment stages.

My reencounter with a former student stimulated me to think of conviction in action and how it is in many ways the same across time and culture, but also how it might be different as well...