This academic year, UVA is piloting an online learning module available to everyone in our community and at UVA Wise, supporting constructive dialogue. The module is called Perspectives.

Constructive dialogue is a form of conversation where people with different perspectives try to understand each other — without giving up their own beliefs — in order to live, learn, or work together.

No one, even the creators of the Perspectives course, will argue that constructive dialogue is the be all and end all solution to the divides we may encounter across lines of difference in a democratic society. It is one form of communication among many and, as you will learn if you choose to take the course, it does not in and of itself address power differentials in society that contribute to many of our deepest disagreements and most challenging and enduring problems. 

Constructive dialogue can be one tool for enriching our conversations. It can provide more opportunities for us to hear and be heard. Even though constructive dialogue is not often easy, it can help us in moving toward greater understanding, to find what is shared, and to serve as a building block to move forward together.

Access Perspectives Online

Student Access

Faculty, Staff, and Community Partner Access

Instructors: You Can Add Perspectives to Your Courses

The Constructive Dialogue Institute, which developed Perspectives, designed the program first and foremost to be used in conjunction with courses and student programs. The following information will help you decide if Perspectives is a good fit for your course and help you implement it if it is.

Determine if Perspectives is pedagogically relevant

If your course is highly dialogue based, addresses specific topics that are commonly associated with cultural or political polarization, or otherwise seeks to help students develop skills that promote understanding – Perspectives may be a good tool for your course. You might include Perspectives early in the learning process to lay the groundwork for norms of dialogue and debate in the classroom or at key points in your course where the building blocks of constructive dialogue support greater learning.

Determine which learning pathway is best for your course

The following table describes the three learning paths available. You have two options for assigning these to your students:
1.    You can provide your students with the community link to content and ask them to demonstrate completion by taking a screenshot of the final page of content or asking for a piece of reflective writing.
2.    You can request that a dashboard with the learning pathway of your choice be set up just for your course. Simply submit a request, providing details about your course and which learning path you would like your students to complete.

Submit a Request

Full Learning Path	Mindsets Learning Path	Skills Learning Path
6 Lessons; each takes about 30 minutes This learning path is the comprehensive version of Perspectives which explores the inner workings of our minds and builds constructive dialogue skills. Multiple Peer-to-Peer dialogues that build in intensity of the topics covered are recommended   Community Link	2 Lessons; each takes about 30 minutes This learning path focuses on the mindsets needed to engage in constructive dialogue and explores the inner workings of our minds. At least one peer-to-peer dialogue to “talk about talking” and communication norms is recommended   Community Link	4 Lessons; each takes about 30 minutes This learning path focuses on the skills needed to engage in constructive dialogue and supports skills in conflict resolution. Two peer-to-peer dialogues to co-create communication norms and “talk about talking” as well as to practice the skills taking up a difficult topic are recommended Community Link

Learn how to incorporate Perspectives in your course

The Constructive Dialogue Institute provides an instructor guide and a 20-minute Teaching with Perspectives video to help you think through the details of incorporating Perspectives into your course.

The Perspectives program is flexible, and you have options for which modules to incorporate into your course.

As such, we encourage you to adapt the material to your purposes and use the guides provided by the Constructive Dialogue Institute as a place to start. Regardless of which modules you ask students to complete, we encourage you to have them engage with this content with the same critical thinking and ethical reasoning they would for any. While the modules include “quizzes,” they do not necessarily reflect critical engagement with the material. For this reason, we recommend that you assess engagement as either complete or incomplete, possibly adding this to a participation grade in your course. Keep in mind that students answers to the self-reflection activities in Perspectives are only visible to them; you will not be able to read their responses. You might, however, assign reflective writing tasks outside of the system and count them as another form of participation.

If you are not sure how, or if, you could use Perspectives in your course, consider reaching out to the UVA Center for Teaching Excellence for a one-on-one consultation and reference Perspectives in your outreach. They can help you think through and plan for how to incorporate the material into your course based on your learning goals.

Additional Engagements

Join a Learning Cohort

The Division for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion will host an open cohort program in the Fall and Spring semesters. This program will include the opportunity to engage in three peer-to-peer dialogue sessions alongside completing the module content.

Fall Dates:

• Register Interest in the cohort by October 2, 2024
• Peer-to-Peer Online Dialogues will be held from 12 - 1:30 PM on
  • Wednesday, October 16
  • Friday, November 15
  • Monday, December 9

Register Interest

Spring Cohort

The dates are currently TBD but the cohort will generally meet once a month in February, March, and April. You can express your interest in participating by emailing the DDEI’s Director for Diversity Education at [email protected].

Additional Cohorts

Schools and departments can also request support in adapting and facilitating a hybrid program for teams of faculty or staff in their areas. Please contact the AVP for Equity and Inclusive Excellence at [email protected] if you would like to explore these options.

Connect with Perspectives Pilot Co-Sponsors

This academic year is a pilot year for providing institutional access to the Perspectives content. UVA is joining several other public institutions in the Commonwealth in offering Perspectives through the co-sponsorship of the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia. Assessment of the impact and value to the community will help determine if a longer-term institutional investment should be made in the program. Several areas are working in a true partnership to make the course available and to use it where possible in existing programs. The primary co-sponsoring areas include:

•    Center for Teaching Excellence
•    Division for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
•    Karsh Institute of Democracy
•    Think Again UVA
•    Vice President for Student Affairs