A&S Teaching & Learning Community of Practice 2026-27: Learnings from Implementing "The Civil Discourse Toolkit" in an Experiential Learning Course

This presentation will detail learnings from implementing the newly launched "Civil Discourse Toolkit" (CDT) in an experiential learning course. The CDT is an innovative curricular enhancement providing structured methods for students to navigate diverse and conflicting perspectives when addressing complex social challenges working with community partners. 

The CDT has been designed to provide a set of common frameworks for interdisciplinary research and collaboration in experiential learning (EL), affirming the value of team members as SMEs (subject matter experts). The CDT utilizes frameworks based on Donella Meadows’ Thinking in Systems and strategic foresight tools, STEEP-V and PESTEL, for multi-sectorial analysis system dynamics, affirming the value of interdisciplinary perspectives.  This talk will introduce the CDT resources (Instructor & Student Guides, team activities, and systems analysis templates), discuss learnings, best practices, and notes for future redesign. 

Presenter: Siobhan O'Flynn, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, University College / Canadian Studies Program 

For more upcoming CoP sessions, visit our Quercus site.