Teaching Methods: Teaching in a Time of Crisis

At times of national, international, or campus community crises, students welcome time to share their responses and concerns in class. The resources below provide guidelines and suggestions for faculty in leading classroom discussions at these times and integrating these issues whenever possible into the context of the course or discipline.

"Teaching in a Time of Crisis: Focus on Hurricane Katrina" (Michigan State University, Office of Faculty and Organizational Development).
Contains online resources specific to dealing with Hurricane Katrina in the classroom, but also links to more general resources on teaching in a time of crisis, such as a crisis booklet from Western Kentucky University.
Link: http://www1.provost.msu.edu/facdev/fod_archives/hurricane_katrina.asp

Occasional Papers on Teaching and Learning (University of Michigan, Center for Research on Learning and Teaching).
This site contains links to guidelines for classroom discussions about the tragedy of September 11, 2001, the war in Iraq, the Tsunami in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Guidance and suggestions for classroom activities are general enough to provide valuable resources to draw on during any time of crisis that impacts the classroom.
Link: http://www.crlt.umich.edu/publinks/publinks.html

Guidelines for Instructors Leading Classes in Times of International Tension and Domestic Protest (Ohio State University, Faculty and TA Development).
A set of suggestions for working with classes during times of crisis.
Link: http://ftad.osu.edu/troubledtimes.html

Guidance for Instructors Leading Classes in the Wake of 9/11/01 (Ohio State University, Faculty and TA Development).
Although designed for discussions of 9/11, the strategies on this web page offer useful methods for guiding discussions about other crises as well.
Link: http://ftad.osu.edu/terror.html

Teaching and Learning in a Time of Crisis (Western Kentucky University, Faculty Center for Excellence in Teaching).
Although this booklet was prepared following 9/11, it contains material useful for dealing with any controversial or sensitive issue in the classroom.
Link: http://www.wku.edu/teaching/booklets/crisis.html

"Discussing the Unfathomable: Classroom-based Responses to Tragedy," Diana Kardia, Crisca Biewert, Constance E. Cook, A.T. Miller, Matthew Kaplan. Change, Jan-Feb 2002.
Staff of the University of Michigan's Center for Research on Learning and Teaching discuss the challenges for professors of addressing recent catastrophes, such as 9-11, in the classroom. Provides a list of guidelines and classroom techniques for supporting such discussions and describes their benefits for students.
Link: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1254/is_1_34/ai_81764484

"Tragedy in the College Classroom: For Faculty" (Western Kentucky University, Faculty Center for Excellence in Teaching).
This site deals with tragedy that affects the classroom community such as the death of a student or faculty member. Links to other sites provide guidelines for dealing with students' distress. WKU Faculty Reports describe ways faculty and students dealt with two different classroom tragedies.
Link: http://www.wku.edu/teaching/booklets/tragedy.htm