Teaching in a Time of Crisis

Introduction

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.

General Resources

Teaching in a Time of International Crisis:  Focus on Haiti (Michigan State University, Office of Faculty and Organizational Development).
Provides resources for responding to the Haiti earthquake and its aftermath.
http://fod.msu.edu/oir/teaching-time-international-crisis-focus-haiti

"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.
http://fod.msu.edu/oir/teaching-time-national-crisis-focus-hurricane-katrina

Discussion Guidelines (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, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and other controversial or tragic incidents. 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.
http://www.crlt.umich.edu/publinks/discussionguidelines

Teaching in Times of Crisis (Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching)
More guidelines and resouces for classroom discussions of a local, national, or international crisis.
http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/teaching-guides/interactions/crisis/

"In the Eye of the Storm: Students` Perceptions of Helpful Faculty Actions Following a Collective Tragedy" by Therese A. Huston, Seattle University, and Michele Di Pietro, Carnegie Mellon University. In To Improve the Academy, Vol. 25, September 2006, 207-224
Surveys of faculty actions and student's preception are followed by analysis of most helpful reactions and implications for dealing with future crises.
http://www.vcu.edu/cte/resources/nfrg/InTheEyeOfTheStorm.pdf

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.
http://ftad.osu.edu/terror.html

"Tragedy in the College Classroom: A Reference Guide 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.
http://www.wku.edu/teaching/booklets/tragedy_college_classroom.pdf

Guidelines for Class Participation (Center for Research on Learning and Teaching at the University of Michigan).
This link provides guidelines that can be used to develop an atmosphere of mutual respect and collective inquiry when discussions are held in times of crisis as well as other occasions.
http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/p4_1

Responding to Crises (Professional and Organizational Development Network)
Resources and useful links gathered by the POD Network for faculty dealing with classroom responses to campus and national crises.
http://podnetwork.org/resources/crises.htm

Guidance for Instructors Concerning Class Discussions About the War in Iraq (University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning and Teaching)
Useful information about how to assess if unplanned discussion is appropriate, issues to consider, suggestions for a planned discussion, and links to further resources on the war.
http://www.crlt.umich.edu/publinks/wariniraqdiscussion

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Michigan State University Resources for Emergencies and Times of Crisis

Responding to the Tragedy at Virginia Tech: Identifying and Responding to Students in Crisis (MSU Office of Faculty and Organizational Development)
This site contains links to MSU resources for faculty dealing with students in distress.
http://fod.msu.edu/oir/responding-tragedy-virginia-tech-identifying-and-responding-students-crisis

Campus Emergency Response, Communication, and Classroom Safety (MSU Multi-Lilly Workshop October 11, 2007)
Prepared by the Emergency Management Unit at Michigan State University, this PowerPoint presentation contains information on police response to emergencies at MSU and explains what faculty should do if they are involved in an emergency situation.
http://fod.msu.edu/sites/default/files/lilly_ppt_2007.pdf

H1N1 Influenza (Swine Flu)
Information and Frequently Asked Questions regarding the H1N1 flu virus.
http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/tc/h1n1-influenza-swine-flu-what-is-h1n1-flu

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