Pedagogy

The Research & Design Studio has a lively and dynamic group working to curate, create, develop, and disseminate lesson plans, activities, training materials, and other pedagogical resources to advance the practice of teaching ethics and civil discourse in Harvard’s classes, residences, and co-curricular spaces. The Studio bases its work on the science of learning to create engaging and immersive activities in partnership with programs and institutions across campus. The Studio maintains and develops tools and resources to support instructors, teaching fellows, tutors, proctors, and students as they engage in values-based learning activities with students around difficult and controversial topics.

Our Goals

Curate Civil Discourse Resources

The Research & Design Studio works to collect, catalog, and make accessible materials made by our partners and contacts across the campus.

Develop Innovative Pedagogical Tools

We work with our partners at the Center and across campus to develop new tools, resources, activities, and lesson plans that apply active learning to teach ethics-related topics in an immersive and engaging way.

Support Instructors, Residential Fellows, and Student Leaders

In collaboration with the Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, we provide support and ethics-related materials for teachers of civil discourse and provide training and consultation to instructors, residential advisors, and student organization leaders as they engage their audiences in constructive dialogue.

Evaluate the Effectiveness of Pedagogical Methods

The Research & Design Studio studies our own pedagogical methods as well as others to provide evidence-based methods, align our development with the science of learning, and contribute to our understanding of both effective pedagogy and civil discourse.

What We’re Working On

The Civil Discourse Resource Database

Drawing on the vast amounts of work done in and around the Center, the Studio has collected a resource database that includes lesson plans, training materials, case studies and other resources aimed to help instructors and course developers integrate civil discourse and constructive dialogue into their teaching. The Studio continuously reviews the databases to update it and tailor the resources to the needs of stakeholders on campus.

Fellowship in Values Engagement (FiVE)

Annually, the Center recruits and trains tutors and proctors from Harvard’s upper-level houses, first-year dormitories, and the off-campus Dudley Community. With the assistance of ELSCE mentorship and resources, the FiVE will develop and deliver programming focused on fostering ethical reflection and a culture of civil discourse in their respective residential communities, which are at the heart of the Harvard student experience.

Meet our current FiVE Fellows.

The Intercollegiate Civil Disagreement Partnership (ICDP)

The ICDP is a year-long fellowship that develops students' abilities to engage in and lead conversations about difficult topics across political difference at their respective universities and beyond. Fellows receive training in facilitation, engage in deliberative conversations within the fellows’ group, and have opportunities to interact with speakers from different sectors. The mission of the ICDP is to advance fundamental democratic commitments to freedom of expression, equality, and agency; promote the cultivation of students’ moral, civic, and intellectual virtues; provide opportunities to participate in, and practice facilitation of, conversations across social and political differences; and create spaces for civil disagreement to flourish on college campuses.

Meet our current ICDP fellows.

Partnerships With Student Organizations

The Research & Design Studio works in partnership with student organizations to support activities and events that align with our goals. One example of such a partnership is with Harvard Undergraduate Ethics Society (HUES), which sends teams to compete in Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl competitions against teams from other universities. The pedagogy team has also created a new course option for students wishing to dive deep into ethics case studies and fundamentals of philosophical analysis.

The Civil Discourse Handbook

This guide is designed to equip instructors with tools and strategies to facilitate more productive conversations in the classroom while enhancing students’ ability to foster empathy and take on multiple perspectives. Each section is intended to be informative and practical, offering frameworks, intervention models, reflection activities, and discussion questions. It is structured to help create learning environments where diverse perspectives are acknowledged, conflicts are navigated constructively, critical thinking is encouraged, and self awareness is deepened. It is meant as a reference point to address specific challenges, a lesson planning tool, or a foundation for cultivating a classroom culture of civil discourse.

Civil Discourse Handbook

Ethics Sandbox Series

The Ethics Sandbox Series invites Harvard students into an informal, experimental space to explore ethics through play, creativity, and dialogue. Developed by the Center's Pedagogy Team, the series features interactive activities—from card games and simulations to art-making exercises—that help shape and inspire new approaches to teaching civil discourse.