Experiences with developing and implementing a courageous conversations pilot classroom through synchronous meetings...

Area of Science:

• Higher Education
• Medical Informatics
• Social Sciences

Background:

• National outcry over George Floyd's murder prompted a review of systemic racism in higher education.
• A "Courageous Conversations" course was developed to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in a university department.
• The course aimed to minimize fear and tension while engaging students, staff, and faculty.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the effectiveness of a "Courageous Conversations" DEI initiative.
• To evaluate participant feedback on a fear and tension-minimizing curricular offering.
• To explore the application of a ten-factor model implementation framework in DEI training.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative design utilizing narrative feedback from Fall 2020 participants.
• Data collection through two focus groups and document analysis with member-checking.
• Thematic analysis based on the four agreements of the "Courageous Conversations" framework.

Main Results:

• 41 participants (staff, faculty, graduate students) provided feedback.
• Participants valued shared lived experiences from peers during sessions.
• A majority indicated willingness to retake the course or recommend it.

Conclusions:

• Structured "Courageous Conversations" can effectively foster DEI in academic training programs.
• The course demonstrated potential for creating more inclusive educational environments.
• Peer-to-peer learning was a significant factor in participants' positive experiences.