In times of increasing crisis and conflict, instructors may find themselves seeking strategies to move away from reactionary responses and create space for productive deliberation in the classroom. When paired with writing, structured classroom dialogue can support student skill development in listening across differences and holding more complex understandings of people and situations. This workshop will invite participants to consider how they can leverage writing and dialogue as meaning-making resources, through experience-sharing and workshopping to revise or develop writing-based lessons or assignments for fostering dialogue in the classroom. Drawing from research on writing and dialogue, facilitators Taylor Dickson and Matthew Louie will introduce three pedagogical considerations for expanding the role of dialogue through activities and assignments. Instructors will leave the workshop with a revised assignment or lesson plan and considerations for incorporating dialogue in other aspects of their classroom.

Taylor Dickson is a PhD Candidate in Composition and Rhetoric, 2025-2026 assistant director of the Center for Teaching and Research on Writing, and 2023-2025 assistant director of the English 100 program. Her research is at the intersection of trauma-informed pedagogy, community engagement, and writing program administration.  

Matthew Louie is a PhD Candidate in Composition and Rhetoric and the senior assistant director of the English 100 program. His background as a Cantonese-CHamoru scholar informs his research as he engages in discussions surrounding linguistic justice, cultural and indigenous rhetorics, and writing assessment with the goal of empowering his students alongside contributing to cultural revitalization efforts in his communities.