Deliberation Dinners: An Innovative Model for Dialogue Across Differences
Day One: November 13, 2024 | 10:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., Marquee Theater
Session Video
Session Materials
Session Description
In this session, participants will learn about the UW-Madison Deliberation Dinners program. Piloted in 2023-24 and scaled up for 2024-25, the Deliberation Dinners engage undergraduates in ideologically and demographically diverse groups in deliberations on controversial issues. The presentation will explain why the program was set up, how it is designed and implemented, and what we have learned that is of use to both campus and classroom instructors. In the panel portion of the breakout session, students and faculty/staff facilitators will describe their experiences and the personal benefits of the program.
Session Objectives
- Learn what deliberation is and its possible uses in your teaching
- Learn insights into how to foster civil discourse through intentionally scaffolded and structured discussion structures and facilitation
- Understand what students’ experiences are in deliberations
Speakers
Mariana Castro
Dr. Mariana Castro has a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from UW–Madison and a master’s degree from UW–Whitewater. She currently serves as the principal investigator for research related to multilingual students’ language practices, curriculum and instruction in dual language immersion programs, and as teacher of professional learning. Dr. Castro brings more than 30 years of experience in education to her research and development work. In her research, she integrates her background as an educator; her passion for working with bilingual and multilingual children, youth and their teachers; and her commitment to social justice.
Lynn Glueck
Lynn Glueck is the program director for The Discussion Project, serving as project manager, curriculum designer, and instructor. She is also a senior leader for the UW–Madison Deliberation Dinners, which piloted in 2023-24 and will double in scale in 2024-25. Ms. Glueck brings a diverse array of skills to The Discussion Project after a 25-year career in K-12 education. She started work as a bilingual elementary teacher in a high poverty school and then took on an array of roles in teaching and administration in the Madison Metropolitan School District: high school English teacher, Library Media Instructor, Professional Development Coordinator, School Improvement Administrator, and Instructional Coach for secondary teachers. She has an MA (UW–Madison) in English Literature and an MLS (UW–Madison) in Library Media Science. Additionally, she is certified as Principal, Director of Instruction, and Instructional Coach.
Emma Cabrera
Emma Cabrera serves as a program manager and instructor for The Discussion Project. She was a social studies teacher in Chicago Public Schools and the Madison Metropolitan School District. In addition, Ms. Cabrera taught English in South Korea and Japan, and was a staffer in the U.S. Senate. She is an alumna of UW–Madison who earned a BA in political science and philosophy in 2014 and a master’s in 2018 from the highly ranked Department of Curriculum and Instruction. She was a student-athlete, competing on the women’s swimming team during her undergraduate years. She also serves as the project manager of the Deliberation Dinners program at UW–Madison.
