Speaker
Mariana Castro
Qualitative Research Director, Multilingual Learning Research Center, UW–Madison
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.
Speaking in
Deliberation Dinners: An Innovative Model for Dialogue Across Differences
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