IF Blog

Just Imagine…A Thread that Stops Bullets

August 26, 2021

Just Imagine…A Thread that Stops Bullets

Stephanie Kwolek was born to Polish immigrants to the US in New Kensington, Pennsylvania. Her father died when she was 10, but he left her with a career-long interest in...

Questions–and Critical Thinking in Discussions

August 11, 2021

Questions–and Critical Thinking in Discussions

George Winston taught an upper-level economics course on current issues. The course had a major discussion component and today’s class was the first session with students in their small-group discussion...

Why Should You Care About Exploratory Discussion?

Why Should You Care About Exploratory Discussion?

By: Noah Miller We are all busy. Our busy lives pull us in every which way, forcing us to make decision after decision with little break in between. Oftentimes, it is...

Contradictions in Discussions

Contradictions in Discussions

Professor Dorothy Hamlin was concerned that her in-class discussions had become too superficial. Students were not exploring issues from different perspectives. Perhaps this should be expected since her university tended...

Could Technology Support & Enhance Our Democracy?

Could Technology Support & Enhance Our Democracy?

A discussion summary for the third and final session of an online exploratory discussion series on Technology & Democracy In this third and final session of our small group conversation series...

Collaboration Agreements

Collaboration Agreements

“Next class, we’ll be starting the first of our small-group discussions”, so began Dr. Sophia Newsome. “I know that many of you have had past experiences with group work that weren't...

Technology & Democracy, and Privacy and more–a discussion summary for session 2 of an online exploratory discussion series

Technology & Democracy, and Privacy and more–a discussion summary for session 2 of an online exploratory discussion series

In this second session of our small group conversation series on Technology & Democracy, citizens from around the country gathered online via Zoom for an exploratory discussion of several key...

Technology & Democracy, and Truth–a discussion summary for session 1 of an online exploratory discussion series

Technology & Democracy, and Truth–a discussion summary for session 1 of an online exploratory discussion series

In this first session of our small-group conversation series on Technology & Democracy, citizens from around the country (and the world) gathered online via Zoom for an exploratory discussion of...

The Heart of Democratic Citizenship–a discussion summary for IF’s online community conversation

The Heart of Democratic Citizenship–a discussion summary for IF’s online community conversation

An exploratory discussion of the meaning of the office of citizen in a self-governing society "In a democracy, the highest office is the office of citizen."– Felix Frankfurter, Supreme Court Justice A...

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