Shaping Discourse with Deliberative Dialogue Training at the University of Montevallo

This fall, the DMC connected with University of Montevallo students on two separate occasions, engaging in a conversation guided by the NIF U.S. Government: What Kind of National Leadership Do We Need? issue brief, followed by a moderator and deliberative skills workshop.

The Mathews Center first visited on October 2nd to join the Department of Communications and Falcon Facilitators, interns participating in the Jean O’Connor Snyder Internship Program at UM. Throughout the school year, interns are trained to moderate and host public forums on UM campus and in the surrounding community, developing and implementing projects based on community forums, and recruiting and training new Falcon Facilitators. Later, during the week of November 6th, we collaborated with the Peace & Justice studies program for a week of class.

Throughout the deliberative forum, students discussed the role of leadership in the United States, specifically what qualities of government officials are most important to them. Participants agreed that while honesty and transparency are significant to the integrity of a leader, it may not always be enough. Leaders should have good morals, also. With good morals, they would anticipate more bipartisan support, rather than separation. Looking forward to elections, the students are hopeful that they will see more young people continue to take positions in office.

Linking the discussion to future experiences on campus or in Montevallo, students engaged in a training session on moderation and deliberative skills. In this workshop, they received guidance on fostering considerate and open dialogues within the community, all while encouraging critical thinking. To apply these newfound abilities, students formed groups and took turns serving as moderators, navigating through a set of questions.

The DMC is very thankful for our partnership with University of Montevallo students faculty members Dr. Sally Hardig, Dr. Sherry Ford, Dr. Meredith Tetloff, & Dr. Jennifer Rickel.