Make It Awkward: Strategies for Responding to Discriminatory Comments – Special Guest Facilitated Workshop!

The Centre is excited to welcome Dr. Siara Isaac (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland) to deliver a workshop that has been facilitated over 100 times across seven countries: Make It Awkward: Strategies for Responding to Discriminatory Comments.

You know that moment when someone says something biased that you struggle to know how to respond to? And then the moment is gone and you didn’t say anything?

While most people believe they will call out prejudice when they encounter it, in practice, fewer than 50% actually do (Swim & Hyers, 1999). However, the effectiveness and the benefits of speaking up against prejudice are well documented (Czopp et al., 2006; Gervais, Hillard, & Vescio, 2010; Rasinski & Czopp, 2010; Rasinski, Geers, & Czopp, 2013), and it is encouraging to note that confronting discriminatory comments is a skill that can be improved with practice (Lamb, Bigler, Liben, & Green, 2009).

This workshop offers participants a set of eight conversation‐closing responses to discriminatory comments, and a three‐level scaffolded opportunity to practice speaking up. The use of triadic role plays provides participants with immediate, low-stakes feedback on their intervention.

By the end of this Workshop, you will be able to:

• identify prejudiced and biased comments with students and colleagues;
• practice speaking up in moments of discrimination; and,
• feel more empowered to respond when confronted with prejudices or biased statements.

This Workshop will utilize Miro, a collaborative online platform, for activities. While Miro is compatible with all devices, we recommend using a desktop or laptop computer (rather than a mobile phone or tablet) for easier engagement.

Note: This 90-minutes session includes a 60-minute interactive workshop + a 30-minute optional (but encouraged) reflective conversation and Q&A.

Guest Facilitator Bio: 
Siara Isaac, PhD, is the coordinator of the pedagogical advisors’ team at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland. Her research interests focus on the development of engineering students’ transversal skills (such as equitable collaboration, emotional self-management, and reflection) and fostering epistemic agency to improve students’ abilities for evaluating knowledge and navigating uncertainty. She contributes to teaching and teaching practices by designing and leading courses, workshops, and interventions that create experiential opportunities for participants to improve their skills. Originally trained as a chemist with a PhD in educational research from Lancaster University, she has worked in higher education in Canada, China, and France.