Transforming Education through the Collaborative Discussion Toolkit
CDP Coaches, Jane Case and Leila Brammer, share how this toolkit of activities is a valuable resource to help students learn discussion skills and support teachers' professional development.
Dear collaborative discussion friends,
This week we would like to share the experiences of two of our Collaborative Discussion Coaches, Jane Case and Leila Brammer, who have found adaptable activities in the free CDP toolkit to be valuable resource to help equip students with essential discussion skills and support teachers’ professional development.
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CDP Coaches, Jane Case and Leila Brammer, share their experiences of using the toolkit in their work
In today’s classrooms, fostering meaningful dialogue and equipping students with skills to engage across differences are more vital than ever. IF’s free Collaborative Discussion Project (CDP) Toolkit is helping educators rise to this challenge, by providing teachers of all kinds with adaptable activities and tools to cultivate the discussion skills, mindsets, and inclusive environments necessary for students to engage and have meaningful dialogue on campus.
Educators like Jane Case and Leila Brammer, both trained by the Interactivity Foundation as Collaborative Discussion Coaches, are already seeing the transformative potential of the Toolkit.
Designed for Engagement
For Jane Case, an educator who has integrated the CDP Toolkit into her university teaching, its design stands out: “The toolkit is incredibly well-organized and clearly laid out. It could have been overwhelming with the amount of information provided, but it was designed in a way that made it easy to navigate and apply in real classroom settings.”
The way Jane sees it, unlike other teaching resources that can feel scattered or overly complex, the Toolkit is both structured and flexible. “What stands out to me is how thoughtfully the toolkit is packaged. It’s not just a set of random activities; it’s a structured resource that really encourages meaningful discussion and engagement,” she adds.
The CDP Toolkit itself is organized into five modules, each designed to build key skills like working with others, collaborating creatively, critical reflection, cultural competence, and addressing public and community issues. Each module activity is intentionally crafted to include clear objectives, adaptable methods, debriefing prompts and reflective exercises—making it practical and relevant for educators across different contexts.
“The activities are so well-crafted and easy to adapt. I appreciate having a resource that I can immediately use, knowing it is grounded in quality and designed to foster genuine conversation.” – Jane
This clarity and adaptability have rendered the CDP Toolkit invaluable to Jane’s teaching, from exploring creative methods in her classes to fostering student-led projects. “Having the Toolkit on hand is like having a roadmap. It is incredibly supportive and aligned with my own goals as an educator, giving me confidence in bringing new ways of engaging students into my classroom.”
Practical and Adaptable
In practice, the Toolkit enables educators to create dynamic and engaging learning environments. Jane shared how she adapted one of its arts-focused activities in a class on leadership, creativity, and innovation: “The students created videos and skits, with some even pretending to walk through a museum as part of their answers. It was engaging, they worked with new people, and they now have a broader understanding of the arts.”
“It was more than a discussion–it was an illustrative way to connect with the topic.” – Jane Case
This adaptability makes the Toolkit suitable for a wide range of educational contexts, from small seminar groups to larger problem-based learning setups. “My classes are around 50 students, but I use problem-based learning setups with tables of five or six students, allowing for connections even in larger classes. I’ve only used a handful of [Toolkit] activities so far, but they really adapt well to this setup,” she notes.
Professional Development
The Toolkit also supports teachers’ professional development. Leila Brammer, Director of Outreach and Instructional Development for the University of Chicago’s Parrhesia Program, highlights how it supplements existing training and can even bridge skills gaps: “High school teachers report that most professional development doesn’t focus on skills like engaging difference and disagreement, so I think this toolkit is filling a real gap.”
She adds that good teachers are constantly seeking ways to improve: “Good teachers seek out opportunities to talk about teaching and get better at it. They’re nerds about teaching, always looking for new ideas they can take back to the classroom. The Toolkit provides exactly that kind of inspiration.”
Workshops using the CDP Toolkit, like that offered in the University of Chicago’s Parrhesia Program, are part of the Interactivity Foundation’s broader mission to support educators. Through tailored professional development workshops and collaborative discussion trainings, IF provides the tools, techniques, and ongoing opportunities for educators to refine their facilitation skills and bring collaborative discussion into their classrooms. (Interested in elevating your practice? Join one of IF’s free webinars or organize a workshop for your team to experience the power of collaborative discussion firsthand.)
Preparing Students for the Future
Both Jane and Leila see the CDP Toolkit as not just a classroom resource but a means to prepare students for their personal, professional, and civic lives. Leila reflects on the growing importance of dialogue skills in education: “In the current moment, I believe skills like engaging with difference and disagreement will become part of what colleges seek in applicants. Being prepared to sit with cognitive dissonance and engage in open inquiry—that’s core to academic learning, and I think this toolkit can help prepare students for that.”
“What [colleges] will really want are people who will come to their institutions and be additive to the mission of the college, which is academic inquiry. The ability to seek and engage difference and agreement, to sit with it, and move forward through it—that’s what academic inquiry is.” – Leila
This is borne out in survey results, with students indicating much stronger capabilities dealing with ambiguity and curiosity after taking part in CDP Certificate Programs offered by certified Collaborative Discussion Coaches (source: results from ongoing IF undergraduate student survey as of 23 January 2025).
Jane also envisions the Toolkit as part of a grassroots effort to embed collaborative dialogue skills into academic and cultural life. She says that “in the long term, I’d love to see this become part of a grassroots effort. Students are the heart of the university, so if we empower them with these skills, it could grow organically and become part of the culture”.
A Resource for All
Whether used in classrooms, workshops, or professional development seminars, the Collaborative Discussion Toolkit continues to prove itself a versatile and impactful resource.
“The Interactivity Foundation has, in my opinion, the best and most expansive set of tools for teachers. It’s well-organized, comprehensive, invitational, and gives credit—plus, it’s free.” – Leila Brammer
Educators like Jane and Leila highlight how the Toolkit not only inspires new teaching approaches but also fosters a community of educators committed to meaningful dialogue. With tools like these, the future of education looks brighter—and more collaborative.
Your Invitation to Collaborate
The Collaborative Discussion Toolkit is free and accessible to anyone interested in promoting more inclusive, thoughtful dialogue. If you’d like to introduce these skills in your own classroom, reach out to us to learn more about hosting a workshop. We offer various workshops, including those designed to help students to learn these discussion skills, as well as professional development workshops for faculty or staff to learn more about fostering meaningful dialogue and how to use this toolkit of activities as a resource.
Ready to bring these tools to your campus?
Upcoming Events
Introduction to the CDP Toolkit Webinar. Learn about our free toolkit of activities designed to build and support collaborative discussion skills and mindsets. All are welcome! Register for an upcoming webinar:
Looking forward to collaborating,
The Collaborative Discussion Project Team