This week, Punahou School’s Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), in collaboration with the Davis Democracy Initiative (DDI), hosted two intensive two-day professional development workshops for Academy faculty, with a special focus on the Social Studies and English Departments. Faculty from other departments and the Case Middle School (CMS) also participated, reflecting a broad commitment to strengthening classroom dialogue across disciplines.
President Mike Latham ’86, who also teaches in the Social Studies Department, attended the first two days of workshops, further underscoring the School’s commitment to fostering democratic values and inclusive learning through meaningful conversation.
The workshops were facilitated by The Discussion Project, a program from the University of Wisconsin–Madison dedicated to helping educators create welcoming, engaging and academically rigorous classroom environments where all students feel empowered to contribute to meaningful discussions. This initiative aligns closely with Punahou’s broader goals of promoting democratic engagement and critical thinking across the curriculum.
Leading the sessions were facilitators John Zola and Anissa Butler, both with deep experience in discussion pedagogy and inclusive teaching strategies.
The highly interactive sessions offered faculty research-based tools and frameworks designed to:
- Create equitable and inclusive classroom climates conducive to high-quality discussion.
- Distinguish discussion from other forms of student talk.
- Structure and facilitate a variety of discussion formats.
- Craft effective, discussion-rich questions.
- Design, implement and reflect on classroom discussion plans.
- Build students’ discussion skills intentionally.
- Use assessment to support and enhance students’ ability to engage in academic dialogue.
These workshops represented a significant investment in faculty development and are part of Punahou’s ongoing efforts to support student-centered, discussion-rich classrooms that prepare students for thoughtful participation in a democratic society.
Following these workshops, CTL and DDI are hopeful that the skills and strategies learned will spread across departments and classrooms, enriching student learning experiences and deepening engagement schoolwide.