Participatory and Playful
This course highly interactive and engaging to ensure all participants are able to experience, practice, and reflect on the Collaborative Discussion Toolkit activities and how to facilitate them. We ask participants to engage fully and give themselves room to play and have fun as they experience the activities.
Collaborative
Participants will learn with and from each other, as well as instructors, to share their own experiences, contexts and best practices as they work together to engage with the activities and discuss how to implement them in their own settings.
Practical
This course meets participants where they are and helps them adapt activities and facilitation to meet their specific needs and contexts, rather than providing a one-size-fits-all approach to collaborative discussion. After each activity, the training includes a meta discussion of how, where, and when it might make sense to incorporate it into their own work.
About the Course
This is a virtual training focused on interactive learning and teaching. This course is designed to equip you with the skills and knowledge to facilitate collaborative discussions. Dive deep into the Collaborative Discussion Toolkit and IF pedagogy, practice essential skills, and connect with a supportive community of coaches. By the end of this training, you will have a greater understanding of collaborative discussion activities and how to use them in your classroom, workplace, or community, and you will be certified as an IF Collaborative Discussion Coach and able to lead your own certificate programs in collaborative discussion.
Training Team
Each session features a training team made up of CDP staff and experienced CDP coaches and curriculum contributors guest facilitating each session. These expert practitioners offer deep knowledge in collaborative discussion across fields as professors and staff in higher education, civil servants in state and municipal government, and as community facilitators. They will share how they use CDP toolkit activities in their own varied contexts and offer insights, adaptations, and opportunities to expand how the toolkit can be used.
Student Testimonials
Discover how our course has transformed the lives and careers of our students.
“There was this moment where it clicked: we’re not just talking about how to design a great program—we’re in one. They were showing us, not just telling us. The structure was the message...It was a terrific experience. I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to do this work with care—and do it well.”
Founder and CEO, Middle Turtle Inc.
“I appreciated the design of the training, in which we experienced various toolkit activities ourselves and then were given time, space, and the motivation to think through how we would implement them in the work we do so we left with a concrete plan.”
Assistant Professor and Director of BSW Field Education in the Social Work Program, Carlow University and Co-founder, Cultural Humility and Equity Collaborative
“I loved the CDP Coach Training. Honest, I came in skeptical as so much in this space is not particularly useful. People like to get together to talk; the critical factor is do they leave able to use what they learned in their own life? I was thrilled to find that the CDP coach training focuses fully on how people can apply it in their own lives and work."
Director of Outreach and Instructional Development, Parrhesia Program for Public Discourse, University of Chicago
“This was an incredibly valuable training! Not only did I get to learn new skills and gain access to a well-thought out and intentional toolkit, I got to connect with some amazing folks across disciplines, industries, and places. The hands-on nature of the training meant that I was constantly interacting, learning, and building new skills.”
Assistant Professor and Director of the Graduate Program, University of Alaska Fairbanks Troth Yeddha’
Ready to dive deeper on collaborative discussion?
Register now to become an IF Collaborative Discussion Coach.