Conference

Symposium: The Power of Dialogue in Education

Date: Thursday 20 November 2025
Time: 13:00 - 17:30
Explanation: Borrel vanaf 16:45 uur
Location: Herta Mohr
Witte Singel 27A
2311 BG Leiden
Room: 0.20

Registration

Colleagues are warmly invited to attend the symposium. It is possible to attend the full programme or just part of it. We kindly ask interested participants to register by 10 November via the button below.

This symposium will be held in English. Some workshop sessions will be conducted in Dutch.

How can dialogue be integrated into teaching in a way that fosters stronger connections between students and enhances their wellbeing? This was the central question that Karin Nijenhuis explored in her 2023 Comenius Senior Fellowship. Together with eight lecturers from across the Faculty of Humanities and the African Studies Centre Leiden, she investigated this question in educational practice.

The findings are clear: dialogue is a powerful and activating teaching method. It engages all students, supports the development of academic skills, encourages connection to both subject content and peers, and creates space for discussing sensitive topics.

About the symposium

The Power of Dialogue in Education event marks the conclusion of this project and the launch of a new professional development course for lecturers who wish to strengthen their teaching by applying the principles of dialogue. The symposium features an interactive and varied programme with both lecturers and students. We won’t just talk about dialogue — we’ll actively engage in it.

In her keynote, Professor Irene Costera Meijer, emeritus professor of Journalism Studies at VU Amsterdam, reflects on her personal experiences with dialogue as a teaching method. Karin Nijenhuis will present the project’s outcomes and introduce the new professionalisation course. Members of the Leiden University Dialogue in Education Network (LUDIEN) will lead workshops showcasing their own applications of dialogue in teaching. The chair of the day is Mette Kamerich, student assessor on the Faculty Board of Humanities. The afternoon concludes with a drinks reception, offering ample opportunity to exchange ideas and continue the conversation.

Programme

Part 1

13:00-13:30: Arrival and registration

13:30 -14:15: Welcome, introduction and pitches – by Karin Nijenhuis and others*

14:15-15:00: Keynote: Are we putting something in or taking something out? My personal experience with dialogue as a teaching method – by Prof. Irene Costera Meijer

15:00– 15:30: Break

Deel 2

15:30-16:30: Parallel workshops by trained lecturers*: Applying dialogue in your teaching. See the overview of workshops below

16:30-16:45: Presentation professionalisation course for lecturers: Dialogue in Education; How dialogue as an activating teaching method can support your teaching and your students

16:45: Closing remarks followed by drinks reception

*The eight lecturers from the Faculty of Humanities and the African Studies Centre Leiden who have been trained as dialogue facilitators are: Madi Ditmars, Jenneke van der Wal, Karen Smith, Noa Schonmann, Thijs Witty, Victor Gijsbers, Bart Zantvoort en Esther Op de Beek

Overview of workshops

Preparing for fieldwork, in dialogue – Jenneke van der Wal

There always will be questions that don’t have a clear answer, and this can be experienced to be difficult, especially when you’re trying the find the answers on your own. Thinking about it in a collaborative fashion may the way to go about it! In this workshop we will talk about why it is important to engage in collaborative thinking, and how this relates to the context of (academic) field work.

Feedback as a dialogue in the creative writing process – Esther op de Beek

During their studies, students will often have to give or receive feedback, and this can feel vulnerable. Esther op de Beek experienced this in her Creative Writing course. To help students manage this tension, Esther op de Beek tested a dialogue-inspired feedback method, and it worked incredibly well! In this workshop, you'll have the opportunity to try this feedback method yourself!

Dialogue in large lecture halls – Victor Gijsbers

Can dialogue also work in large lecture halls? What challenges do you face, and what is the instructor's role in a lecture hall where you can't follow what the students are discussing? In this workshop, we'll explore these questions and even try out a dialogue ourselves.

Subjective Questions in a Dialogue – Thijs Witty

Subjective questions can be highly valuable for academic development. When you begin a dialogue about the course material with a personal positioning, you give students the space to connect with the topic in their own way. This makes the dialogue more accessible, but also more authentic: students start with themselves and simultaneously relate directly to each other.

The importance of dialogue in international relations – Karen Smith

Join us to practice the art of communication in international relations! Building on Ling & Pinheiro’s (2021) statement that “real communication rarely takes place in world politics,” this dialogue invites participants to explore what genuine listening and exchange might look like in the study and practice of International Relations. Using a shortened version of the dialogue model, we will reflect on how Eurocentrism shapes dominant narratives, whose voices are heard or silenced, and how scholars and practitioners can engage more equitably across global perspectives. Experience this form of the dialogue yourself, and let’s learn from each others perspectives.

Dialogue in critical theory – Bart Zantvoort

Dialogue can be used for different purposes in an educational setting: to get students to express and test their initial intuitions about a topic or problem, to help students become aware of different points of view, or to brainstorm possible solutions to a question or problem. In this workshop we will discuss why and how you might want to use dialogue at different times during a course, and we will practice dialogue with a question about the role of theory in addressing contemporary social issues.

Question: What's wrong with the world today? And what role can academia/science/theory play in addressing social issues?

The application of dialogue in teaching – student-facilitated by Karolina de Boom & Jacob Bauer

Join this student-facilitated dialogue around the central dialogue question: "How can I apply dialogue in my teaching?", including a plenary discussion afterwards!

More about dialogue

Dialogue is a distinctive form of conversation, inspired by the work of philosopher and quantum physicist David Bohm. It is a structured, open and reflective way of engaging with one another, allowing different perspectives to surface and fostering connection among students.

This approach not only enables the discussion of sensitive topics, but also supports the development of essential cross-disciplinary skills such as inquiry, reflection and resilience. Especially in times when student wellbeing is under pressure — often due to feelings of isolation — dialogue proves to be an effective method for building connection and learning together. It contributes to a more resilient and engaged academic community.

Curious to see it in practice? Watch the video below.

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