Students Developing Civil Dialogue Skills

One promising practice of an institution’s civic engagement efforts, as reported under Criterion One, Core Component 1.C, focuses on the work of April Bleske-Rechek, a professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (UW-Eau Claire), who has been at the forefront of promoting civil dialogue on campus. She recently published a white paper entitled “Promoting Students’ Engagement in Civil Dialogue.”

The paper describes the results of a pilot study conducted in fall 2023 and a subsequent randomized controlled trial conducted in spring 2024, both funded by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Foundation.  

In both instances, Bleske-Rechek leveraged Unify America’s Unify Challenge College Bowl. This virtual, one-on-one intercollegiate conversation between students from different colleges and locations, and who hold different political views, allowed Bleske-Rechek to examine students’ attitudes toward free expression and what she calls “politically different others.” 

According to Bleske-Rechek, taken together, the findings suggest that “many students, perhaps mostly out of fear/anxiety or disinterest, will probably not engage in civil dialogue unless they are required to. However, among students who do actively engage in civil dialogue, positive attitudinal change can occur, at least in the short term.” Her tentative recommendations to promote long-term attitude and behavioral changes have significant implications for institutions seeking to help students develop this essential civic skill. 

Background and History 

Bleske-Rechek has always been a faculty member who encourages and supports diverse viewpoints. In conversation with HLC staff, she acknowledged having always been invested in requiring her students to discuss difficult topics in the classroom. Her discipline of psychology lends itself easily to this exercise. From forcing them to reconcile their perceptions of trigger warnings with related experimental evidence, to exploring such topics as microaggressions and safe spaces, Bleske-Rechek has consistently – albeit sometimes with trepidation – encouraged her students to consider multiple viewpoints on issues that they are unlikely to have previously realized there even *are* multiple viewpoints. 

In fall 2022, Bleske-Rechek and a team of philosophers and political scientists combined their areas of expertise to explore students’ attitudes toward free expression and viewpoint diversity. The survey was timely, as this issue was becoming salient on college campuses across the country.  

The result was a report entitled “UW System Student Views on Freedom of Speech.”

The report summarized the results of a survey distributed to 83,451 degree-seeking undergraduates, which ultimately yielded 10,445 responses (a response rate of 12.5%) across 13 four-year campuses. According to the report, the purpose of the survey was to “explore and describe students’ knowledge of First Amendment rights connected to free speech, as well as their attitudes about viewpoint diversity and their experiences with free expression and self-censorship at UW universities.” 

Among the report’s findings, students’ attitudes toward diverse viewpoints were troubling. When asked how likely they were to consider viewpoints with which they disagreed, in thinking about a wide range of topics, students were “not all that likely” to consider viewpoints with which they disagreed, even for something relatively innocuous like funding for bridges and roads.  

Students’ reported likelihood of considering opposing views decreased substantially for more controversial topics identified in the survey. Ultimately, only 1 in 10 students reported that they would be “extremely likely” to consider viewpoints with which they disagreed, across the full range of topics identified.  

Bleske-Rechek then partnered with Unify America to conduct a pilot study in fall 2023, followed by a randomized controlled trial in spring 2024, utilizing the College Bowl. 

UW-Eau Claire’s Pilot Study and Randomized Controlled Trial 

During fall 2023, a select group of 47 UW-Eau Claire students participated in the College Bowl as part of Bleske-Rechek’s pilot study. Unsurprisingly, students in the pilot unanimously expressed favorable attitudes about their College Bowl experience. In retrospect, students confessed feelings of nervousness and anxiety immediately prior to their conversations, compared to optimism, inspiration and excitedness immediately after the conversations. 

In an interview with the author, Bleske-Rechek observed:  

“One thing that I learned then, that would be reinforced later in the randomized control trial was, when you say you’re going to talk with somebody who is politically different from you, the assumption is, they must be polar opposite. You don’t tend to assume that they think about things just a little differently, but rather they’re on a whole other planet…we tend to perceive more polarization than there actually is.” 

Bleske-Rechek purposely did not draw any inference about the causal influence of the College Bowl conversation on these students’ attitudes.  

Why not?  

Bleske-Rechek concluded these students were not representative of, but rather systematically different from, the general population. A large percentage of the group were students required to participate as a result of having enrolled in a UW-Eau Claire class about tolerance. Others in the group were suspiciously enthused to participate in what was generally perceived to be a potentially uncomfortable exercise, with only modest encouragement.  

Based on these factors, Bleske-Rechek noted, the pilot study group was likely comprised of students more likely to engage in civil dialogue anyway. Only a randomized controlled experiment could “determine whether engaging in civil dialogue actually has a positive influence on students’ attitudes.”

Bleske-Rechek developed a research proposal, created study materials, and secured Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval and she launched the trial in Spring 2024. UW-Eau Claire’s Chancellor James Schmidt addressed 2,262 continuing first-year students in an engaging email to kick things off:  

“Do you feel like you can talk freely about hot button issues with other students and in your classes? What can we do to help each other engage in respectful and constructive disagreement?”  

The students were invited to complete a 10-15-minute survey at three different times over the course of the semester and a one hour “online activity” mid-semester. A digital randomizer was used to split the list of email addresses into two distribution lists, thus facilitating the creation of a “conversation” group whose online activity would be Unify America’s College Bowl, and a control group, whose mid-semester online activity would be viewing a one-hour neutral video (the adventures of making butter in Wisconsin). With student participation incentivized by the promise of modest cash gift cards and aided by detailed instructions strategically deployed over three phases, Bleske-Rechek was able to track students’ attitudes over the semester and compare attitude change for students in the College Bowl “conversation” group versus the control group. 

Findings and Impact  

Bleske-Rechek ultimately found that together, the pilot study and randomized controlled trial “support the possibility that a guided civil dialogue…can enhance students’ attitudes toward expressing their views and their evaluations of those with political views different from their own.”  

She proposes that future initiatives expose all students to civil dialogue and follow up with “continued opportunities for civil dialogue and intentional, explicit discussion of personal characteristic (e.g. openness) and behaviors (e.g. asking questions, sharing personal stories) that promote constructive conversations.” Specifically, Bleske-Rechek recommends addressing fear of rejection; providing opportunities for reflection; educating students about the characteristics and behaviors that enable constructive conversations; and providing safe opportunities to practice civil dialogue both in and outside the classroom. 

While there are multiple organizations that offer guided civil dialogue opportunities, Unify America’s role in Bleske-Rechek’s work has been instrumental.  

The organization launched its first College Bowl in fall 2021 as a means to help students engage in civil learning experiences in an effective, impactful and scalable way, using a low-risk setting.  

The College Bowl, along with Unify America’s latest program, the Deep Dive, comprise the organization’s Civic Gym platform. In an email from the author, Abby Ferguson, director of partnerships at Unify America, observed, “Since that time, the organization has seen growth in the adoption of civil dialogue programs beyond general education, with institutions expanding application into a variety of disciplines, including STEM and business fields, where faculty see value in the program’s emphasis on critical thinking and collaboration. There has also been an increased interest in scalable solutions to meet every student, as institutions face challenges related to polarization and free expression.”  

Asked why civil dialogue is so important, Ferguson highlighted the real-world implications and higher education’s pivotal role:  

“Civil dialogue prepares and equips students to thrive in a pluralistic, complex society beyond campus and into the workplace. Real-world practice strengthens problem-solving skills. When students are asked to articulate their viewpoints, question assumptions, and consider new perspectives, it gives them the opportunity to strengthen the civic muscles required for a healthy society. These are core competencies. Civil dialogue also counters misinformation.  When students can practice civil discourse, they can manage difficult conversations in their lives without resorting to hostility and they can choose curiosity over combat by seeking common ground and evaluating sources. Finally, civil dialogue reinforces institutions’ missions. If higher education is about open inquiry, discovery, and debate, then civil dialogue programs help make the mission real.” 

According to Matt Pollard, partnerships manager at Unify America, 6,776 students participated in the Fall 2024 College Bowl. Of that number, 6,146 responded to the post-College Bowl survey.  

Their responses highlighted the positive impact of civil dialogue. In all, 94% of respondents agreed that the experience allowed them to explain their opinions using facts and personal experience; 93% agreed that it allowed them to share their perspective on important issues; 80% agreed the experience helped them see a new perspective they hadn’t considered before; 72% said they felt more hopeful about the future of democracy; and 66% said they wished they had more opportunities to talk openly about these topics on campus.  

The College Bowl runs three times a year, in the spring, summer and fall. Pollard said the sign-up process for both faculty and students is easy and explained why even one conversation can make a difference: 

“At a moment in time when we as Americans are told daily that we are so divided and it’s impossible to agree, opportunities to engage in civil dialogue remind us that we can have a civil conversation about tough topics with those who might be different from us, whether they be a neighbor, family member, co-worker, or stranger on the street.”  

Bleske-Rechek will continue to explore these avenues at UW-Eau Claire. She has already convinced several faculty members from a variety of disciplines to embed a civil dialogue experience in their courses. 

The initiative will be part of what has been a broader push by the institution to equip its students with the skills necessary for a lifetime of civic engagement. From expanding First Amendment lectures, guest speakers, workshops and reading groups through the Menard Center for Constitutional Studies, to establishing a UW-Eau Claire student chapter of BridgeUSA, the institution has systematically increased student learning opportunities related to civic engagement and civil dialogue over the past few years.  

In tandem with Bleske-Rechek’s study, faculty and staff are also encouraged to participate in Unify America challenges so they can better recommend the College Bowl to their students. 

Civil Dialogue Today at UW-Eau Claire

HLC asked UW-Eau Claire Chancellor James C. Schmidt why civil dialogue is an important skill for all students to develop. Here’s what he had to say: 

“Students come to UW-Eau Claire, or any college or university, wanting to make a difference in their chosen field and in the world, but they may be reluctant to engage with others around difficult topics.  In our algorithm-driven world, students may assume that encounters between people with opposing viewpoints are destined to go poorly. Helping students discover and grow their communication and critical thinking skills is a foundational aspect of the university’s mission, and doing so in this technologically advanced era requires new strategies. 

Our faculty have identified and piloted experiences that help students overcome apprehension and develop confidence in their ability to communicate with someone who sees the world differently than they do. As Dr. Bleske-Rechek’s data show, having a positive experience conversing with someone that holds different political beliefs can greatly reduce their communication apprehension. 

When students realize their capacity to engage in reasoned, civil dialogue on even the most complicated and controversial of topics, they are empowered to continue learning about the complexities of the world. Regularly engaging with societal and academic debates enhances their empathy and builds critical thinking skills, preparing them to be productive leaders in their workplaces and communities after graduation. 

UW-Eau Claire is proud of our numerous long-running lecture series, which help bring thought leaders on the most pressing topics of the day to our campus. Adding skill-and confidence-building experiences like the Unify America College Bowl helps students see themselves as capable participants in these important discourses.” 

Questions?

Contact: [email protected]. 

References: 

Bleske-Rechek, April. 2025. Promoting Students’ Engagement in Civil Dialogue: A Pilot Study and Random Controlled Trial. SNF Ithaca Research Scholar White Paper. No. 3. Newark, DE. Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Ithaca Initiative. https://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/35754.  

Bleske-Rechek, April, et al., 2023. UW System Student Views on Freedom of Speech. University of Wisconsin System. Madison, WI. https://www.wisconsin.edu/civil-dialogue/download/SurveyReport20230201.pdf.