Welcome to this course about Sensitive and Controversial Topics in the Classroom!

This project (Building Respectful, Inclusive Dialogue for Genuine Engagement — BRIDGE) equips teachers with structured tools to facilitate dialogue on sensitive topics, fostering critical thinking, media literacy, and civic engagement in students.

By integrating non-violent communication and inclusive education strategies, the project strengthens democratic values in schools.

<aside> 💡

Welcome to the Course! This course will guide you through six core units on Sensitive and Controversial Issues (SCIs) in the classroom.

Before you begin, please take 2 minutes to register your participation

Welcome to the BRIDGE Course — SCIs in the Classroom

</aside>

The Course

The MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) Sensitive and Controversial Topics in the Classroom, developed within the BRIDGE project, is a 15-hour self-paced course designed for secondary school teachers. It provides knowledge and practical teaching strategies to help educators manage difficult classroom discussions and create learning environments that are both safe and brave for addressing challenging topics. The course is organised into three macro-units, each divided into thematic subunits.

The first part introduces sensitive and controversial issues (SCIs) in education, focusing on polarization, diversity, and intersectionality, and offering practical strategies to build respectful classroom dialogue through emotional intelligence and positive classroom climate practices.

The second part addresses inclusion and critical engagement, exploring bias, stereotypes, and microaggressions while supporting learners with diverse needs and language levels. It also develops media literacy skills, including fact-checking and critical reflection on misinformation, AI-generated content, and algorithmic bias.

The third part focuses on communication, conflict resolution, and the practical integration of SCIs into teaching. It presents structured dialogue methods, non-violent communication techniques, and mediation strategies that foster active participation, learner autonomy, and constructive interaction.

All units include practical examples and additional resources such as videos and references. The modular structure allows participants to follow the full course or engage with individual units independently.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

Understand the impact of sensitive and controversial topics on classroom relationships, participation, inclusion, and learning.
Explain sensitive and controversial issues in education, including their relationship to identity, diversity, intersectionality, and polarization.
Identify which strategies are best for engaging with these issues and topics and for developing students’ abilities to emotionally regulate, understand different perspectives, check information, reason carefully and argue with each other.
Evaluate scenarios and build a repetoire of strategies that support respectful dialogue, critical media literacy and conflict resolution.

As you move through these units, you will not only deepen your understanding of sensitive and controversial issues but also strengthen your confidence in guiding students through them with clarity, empathy, and purpose. This MOOC—co‑funded by the European Union—invites you to explore, reflect, and experiment with approaches that make classroom dialogue more inclusive, informed, and constructive.

You are now ready to begin.

Let’s step into the first chapter and start building the foundations for safer, braver, and more engaging conversations in your classroom.