# Practicing complex, new skills in a supportive environment ![Linda Kaboolian](/sites/g/files/omnuum12666/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/vpl/files/kaboolian_240.jpg?itok=ef_eV1uv) **Linda Kaboolian, Instructor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health****,** teaches [*Negotiations*](https://syllabus.harvard.edu/?course_id=190570) for public health students who will continue to practice these skills in everyday and high-stakes settings all around the world. “I’m a social scientist,” she explains, “so I’m very concerned about how to modify practice as a negotiator to be relevant to the context you’re working with.” Kaboolian underscores the importance of understanding the power dynamics and cultural context at play before negotiating. She designs stylized cases steeped in research on culture and scaffolded in complexity, building from one-on-one discussions to multi-stakeholder, multi-issue dilemmas. ## The benefits Students have overwhelmingly found the skills in this class to be fruitful for navigating both personal and professional settings. Kaboolian establishes a safe space to practice strategies they are not comfortable with so they have a broader set to draw on and can approach negotiations from a place of self-reflection and centeredness. She frequently gets calls from a range of students to celebrate how applying course materials led to successful milestones like starting salaries, book publishing deals, and residency selections. > ***“That’s what education is: putting people at the edge of discomfort and then creating a space for them to take that risk.”*** ## The challenges Conducting this course online last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic was difficult to navigate. Kaboolian notes that vulnerability is essential to learning new negotiation strategies. Some students found it challenging to be vulnerable digitally while others were more comfortable being vulnerable via Zoom than in-person. To navigate this unbalance, she leaned on guidance on remote teaching and facilitation, which she notes helped produce “astoundingly” positive student feedback. ## Takeaways and best practices ### Peer interaction and feedback are essential. “Students care a lot about what their peers have to say and think, in many ways more than they might care about the instructor’s opinions.” Eliciting feedback from peers about how a negotiation went—for instance, how they reacted to a given strategy—and then giving the student an opportunity to reflect on how they might revise their approach in real-time can alter students’ opinions and behaviors in ways instructor-only feedback could not. ### Set clear classroom norms and take a problem-solving approach. When dealing with materials that impact students, as Kaboolian describes, “below the neck,” it is especially essential to generate and agree to clear classroom norms to ensure that people treat each other with mutual respect. In addition, when students share views that others might disagree with, Kaboolian takes a “problem-solving approach,” asking the student to think through how to address it in changing circumstances so everyone can learn from the moment. ### Use assessments that evaluate students where they are. With the range of styles, Kaboolian finds that “comparative” assessments of how much a student got from a negotiation doesn’t productively capture what students learn when things don’t work out. Rather, she invites conversations when things fall flat, and instead assesses students on how and whether they were able to achieve their goals for themselves in that given context. ### Bottom line Kaboolian emphasizes that every class, no matter the content, should reflect on how to support students in moving “from fear to enthusiasm.” This should include both creating both tasks that meet and challenge students where they are, as well as an environment that will catch them when they fail. “That’s what education is,” she reflects, “putting people at the edge of discomfort and then creating a space for them to take the risk.” ## Related research [### Interactive Open Educational Resources: A Guide to Finding, Choosing, and Using What’s Out There to Transform College Teaching by John D. Shank (review) ](https://hollis.harvard.edu/permalink/f/1mdq5o5/TN_cdi_crossref_primary_10_1353_rhe_2016_0017) In his book, John D. Shank explores the world of interactive open educational resources (OERs) by examining several of the most popular and highest quality digital repositories and library websites in depth in order to guide his audience towards best... [### Simulations and games: Use and barriers in higher education ](https://hollis.harvard.edu/permalink/f/1mdq5o5/TN_cdi_crossref_primary_10_1177_1469787406069056) This article explores the use of simulations and games in tertiary education. It examines the extent to which academics use different simulation-based teaching approaches and how they perceive the barriers to adopting such techniques. [### How reasoning, judgment, and decision making are colored by gist-based intuition: A fuzzy-trace theory approach. ](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2015.09.001) Corbin, J. C., Reyna, V. F., Weldon, R. B., & Brainerd, C. J. (2015). “How reasoning, judgment, and decision making are colored by gist-based intuition: A fuzzy-trace theory approach.” Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 4(4), 344–355... [ More Research arrow\_circle\_right ](/intopracticeresearch) ## Related resource [### Active Learning (Bok Center) ](https://bokcenter.harvard.edu/active-learning) Check out the Bok Center’s guides and strategies for active learning, including approaching problems in STEM and leading discussions. [### ABLConnect: Role Play Description ](https://ablconnect.harvard.edu/role-play-description) ABLConnect offers guidance on using role play in the classroom and shares documents and examples of ways to encourage students to reflect on the learning process. [### ABLConnect: Role Play Examples ](https://ablconnect.harvard.edu/browse/documents?f%5B0%5D=sm_og_vocabulary%3Ataxonomy_term%3A112745) ABLConnect offers guidance on using role play in the classroom and shares documents and examples of ways to encourage students to reflect on the learning process. [ More Resources arrow\_circle\_right ](/intopracticeresources) See also:- [ Active Learning ](/activelearning) - [ Classroom Contracts ](/contracts) - [ SPH ](/featured-faculty/sph) - [ Into Practice Issues ](/practice-categories/practice-issues)