On July 3rd the Leiden University Dialogue in Education Network (LUDIEN) has officially been launched. The network welcomes all who are interested in dialogue as a tool for connection and improved student wellbeing in higher education. The dialogue method is moreover useful to talk about sensitive issues in class.
LUDIEN is part of Dr. Karin Nijenhuis' project 'Feel connected! The integration of dialogue as a teaching method in higher education to improve student well-being,' for which she has been granted a Comenius Senior Fellowship in 2023. The two-year project revolves around the dialogue method proposed by philosopher and quantum physicist David Bohm, concerning an attentive and structured way of conversing with set rules and space for reflection. The aim of the project and network is to improve connection and student-wellbeing. Its incisiveness lies in the approach of student wellbeing from within the classroom rather than outside.
The first year of the project has seen the piloting of the dialogue method in two existing courses. Next, lecturers from the Humanities Faculty and Honours Class students have been trained as dialogue facilitators. These lecturers and students form the core of LUDIEN. In the upcoming academic year the project continues as the trained lecturers will implement the dialogue method in a variety of courses throughout the Humanities faculty. LUDIEN will hold regular meetings to guide this process and an online manual as well as a professionalization module for lecturers will be developed. The network is open to all who are interested and welcomes interdisciplinary connection across faculties, programs and institutions.
