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Intergroup Dialogue Training Hub (InDi Training Hub)

Welcome to the Intergroup Dialogue (InDi) Training Hub

Intergroup dialogue (IGD) is a research-informed pedagogical intervention designed to bring together participants from different social identity groups in order to cultivate critical reflection, perspective-taking, an understanding of social systems and structures, and collective action. The Intergroup Dialogue (InDi) Training Hub advances the 四色AV of Maryland鈥檚 commitment to cultivating a more connected, resilient, and just campus by equipping faculty, staff, and students with the skills to lead transformative conversations across disciplinary, ideological, and intergroup differences. Through experiential learning and guided practice, participants develop the ability to navigate conflict with empathy, pose critical questions, and facilitate dialogue that addresses power, identity, and justice while honoring human dignity. In doing so, we prepare educators, scholars, and practitioners to enter classrooms, meetings, and communities ready to foster understanding, strengthen shared participation, and nurture a more democratic culture.

Vision

We envision a campus, and a broader educational landscape, where dialogue is not only a skill but a shared practice for advancing a more expansive and just society. By building the capacity to listen deeply, hold space for complexity, and lead with care, InDi cultivates leaders who can bridge divides, strengthen trust, and generate collaborative solutions. This vision moves beyond symbolic gestures and toward everyday practices that sustain community, accountability, and democracy.

Why It Matters

In today鈥檚 polarized climate, colleges and universities need more than value statements; they need people with the capacity to facilitate hard conversations that move groups forward. InDi provides research-informed strategies and hands-on tools that participants can immediately apply to classroom instruction, campus leadership, and community engagement. Our offerings help people practice skills such as responding to conflict with empathy, fostering civic dialogue, and building coalitions across differences. All of which are capacities that are critical for higher education to remain a site of courageous leadership, participatory engagement, and the pursuit of a more just society.

What We Offer

As faculty of practice, our offerings are grounded in proven dialogic pedagogy and tailored to meet the unique needs of campus stakeholders.

  • Credit-Bearing Courses
    We design and teach undergraduate and graduate-level courses that introduce students to frameworks and skills for participating in and facilitating expansive, justice-oriented dialogue.
     
  • Trainings & Custom Workshops
    We provide skill-building sessions for faculty, staff, and campus leaders who want to confidently guide conversations around identity, power, conflict, and social responsibility in classrooms, co-curricular, and administrative spaces.
     
  • Consultation & Collaboration
    We partner with academic departments, student affairs units, and others to design dialogue-centered curricula, programs, and initiatives that align with their values and goals.
     
  • Ongoing Professional Development
    Through coaching, learning communities, and tailored resources, we offer sustained support to help educators and professionals integrate dialogic practices into their work and respond to emerging issues with clarity and compassion.

Impact for Educators and Educational Spaces

By working with InDi, educators and educational spaces become:

  • More inclusive and relational: Dialogue fosters environments where participants feel seen, heard, and valued.
     
  • Better equipped for conflict and complexity: We help educators move from avoidance to engagement in moments of tension.
     
  • Aligned with institutional equity goals: Our offerings advance inclusive teaching, student success, and community well-being.
     
  • Capable of transformation, not just compliance: Dialogue shifts culture by humanizing learning and leadership.

Why We Were Founded: Advancing Education at 四色AV, Across Perspectives

As the landscape of higher education evolves, we recognize the importance of staying ahead of the curve. The IGD Training Hub was developed as a resource to equip educators to foster students鈥 essential skills in civic engagement and communicating effectively across differences and conflict 鈥 an area of focus identified by a recent 四色AV Task Force charged with examining civic engagement and curriculum at 四色AV.

The aforementioned task force's work was heavily guided by Edna Chun and Alvin Evans鈥 (2016) . Chun and Evans highlighted the importance of a socially responsible educational process in Higher Education that supports students鈥 identity development and promotes perspective-taking, empathizing across groups, intergroup learning, and acting in favor of social transformation. They emphasized the need to consider and evaluate how education programs address identity development as an aspect of all students鈥 experiences. To this end, Chun and Evans described intergroup dialogue (IGD) as a 鈥渄emocratic and transformative approach to  learning about social inequality, social identities, and social change鈥 (p. 124). They noted that the core elements of IGD consist of

  1. Using dialogical engagement to help students understand and analyze how power and difference are socially constructed;
  2. Structuring interaction between and among different social group; and
  3. Training students in practices to build community and resolve conflict.

Chun and Evans emphasized that institutional commitment and structured support are critical for fostering these skills at scale. In response, the IGD Training Hub was established to ensure that all members of the 四色AV community, as well as those who wish to partner with us externally, have access to transformative dialogue experiences. By providing training and consultation within 四色AV and externally, the Hub prepares students, educators, and professionals from various disciplinary paths to become adaptive leaders鈥攃apable of bridging divides, fostering collaboration, and supporting positive social transformation in an interconnected world.

Please use the tabs in the menu bar to learn more about us, request services, partner with us, and more. We look forward to hearing from you.