As Community psychologists affiliated with academia, it is surprising that there has been relatively little discussion of the classroom as a forum for social change. Most of us have had (or will have) the experience of teaching undergraduate Community psychology classes. Although these classes provide the perfect venue for educating the next generation about the extent and causes of the major social problems facing our communities, there has been little discussion of the classroom as an opportunity to change attitudes, encourage community involvement, and facilitate social change.
In order to start such a discussion this panel will take the form of a roundtable discussion. Each of the presenters will first offer insights from their own teaching experiences and will discuss the course content (and the rationale underlying topic selection), methods used to engage students in the classroom setting, and strategies used to generate students' interests and concern about social issues. The presenters will then open the discussion and invite others to share their own experiences and recommendations. Throughout this discussion, there will be an explicit focus on what works well, what doesn't work well, and how to overcome barriers to using the classroom as a forum for social change. In addition to distributing copies of course syllabi, the presenters will also create a list of successful strategies suggested by this discussion to be sent to all participants in the week following the conference.