A FIPSE-Funded National Initiative

ICDC

Integrating Civil Discourse into the Curriculum

ICDC is an experimental test of a fundamentally new model for strengthening civil discourse. The model teaches sound reasoning and respectful dialogue not as separate pedagogical goals but as interdependent cognitive skills that must be taught together.

Now being evaluated across 125 campuses nationwide led by North Carolina State University and the University of Notre Dame, the ICDC curriculum consists of Thinker for mastery-based practice in argument analysis, Sway, a chat platform for structured one-on-one conversations across disagreement, and CRIT for evaluation of student progress.

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Gary Comstock, North Carolina State University, Director

Suzanne Shanahan, University of Notre Dame, Manager

Paul Blaschko leads a class at Welcome Weekend

February 3, 2026

Notre Dame philosophy professor to lead new collaborative research on critical thinking pedagogy

Paul Blaschko leads a class in the First Lecture Series at Welcome Weekend. (Photo by Jon L. Hendricks/University of Notre Dame)

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ICDC Office Hours

Drop in to learn more about ICDC. We especially welcome those interested in applying to become an ICDC Faculty Fellow.
Tuesdays 11:00–11:30 am ET
Wednesdays 4:00–4:30 pm ET

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