How can I enable students to get into a controversial conversation? How do I create an atmosphere of recognition, in which students openly express their interests and opinions? The 4-corner-method offers a good starting point. It is particularly suitable at the beginning of a course (after getting to know each other) because it enables you to get familiar with views and interests of your participants. This is especially important in non-formal education, as you will often work with groups you don’t know yet.

The method can be applied to encourage conversations on all kinds of topics. The availabe presentation provides examples for questions and answers related to the topics Europe, media, Covid-19 and others.

In chapter 7 of our publication “Understanding Europe – Approaches for Diversity-Oriented Peer Education”, you can also find a more detailed description of method as well as recommendations and ideas to keep in mind when moderating this kind of conversations.