Teaching Negotiation: A Symposium On Excellence & Innovation For Teachers & Trainers

By — on / Teaching Negotiation

Join a community of negotiation educators at this very special symposium sponsored by the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. This first-of-its-kind, one-day event designed to enhance your teaching abilities and expand your repertoire of negotiation skills and techniques:

  • Explore the latest best practices, tactics, and strategies for teaching negotiation
  • Learn about new role-play simulations, teaching videos, and other resources available from the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC)
  • Hear current thought leadership from some of the most respected scholars in negotiation

Presenters include:

Learn more in our Q&A with Lawrence E. Susskind, Vice Chair of Pedagogy, PON Executive Committee

1. Why should people attend this symposium?

This program is designed for anyone who teaches negotiation, dispute resolution, or conflict analysis across any field (e.g., law, business, international relations, social work, peace studies, public policy, urban planning, environmental studies, and engineering).

Negotiation trainers who provide on-site or online training to business or community clients should also attend so they can evaluate potential new materials to add to their instructional repertoire. A key benefit of attending is that you become part of an instructional community upon you which you can continue to consult and engage via the TNRC website.

2. Are there any criteria for participation?

There are no prerequisites for attending and participating. All are invited, and no preparation is required.

3. What are the biggest challenges facing negotiation educators today? How does the PON address them?

  • They must decide which theory of negotiation upon to draw. Negotiation is not just about technique. The Program on Negotiation (PON) provides an in-depth exploration of what we call a mutual gains approach (MGA) to negotiation. This is a theory that has proved very useful. We present this theory through the many books, videos, and teaching materials distributed through our Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC). And we continue to develop MGA through ongoing research by faculty and doctoral students at MIT, Harvard, Tufts, and other Boston-based schools.
  • They must select a pedagogical approach. At PON, we believe strongly that role-play simulations should be part of every effort to teach negotiation (at any level of instruction). TNRC offers several hundred simulations keyed to a wide range of negotiation puzzles, problems, and contexts. We even provide video illustrations of what it looks like when faculty members use these simulations to draw lessons in class.
  • They must study the greats. PON offers videos and case studies, particularly our Great Negotiator series of case studies, because we believe there is an enormous amount to be learned by studying the experiences of some of the world’s greatest negotiators. All of these materials are available online. At the symposium on May 2, some of the newer teaching materials in the TNRC will be presented by the faculty who created them and use them.

Finally, we learn a lot from each other. For example, we bring together sixty negotiation instructors in the Boston area every semester for an intensive dinner discussion of important issues or themes in negotiation pedagogy. Being part of an instructional community provides a way to think out loud about what we teach and why we teach negotiation the way we do. We are excited to open up that conversation to a broader audience through this event.

4. What subjects will you cover in this symposium and who will be presenting?

The program will have multiple tracks covering areas including: International Relations, Law and Dispute Resolution, Gender and Negotiation, and Public Policy/Urban Planning. Participants select their track and also attend several plenary sessions. I will be presenting along with several other negotiation and teaching experts, including:

5. What can participants hope to walk away with when this conference is over?

Participants should come away with a new appreciation of what is happening in the world of negotiation pedagogy. Also, they should leave with many new ideas and improved confidence about how to incorporate a wide range of teaching or training materials into their own practices.

6. How is the TNRC evolving to meet the changing teaching needs of negotiation educators?

TNRC continues to add new role-play simulations, exercises, and tools. Many of the simulations emphasize the application of PON theories and teaching methods to emerging topic areas like transboundary water negotiations, climate change, joint ventures in the business world, and global treaty negotiations. These new materials come with teaching instructions for teachers and trainers who are topic area specialists but don’t normally teach negotiation. So, it is now possible to add a single class session on negotiation to an engineering, science, humanities, or social science class.

Second, we are investing in the development of short video segments to help teachers and trainers present very specific negotiation lessons. Instructors can download these online and add them to their regular courses. Third, we are adding to our stock of class syllabi because we know it can be helpful to see how someone else has organized a semester-long class or a module. Fourth, we continue to develop and improve the teaching notes we distribute with each role-play simulation.

Finally, we now make it possible for instructors to download inspection copies of all of our simulations at no cost and then purchase the right to duplicate the materials for their classes. They no longer have to wait for printed copies of all the materials to be mailed. While PON usually includes only materials developed by faculty from schools in the consortium, we have begun to include teaching materials from PON-affiliated faculty in other parts of the world.

7. How much does it cost to attend the symposium?

$59 per attendee.

Preliminary Agenda

Friday, May 1, 2015

Networking Reception (Optional): 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
**Please note the time has changed from a 6:30 p.m. start to a 7:00 p.m. start due to a scheduling conflict**
All attendees are welcome to join us for an optional networking reception on Friday, May 1 from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. There is no additional cost to attendees who wish to join us for the Networking Reception.

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Registration & Breakfast: 8:00 – 9:00 a.m.
A continental breakfast will be available after registration.

Welcome Presentation: 9:00 – 9:30 a.m.
Lawrence Susskind will welcome attendees and introduce them to the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center.

Sessions 1: 9:45 – 10:45 a.m.
Attendees can choose between a number of concurrent session presentations by PON faculty and affiliated faculty who teach negotiation using Teaching Negotiation Resource Center role-plays, videos and books.
Areas covered include International Relations, Law and Dispute Resolution, Gender and Negotiation, and Public Policy/Urban Planning.
More details will follow on presenters and the particular teaching material they will focus on during their presentations.

Sessions 2: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Attendees can choose between a number of concurrent session presentations by PON faculty and affiliated faculty who teach negotiation using Teaching Negotiation Resource Center role-plays, videos and books.
Areas covered include International Relations, Law and Dispute Resolution, Gender and Negotiation, and Public Policy/Urban Planning.
More details will follow on presenters and the particular teaching material they will focus on during their presentations.

Lunch: 12:00 – 1:30 p.m.
Lunch will be provided on the second floor of the Wasserstein building (Harkness South Dining Room).
Please ensure your name badge is visible to Program On Negotiation staff.

Plenary Session 1: 1:30 – 2:30 p.m.
Attendees will reconvene in Austin Hall (Austin North classroom) after lunch for the first plenary session of the afternoon. The presentation will cover thought leadership in negotiation.

Plenary Session 2: 2:45 – 3:45 p.m.
Attendees will remain in Austin Hall (Austin North classroom) for the second plenary session of the afternoon. The presentation will cover thought leadership in negotiation.

Plenary Session 3: 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Attendees will remain in Austin Hall (Austin North classroom) for the final session of the symposium.

The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School
501 Pound Hall
1563 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138

pon@law.harvard.edu
tel 1-800-391-8629
tel (if calling from outside the U.S.) +1-301-528-2676
fax 617-495-7818