Guiding Complex Conversations in Ethics and Religion

Inviting observation, welcoming feedback and strengthening
the learning experience for students

In Matthew Lai’s classroom, students debate the Ten Commandments, examine religious traditions and wrestle with questions of ethics and public life. The conversations are lively, respectful and often continue even as students gather their belongings and leave the room. During one class session, students were asked to take a position on whether the government should require public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. Regardless of their personal beliefs, they were challenged to construct arguments, consider counterpoints, and identify the strongest reasoning on both sides. The result was a classroom filled with debate, careful listening, and genuine intellectual curiosity. Creating that kind of intellectual environment requires careful facilitation, openness, and a willingness to continually refine one’s teaching practice.

Throughout the semester, Lai engaged in several forms of teaching dialogue with the Center for Teaching Excellence, including syllabus consultation, four classroom observations, and midterm student feedback. Each was initiated at his request and reflects his continued focus on strengthening the student learning experience.

Over the course of the 2025-2026 academic year, Matthew Lai, Cardinal Bernardin Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies, engaged in an ongoing teaching partnership with the Center for Teaching Excellence grounded in consultation, classroom observation, and reflective dialogue. This work was supported through ongoing collaboration with instructional designer Courtney Bailey. The collaboration began when Lai reached out to the Center for Teaching Excellence to request feedback on his course syllabi. This initial consultation provided an opportunity to review course structure, clarify expectations, and consider ways to strengthen student engagement from the very beginning of the semester. What began as a syllabus review soon developed into an ongoing conversation about teaching and learning. As the dialogue continued, Lai expressed interest in exploring how these ideas were unfolding in the classroom itself. At his request, several classroom observations were conducted across the academic year.

These observations were neither evaluative nor prescriptive. Instead, they focused on observing teaching and learning as it unfolded in real time. Each visit created an opportunity to reflect on classroom dynamics, instructional choices, and the ways students were engaging with course material. Following each observation, Lai participated in debrief conversations that explored moments of strong engagement and identified specific strategies that could further strengthen the learning experience.

One area discussed involved managing student attention in a technology-rich classroom. In earlier observations, several students had laptops open and were occasionally distracted by unrelated tasks. In response, Lai implemented a simple but effective adjustment. After greeting the class, he now invites students to close their laptops and turn their phones and tablets face down so they can focus fully on the opening portion of the lesson. When digital tools are needed for a specific activity, he clearly signals when students should open their devices again. This small shift has helped create clearer transitions between focused listening and active participation.

Another suggestion involved creating additional opportunities for student voice during lecture segments. In later observations, this adjustment was already visible. Rather than reading every prompt himself, Lai now invites students to read questions or key points directly from his carefully prepared slide decks. This subtle change distributes participation more evenly across the room and brings additional voices into the conversation.

Lai also implemented strategies designed to support discussion of sensitive topics. At the end of one class session, students were invited to share their perspectives anonymously through a QR code response system. This approach allowed students to reflect on potentially polarizing questions while maintaining a sense of psychological safety within the classroom. Student feedback reflects the impact of this approach: “I like when Professor Lai uses the anonymous surveys in regards to the things we talk about in class, it lets us talk about certain potentially controversial topics without having to say them out loud and gives everyone in the room an idea of the people around them and their thoughts.”

Other adjustments were evident in the structure of classroom activities. Students were organized into small groups to debate ethical questions, identify the strongest arguments on opposing sides, and report their reasoning back to the class. These think-pair-share discussions encouraged students to consider perspectives beyond their own and strengthened their ability to articulate complex ideas.

Lai’s teaching also reflects a strong commitment to helping students connect abstract concepts to lived practice. In one lesson on religious traditions, he physically demonstrated the movements of Islamic prayer so students could better understand the embodied nature of the practice rather than encountering it only as a written description.

Across multiple observations, these strategies created an environment where students were animated, curious, and eager to participate. These moments signal a classroom where students are actively building understanding together rather than being passive recipients of information.

One course in particular highlights Lai’s creative approach to teaching complex ideas. In his Honors course Star Wars, Religious Traditions and Moral Imagination, students explore philosophical and religious themes through the cultural phenomenon of Star Wars. During one observed class, students analyzed the Jedi Order while drawing parallels to religious traditions, moral autonomy, hierarchy, and martyrdom. The room was arranged in a square, rather than the typical lecture rows, so that students faced one another in discussion while Lai remained just outside the square, allowing the conversation to be led by the students themselves. The result was a classroom dynamic where ideas moved easily among students and respectful disagreement became part of the learning process. Student reflections further underscore the value of this approach: “While the class may not seem very applicable to real world philosophy, morality, or religion, Lai successfully connects the topics within the Star Wars Universe that we talk about to larger historical events or philosophical thoughts in the real world.”

In addition to his classroom teaching, Lai delivered a campus wide lecture titled Holding the Light: Political Mourning as Moral Witness in Hong Kong. The lecture combined compelling visuals and symbolic elements that guided the audience through the topic, and the question-and-answer session extended beyond the scheduled time, reflecting the strong interest and engagement of those in attendance.

Opening a classroom to observation takes vulnerability and confidence. Using these conversations to strengthen the learning experience takes commitment. Lai’s work this year demonstrates what is possible when teaching is approached as an evolving practice. By inviting observation, engaging openly in reflective dialogue and implementing feedback in real time, he has created classrooms where students are encouraged to question, debate, and learn from one another. His willingness to open his classroom and engage fully in this collaborative process reflects both intellectual humility and a strong commitment to his students.

This work reflects a sustained commitment to refining teaching practice. By engaging in observation, reflective dialogue, and ongoing feedback, Lai has created a classroom where students actively participate, challenge ideas, and learn from one another.

At the Center for Teaching Excellence, classroom observations are designed as a collaborative opportunity to examine teaching and learning together. These visits focus on how students engage with course material and how instructional choices shape the classroom experience, creating space for reflection and conversation about teaching practice.

Faculty interested in learning more about this process are encouraged to review the classroom observation overview. The overview highlights how consultation, observation, and reflective dialogue can support instructors who are interested in strengthening their teaching practices.

The Center for Teaching Excellence is proud to collaborate with faculty like Lai whose curiosity, openness and dedication continue to strengthen the learning experience for students across USC.