Graduate Certificate in Conflict Resolution
LAWS5702- ADVANCED CONFLICT RESOLUTION AND MEDIATION
FALL 2010 COURSE OUTLINE
TERM
Fall Intensive 2010
PREREQUISITE
LAWS5701
INSTRUCTOR
Dr. Cheryl Picard
Office: D499 Loeb
Phone: Office: 520-2600 extension 2678
Email: cheryl_picard@carleton.ca
DATES AND TIMES
November 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 2010
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
LOCATION
Loeb Building Room B454
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course builds upon the theory and skills of conflict resolution and insight mediation taught in
LAWS5701. Topics to be covered include how to convene, conduct and conclude a mediation session;
how to analyze the level of conflict, get past impasse, and facilitate learning through mediation. Other
topics to be covered include co-mediation, standards of practice, ethical dilemmas, liability, and
becoming a reflective practitioner.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
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To further students’ understanding of conflict resolution and insight mediation theory and practice.
To refine and advance the conflict resolution and insight mediation techniques and skills learned in
LAWS5701 and other Graduate Certificate courses.
To ground students’ practice in theory; to help them become aware of the theory and research that
grounds their practice; and to help them refine their skills through self-reflection, self-understanding
and self-appropriation.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Texts are available through the Carleton University Bookstore.
1) Melchin K. and C. Picard, Transforming Conflict through Insight. Toronto: University of Toronto
Press, 2008
2) Picard, Cheryl, Peter Bishop, Rena Ramkay, Neil Sargent, The Art and Science of Mediation.
Emond Montgomery, 2004.
3) Course Reader: Advanced Conflict Resolution and Mediation. Carleton University Press, 2010.
RELATIONSHIP OF COURSE TO CCR PROGRAM GOALS AND COMPETENCIES
This course will teach specifically to competencies 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2,
6.3, 6.4, 6.5. Students will be evaluated on these competencies.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING SCHEME
i) Preparation for Class, Participation, Group Presentations, and Attendance (10%)
The course will involve lectures, class discussion, small group work, and mediation simulation practice.
Students are expected to have read the required readings in advance of class and come
prepared to offer informed and analytical interventions. Assessment will be based on a student’s
willingness to participate in the class activities, to ask questions that advance their own understanding
and build knowledge for others, to participate in class discussions that deepen the conversation,
encourage participation of others, and attend to group process. Students will also be assessed on the
quality, fullness and the consistency of their participation.
Students are required to hand in on the first day of class their ILI binders for review by Dr.
Picard. Please contact the instructor before class if you are unsure of this requirement.
ii) In-class Quiz (5%) and In-class Assignments (15%)
On Day 3 of the course, a short in-class quiz will be given which will be worth 5% of the student’s final
grade. Also on Day 3, students will be asked to hand in 3 documents using information from the
simulation on day 1 in which they acted as mediator: 1) a completed memorandum of understanding
and 2) a completed pre-mediation agreement (5%) and 3) a conflict “map” (5%).
iii) Independent Learning Initiative (ILI) - Self-assessment (15%) and Learning Journal (10%)
Students are expected to keep a learning journal throughout the course, which is to be handed in at the
end of the course with their written assignment. Refer to The Learning Journal for how to do a journal.
If you do not have a copy of this handout, you can find it on the CCR website under the “Independent
Learning Initiative” tab.
Students are also required to write a 4 to 5 page self-assessment identifying their strengths and
weaknesses in mediation and communication skills at this point in time, their ability to integrate
knowledge and skills, and concrete plans for improving on their skills. A handout will be provided in
class. Both ILI assignments are to be handed in with the final essay.
v) Final Essay (45%)
Forty-five percent (45%) of the final grade will be based on an essay assignment of no more than 1215 typed, double spaced pages. Details of the assignment will be handed out in class. Essays must be
submitted in person to the Department of Law C473 Loeb Building or placed in the drop-off box if the
office is closed. Faxed or emailed essays are not acceptable unless special permission has been
given. Students should keep a copy of their paper until the graded essay has been returned or marks
have been posted. If you would like your essay to be returned by mail, please include a stamped, selfaddressed envelope. Essays and assignments can also be picked up at the Law office – C473 Loeb.
Essays and ILI assignments are due on Monday, December 6, 2010. Students can lose
up to 3 marks for each day their assignments are late.
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Course of Study and Required Readings
Day One – Saturday, November 6
9:00-12:00
INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE
 Relationship to program goals and learning outcomes
 Assignments and grading scheme, ILI Binders
 From thinking to knowing to doing - working toward intellectual self-appropriation
A REVIEW OF INSIGHT MEDIATION THEORY (Competency 5.3)
 Conflict as a relationship of threats-to-cares
 Mediation as learning & the process of learning
 Emotion in learning
 Changing attack-defend patterns of interaction caused by threat narratives
A REVIEW OF THE INSIGHT MEDIATION METHOD (Competency 5.3)
1. Attend to Process
2. Broaden Understanding
“What have you come to talk about and what do you hope will be different/better
if you can have that conversation?”
3. Deepen Insights
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How to identify and work with threats-to-cares
Changing the pattern of interaction from “attack-defend”
Probing for Insight into threats to discover cares (“Being attentive”)
Direct and Inverse Insights & Verification (“Being intelligent”)
What needs to be done for things to change
RESPONSIVE INTENTIONALITY
 Acting with intention not being directive
USING “AGREEMENT TO MEDIATE” FORMS
12:00-1:00
1:00-5:00
LUNCH
MEDIATION SIMULATION #1
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3 rounds

De-brief how to identify and work with cares and threats to cares
Readings
Cloke, Kenneth, “The Dangers of Mediation,” Mediating Dangerously. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001:3-14
LeBaron, Michelle, “Third-Party Roles in Cultural Conflict,” Bridging Cultural Conflicts. San Francisco: JosseyBass, 2003:271-288
Melchin K. and C. Picard, “Insight Theory: Transformation through Learning” and “Insight Mediation: Applying
Insight Theory to the Mediation Process”, in Transforming Conflict through Insight, University of Toronto Press,
2008:49-101
Picard, Cheryl, Peter Bishop, Rena Ramkay, Neil Sargent, “Seeing the Forest and the Trees: Mediation Artistry”
(pgs. 133-158); and “Opting for a Guide: The Mediation Process” (pgs.159-190) in The Art and Science of
Mediation. Emond Montgomery, 2004
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Day Two - Sunday, November 7
9:00-12:30
CHECK-IN
REVIEW OF REFLECTIVE LISTENING SKILLS (Competency 5.1)
INSIGHT MEDIATION METHOD (Cont’d) (Competency 5.3)
Stage 4: Explore Possibilities
 Helping parties to come up with non-threatening options through
brainstorming or other free-thinking methods (“Being reasonable”)
 Using flipcharts or white boards as visual aids
 Moving from Exploring Possibilities to Making Decisions
Stage 5: Make Decisions
 Selecting from the list of possible options (“Being responsible”)
 How to conclude the mediation
 Writing a Memorandum of Understanding
THE USE OF CAUCUS IN INSIGHT MEDIATION
 Why caucus is not commonly practiced in Insight mediation
 Times when a caucus might be useful and how to do it
WHAT IS MEANT BY FEELINGS AS CARRIERS OF CARES AND THREATS,
AND VALUES IN INSIGHT MEDIATION?
12:30-1:30
LUNCH
1:30-5:00
CONVENING MEDIATION (Competency 4.1 through 4.6)

Assessing the Situation and Preparing the Parties
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Conflict Coaching & Problem-solving for one
COMMUNICATION SKILLS: a review of questioning skills that helps to deepen
the conversation – layered, bridging, finishing, using
INSIGHT MEDIATION STRATEGIES
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Noticing and wondering to stimulate curiosity
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Linking and De-linking – experiencing, remembering, imagining
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Creating a cognitive map of the conflict
SIMULATION #2: Convening practice
Assignment due next Friday: Using the information from the simulation on day one when you mediated complete: 1) a Memorandum of
Understanding; 2) a personalized “Agreement to Mediate”; and 3) a conflict “map” that includes a statement of the issues in question, each
parties’ answer to the question, how these answers are threatening, and the cares the underlie these threats.
Readings
Lovenheim, P., “Writing an Agreement that Works," Mediate Don't Litigate. Montreal: McGraw-Hill, 1989:104-117
Picard, Cheryl, Peter Bishop, Rena Ramkay, Neil Sargent, “Deciding on and Preparing the Path: Convening a
Mediation (pgs 191-219) and “Packing Your Toolkit: Communication Skills” (pgs. 221-253) in The Art and Science
of Mediation. Emond Montgomery, 2004
Sargent, Neil, Cheryl Picard and Marnie Jull, “Rethinking Conflict: Perspectives on the Insight Approach,”
Negotiation Journal, in review, 2010 (on WebCT)
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Day Three - Friday, November 12
Hand in assignments from last weekend: 1) Completed "memorandum of understanding", 2)
personalized "Agreement to Mediate" form; and 3) your Conflict “map”.
9:00-9:15
CHECK-IN
9:15-9:45
IN-CLASS QUIZ
9:45-11:15
GUEST SPEAKER:
 Mediation at the Public Service Tribunal (Competency 5.3)
11:15-11:30
BREAK
11:30-12:30
COMMUNICATION SKILLS (Competency 5.1)
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Using Bridging, Finishing and Using to help deepen
12:30-1:30
LUNCH
1:30 to 5:00
WORKING WITH GROUPS (Competency 3.1-3.2)
FACILITATION SKILLS AND APPLICATIONS
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Contrasting Facilitation and Mediation
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Using facilitation and mediation skills informally
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The Power of Apology
UNDERSTANDING GROUP PROCESS
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Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing
Simulation #3 – Multi-party, co-mediation
Readings:
Boulle, L. and Kelly, K., “Legal Issues in Mediation,” in Mediation: Principles, Processes, Practice. Toronto:
Butterworths, 1998:276-321
Kelsey, Dee and Pam Plumb, “Knowing Your Group,” in Great Meetings! How to Facilitate Like a Pro. Portland:
Hanson Park Press, 1997
Picard, Cheryl, Peter Bishop, Rena Ramkay, Neil Sargent, “Packing Your Toolkit: Communication Skills” in The Art
and Science of Mediation. Emond Montgomery, 2004:221-253
Schwarz, Roger, "Group Facilitation and the Role of the Facilitator”; The Skilled Facilitator: Practical Wisdom for
Developing Effective Groups San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1994:3-18; and "Diagnosis: Identifying Behaviors that
Enhance or Hinder Group Effectiveness, 1994:67-99; and “Serving as Facilitator in Your Own Organization,"
1994:233-248
Tidwell, Alan, “Problem Solving for One,” Mediation Quarterly, Vol. 14 (4) 1997:309-317
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Day Four - Saturday November 13
9:00 to12:30
Check-in
AN INTERACTIONIST APPROACH TO THINKING ABOUT CONFLICT
MEDIATION STYLES AND APPROACHES (Competency 5.3)
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Highlighting some f the difference between Insight, Interest-based,
Transformative and Narrative mediation models
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Characterizing Your Style and Adapting Your Model
MORE ON INSIGHT MEDIATION (VIDEO)
De-brief – probing for insights; linking and de-linking; being intentional;
feelings as values; naming the feelings; deepening and other Insight skills

12:30-1:30
Lunch
1:30 to 5:00
THINKING ABOUT “YOU” IN MEDIATION
 Recognizing your style, biases, strengths and weaknesses
 Supporting Mediator Reflection, Inquiry and Self-Knowing
MANAGING THE EMOTIONAL CLIMATE (Competency 5.2)
COMMUNICATION SKILLS THAT DESCALATE HIGH EMOTION
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Reflecting / Immediacy / Reframing / Normalizing
GENDER AND HUMAN NEEDS
WHEN FACED WITH AN ETHICAL DILEMMA
Small Group Activity: Recognizing and responding to ethical dilemmas
Readings:
Littlejohn, Stephen and Kathy Domenici, “Mediating Private Disputes,” in Engaging Communication in Conflict.
Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2001:55-88
Melchin K. and C. Picard, “Concluding Reflections”, in Transforming Conflict through Insight, University of Toronto
Press, 2008:124-130
Minkle, Beryl, A. Bashir, and Claudia Sutulov, “Peer Consultation for Mediators: The use of a Holding Environment
to Support Mediator Reflection, Inquiry, and Self Knowing,” Negotiation Journal, July 2008:303-323
Morris, Catherine, “The Trusted Mediator: Ethics and Interaction in Mediation,” in J. Macfarlane, Rethinking
Disputes: The Mediation Alternative. Toronto, Emond Montgomery, 1997:301-348
Picard, Cheryl, Peter Bishop, Rena Ramkay, Neil Sargent, “Bridging Differences: Managing the Interaction” (pgs.
255-283); and “Taking the Unknown Path: Mediation as a Profession” (pgs. 313-332) in The Art and Science of
Mediation. Emond Montgomery, 2004
Reimann, C., “All you need is Love”… and What About Gender? Working Paper, University of Bradford, 2002
Zariski, Archie, “A Theory Matrix for Mediators,” Negotiation Journal, Vol. 26 April 2010:203-235
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Day Five - Sunday November 14
9:00 to10:30
CHECK-IN
COURSE EVALUATION
WORKING AS A CONFLICT CONSULTANT / MEDIATOR (Guest Speakers)
Hallmarks of Advanced Practice
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Standards of Practice
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Legal Liability
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Professional Insurance
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Accreditation
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SETTING UP A PRACTICE
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The job market
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Professional Associations / Conferences / Advancement
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Using the Internet
ASSESSING YOUR SKILLS AS A MEDIATOR (Competency 6.1-6.5)
 Peer review
 Preparing for your skills assessment
 Becoming involved in the role-play practice group & the role of the coach
BECOMING A REFLECTIVE PRACTITIONER (Competency 6.1 through 6.5)
11:00-12:30
SIMULATION #4
Rotation 1
12:30-1:30
Lunch
1:30 to 5:00
SIMULATION #4
Rotations 2 and 3
Large group wrap-up and course closure
Readings:
Bronson, Sue, “Improving Mediator Competence through Self-Assessment,” Mediation Quarterly, Vol. 19 No. 2,
2000: 171-179
Bowling, D. and D. Hoffman, “Bringing Peace into the Room: The Personal Qualities of the Mediator and Their
Impact on the Mediation,” in D. Bowling and D. Hoffman (eds.) Bringing Peace into the Room. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass, 2003:13-47
Lang M., and A. Taylor, “Putting Reflection into Practice,” in The Making of a Mediator. San Francisco: Jossey
Bass, 2000:119-149
McGuire A. P and L. Inlow,” Interactive Reflection as a Creative Teaching Strategy”, Conflict Resolution Quarterly,
Vol 22, 2005:365-379
Picard, Cheryl, Peter Bishop, Rena Ramkay, Neil Sargent, “Taking the Unknown Path: Mediation as a Profession”
in The Art and Science of Mediation. Emond Montgomery, 2004:333-350
Velikonja, Urska, “Making Peace and Making Money: Economic Analysis of the Market for Mediators in Private
Practice,”2008 (Available at http://works.bepress.com/urska_velikonja/1/)
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