Roadmap to Resolution is a three-phase conflict resolution program designed to meet the needs of teachers and educational support professionals in Minnesota. Phase I, self-resolution, offers tools for members to settle conflicts themselves. The other two phases, which utilize a trained facilitator or an outside mediator, come into play if the parties cannot resolve the conflict on their own.

Self-resolution techniques allow the resolution of conflicts without external help. Methods of self-resolution can include:

• Communication with the other party to the conflict
• Use of methods to alleviate personal concerns about conflict without involving the other party.

The use of self-resolution techniques has many benefits:

• The people involved in the conflict control the confidentiality of their conflict.
• Scheduling is easier with only the parties involved.
• Self-resolution avoids the perceived problems of neutrality, confidentiality, training, availability and conflicting roles that may exist with the use of a neutral third party.

Self-resolution also decreases the potential for future conflict:

• Training in conflict self-resolution can help individuals understand others' differences and decrease their conflict level.
• It enables problem solving without finger-pointing.
• It helps individuals learn to act early in acknowledging conflict, responding rationally and without emotion, and dealing with conflict honestly and directly.

Remember, the parties must establish and adhere to their own rules of confidentiality for the method to be effective.