Two Discussion Techniques

Excellence in Education: Two Discussion Techniques
Throughout most of my student life, I was an introvert. Rarely--if ever--did I participate in classroom discussions. As teacher, I recognize the value and importance of classroom discussions, but getting all students to participate was as difficult as seeing colors in the dark. Socratic Seminars and its variants often fell short at being inclusive and responsive. I sought a way to increase participation, speaking and listening and engagement while providing feedback.

Below are two classroom discussion techniques that build on the principles of Socratic Seminars. Both techniques offer the following advantages:

1. The teacher's role as a facilitator is minimized and the students take on more ownership and responsibility for the discussion
2. As a teacher you're able to offer more feedback on both the content and the how the students conduct themselves when discussing. I believe the latter is probably more important in preparing students for life.
3. The classroom becomes more silent. BUT this is a good thing as the conversations become deeper and more relevant, and students spend more time listening.

The Spider Web Discussion 
I've never used this as a teacher but read about it in a book by Alexis Wiggins, daughter of Grant Wiggins and an English teacher. Here's a video of the technique in action.

Why is it called “Spider Web” discussion? It's an acronym for several aspects of the discussion that are key to its success:
Synergetic – a collaborative effort with one single group grade (honestly, I'm not sure I agree with the group grade)
Process– it’s ongoing and practiced with a focus on feedback and improvement. 
Independent – students work while the teacher observes and provides feedback.
Developed – the discussion aims to be deep and sustained 
Exploration – an exploration of a text, essential question, or ideas
Rubric – a clear, concise rubric against which students can easily self-assess. Here's an example.

How's it work? 
In advance or in conjunction with the below steps, provide students with a reading, a video, an essential question, problem or topic to prepare for the discussion. In advance of the first discussion, it may be helpful to practice as a class. 

1. Students sit in a circle. 
2. Distribute the rubric.  
3. Set a time limit. Wiggins recommends about 30 minutes for a first-time 9th grade class. 
4. Accept the silence. Don't interrupt or correct them. If you're concerned about the students being able to conduct a 30 minute conversation, you may assign roles.
5. While you observe, draw a circular seating chart. Keep the codes simple at first and add to them as students become more familiar. Here's an example. As students talk, connect them using lines. For example, if Liam is talking and then is followed by Luis, draw a line from Liam to Luis. Besides, the acronym, this is another reason it is called the Spider Web technique. If a student interrupts, place an "I" next to his/her name.
6. Share the web with the students. The first time, the students will most likely be amazed and react accordingly (comments, laughs, etc.) 
7. Have students self-assess.
8. Debrief. 

Keep the webs throughout the year so you and your students can track progress and celebrate individual and class growth.

The Hammurabi Discussion
 Unlike the Spider Web technique this one doesn't have a catchy name (it's one I used--most likely stole form somewhere and I'm calling it the "Hammurabi Discussion" only because it was the first discussion topic of the year. Weak, I know. It differs in a couple of ways. First, the students are provided with specific discussion questions or prompts. Secondly, it is a more scripted approach.

How's it work?
Again, it's often helpful to practice with a topic students are familiar with, like school dress code.

1.  Provide students with a reading, a video, an essential question, problem or topic to prepare for the discussion. 
2. Develop 3 or more discussion questions around the topic and distribute these to the students. 
3. Place students in groups of 4. Assign each student a role. These roles will rotate. The roles I used were Facilitator (student would read the question and facilitate the discussion in the group), Clarifier/Notetaker (student would take notes and ask clarifying questions in the group), Speaker (student would be the spokesperson for the group), Questioner (student will ask follow-up questions to other groups). 
4. Have students discuss question 1 in their individual groups. They must reach a consensus or at least as close to it as possible. The speaker represents the group's opinion.
5. Randomly call on 1 of the groups' speakers to start the conversation. 
6. The student will then call on the next group. The speaker from the next group will summarize and react to the previous group(s), "We agree/disagree with...Our group...." This continues until all groups have the opportunity to share. 
7. During the next stage, each group's Questioner will have the opportunity to ask clarifying/prodding questions.
8. While students manage the discussion, the teacher is recording and is preparing to share feedback. A rubric similar to the one in the above example was used.

While the two approaches are quite different, they do share commonalities.

• Grading and feedback should be used as a tool not a weapon. 
• They both focus on developing student's soft skills and conversational skills. 
• They both hold students accountable for their learning and growth. 
• Shy students and the traditional class leaders must navigate the new terrain. Far too often the traditional class leaders control the conversation while shy students rarely participate. Both of the above approaches require equal participation.

Need to Knows
April 27: Student Award Nominations are Due (see Lisa Haney's email)

Faculty Meeting Google Slide Presentation 

Field Trips and SOLs
April 23, 24: Digital Imagining and Photography Field Trips to UVa
May 2, 3: Digital Imagining and Photography Field Trips to IX Park
May 4: Spring Musical Preview and Celebration of Dr. Moran


Birthdays

April 23-Dan Brown
April 24-Lisa Killham, Katherine Williams
April 26-Veronica Price-Thomas
April 27-Kim Morgan-Thomas
April 30-Louise Weaver

Shout Outs
We had a great spring concert! Great job by our music instructors: Katherine Williams, Shannon Hutchison-Krupat and Janet Whitmore! 

Useful Information
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