The Circle of Voices (Brookfield & Preskill, pg. 80)
Steps:
- Pose a question, read a passage, etc. that focuses the discussion.
- Ask students to form groups of 4-5.
- Allow students a few minutes of quite time to organize their thoughts.
- Each student in the group then has 3 minutes of uninterrupted time to respond (this can be done sequentially, or in whatever order, as long as everyone speaks for 3 minutes).
- After everyone in the circle has had their 3 minutes, the discussion is opened up with the following ground rule: Students are allowed to talk only about other people’s ideas, not expand on their own ideas (unless asked a direct question).
Circular Response (Brookfield & Preskill, pg. 81-2)
There are 6 ground rules:
- No one may be interrupted while speaking.
- No one may speak out of turn in the circle.
- Each person is allowed only 3 minutes to speak.
- Each person must begin by paraphrasing the comments of the previous discussant.
- Each person, in all comments, must strive to show how his or her remarks relate to the comments of the previous discussant.
- After each discussant, the floor is open for general reactions (timed or not).
Hatful of Quotes (Brookfield & Preskill, pg. 82-3)
Steps:
- Write/type 5-6 sentences/passages/quotes from the text onto slips of paper (one slip of paper for each student in class).
- Put slips of paper in a hat.
- Have each student pull a slip of paper from the hat.
- Give students a few minutes to organize their thoughts about the quote on the slip of paper.
- Each student reads quote and comments on it (timed or not).
Designated Listeners (Brookfield & Preskill, pg. 96-7)
- At some point in the semester, each student takes on the role of the designated listener.
- During a discussion, the designated listener does not contribute (except to ask for clarification of someone else’s contribution).
- At the end of the discussion, the designated is responsible for summarizing the discussion.
I especially like the "designated listener" as a way to curb someone who tends to dominate in small group discussions.
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