Fishbowl Discussion (Group Grade)

Gonna try this soon in English 12.  We're starting The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, and I'll ask students to use the new Reading Journal Format below (to prime the discussion, as Brandon says), then I'll require them to make use of the Question Stems (see earlier post), and we'll use this Group-Grade Fishbowl discussion format (described beneath the Journal format).  It's kind of a combination of Brianne's fishbowl and Brandon's way of grading his Roundtable discussion.  

New Journal Format:  

For this novel, you'll do a journal for each reading assignment (& I may or may not collect it, as before), but I will ask you to choose THREE quotations, three passages from the reading, that you consider to be the most important or significant from the reading.

Keep in mind that each reading assignment will consist of more than one short story in this collection of inter-related stories, so I'm NOT asking for three quotations from each story, or one from each story, but THREE per READING ASSIGNMENT.

We will not be using columns or tables anymore! Instead, I want three paragraphs. Each paragraph should include one of your chosen quotations (properly INTEGRATED into a sentence, with a properly formatted page reference). Each paragraph should explain why you chose the quotation, why you think it's so important, and how it's related to on-going themes and ideas in TTTC. This will be hard to do during the first assignment or two, but then it will get easier.

Group-Grade Fishbowl Discussion

The Fishbowl Discussion is a variant of the Circle Discussion, involving concentric circles:  an outer circle (the bowl) and an inner circle (the fish). 

In order for everyone to have a chance at being a fish, I will divide the class into two “schools” of fish, and each school will have its turn in the bowl.

The school of fish inside the bowl engages in a (face-to-face) discussion, while the remaining school (forming the bowl) listens and takes notes in preparation for a chance to respond to and ask questions of the school that is inside the bowl. 

At points chosen by me, the fish outside the bowl may respond to, and ask questions of, the fish in the bowl.  Halfway through the discussion, I will ask the schools to switch places.

All the usual Circle Discussion rules apply to this exercise, with this twist:  each school gets one group grade for its conversation, and the only way to get a good grade is to make sure EVERYBODY in your school participates in a meaningful way in the discussion.  Their silence is yours!  So think about ways to engage the quieter members of your group! You also improve your score by taking full advantage of your chance to engage with the other fish in the bowl when your school is outside it! Your school is also responsible for how (& how much) the other school engages with you.  

Score	Criteria
10	All contribute in meaningful way	Addresses all key aspects of the text or reading	All ask thoughtful, probing questions	All offer thoughtful responses, using textual support	Discussion evolves from Q&A session into genuine conversation	Audience eagerly engaged throughout	All interact with other school
8	Most…	Addresses most…	Most…	Most…	Mostly rises above Q&A format	Audience evenly engaged	Most…
5	Some…	Addresses some…	Some…	Some…	Evenly divided between conversation  & Q&A format	Audience unevenly engaged	Some…
2	Few…	Addresses few…	Few…	Few…	Does not get beyond Q&A format	Audience is bored	Few…

(Thanks to Ms Vigen & Mr Neblett for inspiration!)

As of 1/29, I've tried this in two class sections, and it worked fairly well.  In my most difficult section, two students who have never yet spoken all year did so!  I asked the kids for some anonymous feedback afterward, and they're not sure they like how I'm judging their conversation in part based on the responses of the audience and on how well they interact with the other group, but I' think we'll stick with that for a while to see if they get better at it.  The first two groups to try it earned grades of 7 & 8 out of 10.  It certainly challenges those who have an easy time talking, and it seems do far to be getting those who never talk to do so!

As of 1/31, I've tried this 5 times now, and 1A improved tremendously, earning an almost perfect score, while 2A got worse.  I've coached the kids a bit after each discussion, speaking with each team about how to improve.  Kids who are used to dominating discussions are struggling (in a good way) to become real leaders who help their teammates do better.  Students who have been silent before this are continuing to make progress, one in particular.  I am thinking of changing the second-to-last column on the rubric, so that groups are judged by how well they behave as audiences, rather than by how interested the other group is...

It's the end of March and I'm still using this in E12 and have just started using it in AP as well, and I'm loving it.  The AP students really like it, as it prevents any one person from dominating, and the group grade gets the egos out of the way...  

Susan's "Circle Discussion" Rules

For today's meeting (12/12), here's my contribution.  Below are the rules for my "Circle Discussions."


Directions for Circle Discussions:

1. If you've been assigned a text in advance, read it carefully, taking notes. Jot down questions, thoughts, responses, and ideas you want to share. I'll let you use your notes during the discussion. (Your Reading Journal will come in handy here.)

2. Usually, the goal is for each student to earn five points during the session.

3. We will sit in a circle, and I'll start by asking for a volunteer to start the discussion with a comment or question.

4. Only one student may speak at a time.

5. When one student finishes speaking, he/she calls on someone else (who is raising a hand). Try not to call on the same people over and over: look all around the circle to see who has a hand up. (At times, I may require someone from one half of the circle call on someone from the other half.)

6. Using classdojo.com, I will record participation points as students speak. No one gets points for repeating what someone else has said. No points are awarded for yes/no questions.

7. Once a student reaches the minimum points, I may tell that student not to speak until everyone else reaches the minimum (ask me to show you the hand-signal I use for this!). Once I feel the other students have had enough of an opportunity to participate, I may lift the gag rule (ask me to show you the hand-signal for this!).

8. Before you change the subject, ask the class if anyone wants to add something to the current topic.

9. I will participate, if necessary, only to correct misunderstandings, supply information that no one else has, move the discussion to a new topic, or bring it back to an unfinished issue.

10. If I decide to add an online dimension to our face-to-face discussion, I’ll give you the code/link to the relevant tool/site, and you can participate in that way. But keep these guidelines in mind:

• You must always identify yourself—no anonymous contributions! Use your first name and your last initial. 
• You must always be polite and respectful: I will monitor and save these online conversations. I might also, from time to time, project them on the screen so that the online conversation can influence the face-to-face conversation. 
• Do your best to write well—no text-speak! 
• We will practice with the various tools so that you learn their limitations/features. 
• No matter how many times you participate online, I will always expect you to earn at least three of your five points by speaking: in fact, I will have higher standards for judging your online comments than for assessing your spoken contributions to the discussion. 
• If needed, I may design a system of hand-signals whereby you request and are granted permission to comment online, so that I can keep track of how many folks are doing so at once and prevent dead moments in the live conversation.
• Anyone who uses the internet inappropriately (or texts) during discussion will get a zero for the discussion. 

11. The best kinds of comments, online or face-to-face, are ones that respond specifically to the ideas of others and that make us all think more deeply about the text in question.

12. I will keep track of your participation, so I expect you to be focused completely on the conversation; should you appear to be more focused on how many points you have than on what folks are saying, you will earn a zero for the discussion.

Note:  I have not used #10, as I have yet to introduce any online discussion component to my classes--I'm not sure I will...

On the 19th, in my period 4A AP class, we'll be discussing Ibsen's A Doll's House.  You are invited to come and listen to the discussion, if you like!  If you are interested, let me know.  

I will also be having discussions of Sherman Alexie's Flight in my English 12 classes:  

• Friday, the 13th, during 1A; 
• Wednesday, the 18th, during 2B; 
• and Thursday, the 19th, during 1A & 2A.  

These discussions usually start about 40 minutes into the class period...  You can also come and observe these discussions, if you like.  2A is the class that has the hardest time with these discussions...