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Ordered Sharing

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Strategy Rationale

--In building a sense of community where everyone feels safe to take risks and express opinions, it is important to have good listening skills. Most of us need to learn how to listen well. Ordered Sharing is a strategy suggested by Renate and Geoffrey Caine to give every person an equal chance to have input. For a complete description of the strategy, see Education on the Edge of Possibility (1997), pages 142-143.

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Materials

None.

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Process

2. The class is divided into groups. The Caines recommend group sizes of six to ten. In my classes, groups are easily three to five students. The students should sit in a closed circle. "A circle begins to eliminate hierarchy and engender a sense of equality." (p. 142)
3. A topic is assigned. It should be a topic that is "pithy," broad, open to differing perspectives. Here are some examples that the Caginess suggest
   • Everything is separated and connected
   • Whatever is, is always in process
   • The whole is greater than the sum of its parts

   I assign topics related to the content that we are studying. I also use Ordered Sharing after viewing movie clips which are selected to elicit an emotional response, such as Salaam Bombay or The Saint of Fort Washington.

4. Give the students a moment to reflect silently on the topic. The object here is not to figure out what it means or what the "correct" response is, but rather to think about what it means at the moment to each individual student.
5. Set a time limit for each person to speak. One or two minutes seems to work well. Each person expresses on opinion, thoughts or feelings about the topic. At the end of the time limit, the student to the left speaks, and so on around the circle.
6. As each person speaks, the other students are requested to listen with full attention, without interrupting, agreeing, disagreeing, or even giving nonverbal feedback. Initially, this feels very unnatural, but students soon become comfortable with the process. This means that every one is heard, everyone is free to say what they think, and there is no judgment of what anyone says.
7. One of the group members should be charged with monitoring the time limits. The group leader should also remind members of the group not to interrupt if necessary. I'd recommend that a different student be a group leader every time Ordered Sharing is used.
8. When everyone has spoken, the group again has a moment of silence to reflect on what everyone has said.
9. The process can be repeated if desired.
10. The Caines recommend moving on to the next planned activity immediately after completing an Ordered Sharing without further discussion of the topic in the groups. "This process ... is precisely to generate a different sense of being together, in which debate and immediate advocacy and defense of a position are not the objective." (p. 143) I do sometimes allow students a free time of discussion after doing an Ordered Sharing. However, if I sense that students are experiencing intense emotions, I give them an opportunity to write reflectively for a period of time and then move on to another topic.

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Dialogue!

The design of this strategy was guided by careful consideration of
-- the unique learner. Ordered Sharing gives each student a chance to express his or her own thoughts and feelings. Because the strategy involves both reflection time and sharing time, it respects both the interpersonal and the intrapersonal intelligences.

--the environment, and more specifically, the emotional and social environment of the class.   Ordered Sharing is an excellent way to foster a sense of community. Essential ingredients in any community are respect, attentive listening, and an equally distributed sense of power. In addition, Ordered Sharing is a safe way for students to express not only thoughts, but also feelings.

--constructing meaning. Each student considers what the topic means to him or her without any sense of a right or wrong answer.

 

 

 

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