Return
to Classroom Applications Page
Return to graphic version of page
Go to site navigation links
Ordered Sharing
Read
through the activity, step by step
Skip to Rationale
Skip to Materials
Skip to Process
Skip
to Dialogue!
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.
top
Materials
None
Top
Process
- 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)
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- When everyone has spoken,
the group again has a moment of silence to reflect on what everyone has said.
- The process can be repeated
if desired.
- 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.
Top
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.
Click
here to email Annette questions, comments, and suggestions.
Click
here to join our email discussion group!
Click
here to read more about our model.
top
Site navigation links:
About
Us
Model
Resources
Classroom Applications
Community
Workshops
Site Map
Home
top