Difficult Dialogues: Activities That Encourage Constructive Dialogues

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Difficult Dialogues Activities That Encourage
Constructive Dialogues
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Cultural Competence Steps

• Reflect on your earliest memory of being
  different - any difference skin color, age, body
  size, sexual preference, cultural background,
  ethnicity, etc.
• Draw a picture or jot down words that depict this
  memory.
• Reflect on (1) who the messengers were in the
  memory, (2) what institutions (schools, church,
  home, etc.) were involved, and (3) what feelings
  you had about this difference. Record these three
  things on the bottom of the page.
• Share your discoveries with your group.
• Whole class compiles list of three items in 3.

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Cultural Competence Class Discussion

• Do your early memories influence your behavior
  and interactions? Why or why not?
• What themes emerged in the discussion that are
  also present in your work or your environment?
• Do you believe these behaviors impact your
  interaction with friends, employees or future
  students?
• How do you believe your past experiences impact
  the larger organization to which you belong
  (school)?

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The Paseo Purpose

• The Paseo works best when a group would like to
  examine issues of identity, diversity, beliefs
  and values, and would like to begin making
  connections between who we are and how that
  shapes decisions and behaviors.

Adapted from the National School Reform Faculty
CRG Institutes 2005-2006
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The Paseo Steps

• Instruct each student to make a web of circles,
  write his/her name in the center circle and a
  word or phrase that describes his/her identity
  (terms or descriptors that have most helped
  shaped who s/he is and how s/he interacts with
  the world or words/phrases others use to identify
  them) in the outer circles. Instructor should
  model what is intended.
• Instruct students to form two concentric circles
  with the members of the outer circle facing
  inward while the members of the inner circle face
  outward. An even number of students in each
  circle is necessary as the dialogue takes place
  in pairs.
• Ask the group to think about and respond to a
  series of questions.
• Once the question has been stated, everyone will
  be allowed one minute to come up with a response.

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The Paseo Steps

• At the end of the one-minute thinking time, the
  instructor will announce the beginning of the
  round of dialogue. One student in each pair will
  take turns responding, without interruption. Two
  minutes for each person should be allocated. If
  the speaker does not take the full time, students
  are to remain silent until time has elapsed.
• At the end of the second partners time, the
  instructor will ask the group to thank their
  current partner, say goodbye, and have the
  inner/outer circle shift to the left/right.
• Students should take a few moments to greet their
  new partner.
• Repeat the process with another question.

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The Paseo Suggested Questions

• With which descriptors do you identify most
  strongly? Why is that?
• With which descriptors do others identify you
  most strongly? How do you fell about that?
• Describe a time when one of the elements of your
  identity definitely worked to your advantage,
  either in your educational experience, or in
  other areas of your life.
• Describe a time when one of the elements of your
  identity appeared to hold you back, either in
  your education experience, or in other areas of
  your life.
• Talk about a time when you noticed an inequity,
  wished you had said or done something, but did
  not.
• Talk about a time when you noticed an inequity
  and said or did something to address it.
•  

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The Paseo Debriefing

• Ask students to take a few minutes to do a
  quick-write on what they saw, heard, and felt
  during the process. Conduct a stand and
  share/round robin sharing of what each student
  observed. Afterwards, debrief the exercise.
  Possible debriefing questions include
• What will you do differently as a result of
  engaging in this dialogue?
• How will you process the emotions that surfaced
  for you as a result of this dialogue?
• How might you adapt this activity and use it in
  your current/future classroom? 

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Zones of Safety, Risk Danger Creating a Zone
Map
Danger
Risk
Safety
Adapted from the National School Reform Faculty
CRG Institutes 2005-2006
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Zones of Safety, Risk Danger Creating a Zone
Map

• Instruct students that they will be drawing a
  diagram of 3 concentric circles. The middle
  circle is Comfort, the second is Risk, and the
  third is Danger.
• Consider the various aspects of your
  life/situation. Think about the aspects that feel
  really comfortable to you, those that feel like
  there is some risk involved, and those aspects
  that you know make you feel defensive and want to
  retreat.
• Decide on the size of each Zone based on your
  consideration. Do you operate a lot in your
  Comfort Zone, your Risk Zone? Do you operate only
  a little in your Danger Zone? Make the size of
  your Zones reflect the quantity of time you
  operate there.
• Create the zone map.
• Think about the different activities you do
  and/or affective domains in which you work/learn.
  Make a list of these activities.
• Put each activity or affective domain into the
  Zone that best represents your sense of relative
  Comfort, Risk or Danger.

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Zones of Safety, Risk Danger Zone Map Activity
Steps

• Introduce a topic that might result in a
  difficult dialogue.
• Have students ponder the topic and recognize any
  dilemmas they might have regarding the topic.
• Have students fill out their zone map based on
  this topic and their possible dilemmas with the
  topic.
• Divide students into triads.
• Have students take turns sharing their zone maps.
  
• Have students discuss questions regarding their
  zone maps and possible dilemmas with the topic.

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Zones of Safety, Risk Danger Activity
Discussion Questions

• What zone(s) is the student working from?
• How, if at all, does his/her dilemma relate to
  his/her zone map?
• What might s/he need to know about other
  classmates Danger Zones?
• If his/her dilemma is in the Danger Zone (or
  someone elses) how can s/he move those issues
  into a Risk or Comfort Zone?
• How might this movement contribute to solving the
  dilemma?
• What would the other people who contribute to or
  are affected by his/her dilemma say about the
  dilemma?

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Paideia Seminar

• Paideia seminars are
• Formal discussion based on a text in which the
  leader asks only open-ended questions. Within the
  context of the discussion, students are required
  to read and study the text carefully, listen
  closely to the comments of others, think
  critically for themselves, and articulate both
  their own thoughts and their responses to the
  thoughts of others. (Roberts Billings, 1999,
  p. 41)

Roberts, T.A., Billings, L. (1999). The Paideia
classroom Teaching for understanding. Larchmont,
NY Eye on Education, p. 41.
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Paideia Seminar Steps

• Arrange students desks in a circle.
• Tell students that the purpose of the seminar -
  to discuss what they think are the most pertinent
  features of the information they have reviewed
  (article, artifact, photo).
• Set the ground rules
• All students will be given an opportunity to be
  heard.
• All students thoughts will be treated with
  respect.
• All students should avoid making evaluative
  statements about the comments of others.
• If there is a disagreement, textual support will
  rule.
• Ask students to take a few minutes to write brief
  statements about what they thought were some of
  the most important features of the materials they
  studied or to record questions they had about the
  materials. Have students keep this paper on their
  desks.

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Paideia Seminar Steps (cont.)

• Ask for a volunteer to start the conversation. If
  no one volunteers, use a random selection method
  to call on someone to share what they wrote on
  their paper.
• This should spark a conversation. Follow the
  thread of this thought until it is complete and
  another one is taken up.
• Everyone should be allowed to speak, think and
  ask questions.
• To conclude, the teacher can ask students to
  recap some of the major points of the seminar and
  then discuss the actual procedure itself. Did the
  students think it went well or that it could be
  improved? If so, how?