During the in-class discussions, often times
discussions lag on (or start slow) because of various reasons.
However, there are times, at which point a lot of people start
discussing things. Now in these situations (although it’s a bit sad because
class discussions usually start to pick up the curve towards the end of the
class period) many people are left hanging. I know that I am one of these
people. That is why I write down whatever I have to say on the left side of my
notebook (note taking tips!). Often you would hear stuff like “Well, this is
sort of off but...” or “On a side note, in response to...” and a lot of times the
conversations would just move too far ahead for what the person is trying to say. Anyhow, that is why I voiced my
opinion in class about the finger rule. At first
I had thought of a more rigorous and complex system, but that was quickly
vetoed down. The finger rule is that instead of the normal hand that you raise,
if you have a quick point to make in response to somebody, and then you raise
your index finger. This rule was made to be used under the normal discussions.
BUT in today’s class discussion (I FEEL EXTREMELY SAD YOU WEREN'T THERE
MR. MITCHELL), this rule, in BETA mode, was 'misused'. It could be seen that this
rule clearly doesn’t work when literally everybody has something to say because
the discussions are moving at a steadier pace and then everybody is holding
their index finger! It could also be clearly observed that today’s discussion
was probably the most fascinating of all discussions this entire year: there
were multiple debates and unlike any of the other days many people had different
opinions about the topic at hand. This day was the most controversial, amusing, and thoughtful day in terms of in
class discussion. Maybe this was also because the topics were come up by
students and class discussion was led by students.
MORE ON FINGER RULE AND SUBSETS:
The index: I have something quick to say in response
to something that somebody has just said.
If you don’t get called on because of other people
holding their index fingers and they got called upon, increase the number of
fingers per person.
Situation: Person A has just said something and you
wanna respond to it. Three people raise their hands with the index finger(
Person B, C, and you). Suppose person C has been called upon. Then, you and
Person B should also raise with your index finger, your middle finger. In this
manner, you have raised two fingers. Keep on going with this pattern until you
are finally called upon or the topic is no longer valid (shouldn't happen
unless debate super super popular).
The order:
1 1. Index
Finger
2. Index
Finger and Middle Finger
3.Thumb,
Index Finger, and Middle Finger
4.Thumb,
Index Finger, Middle Finger, and Ring Finger
After
this point, if you point is still valid, start going back down the order. So: 1,2,3,4,3,2,1....
It is important to note a significant distinction.
During your waiting period, people might want to respond to points that others
have stated. If they decide to use the finger rule, then THEY WILL GET
PRIORITY. Please, do understand this and DO NOT CHEAT.
If, during this waiting period, you point gets too
old and you don’t want to say it but want to respond to another point
immediately, then revert back to step 1.
POOF. That’s it. Now, what do you guys think about
this?
I apologize about all the font changes, they are not done intentionally, please zoom in and stuff. I think I mentioned this, but I will try to respond to any comments/questions as soon as possible.
ReplyDeleteI think this is way too complicated for a class discussion. We have enough trouble staying on topic anyways (which isn't always a bad thing), and it seems like our current method of raising hands and occasionally only raising the index finger is working for us. I think that doing more than that would be more confusing for everyone, and we'd just spend more time figuring out who's turn it was instead of thinking critically about what we're reading. It's not a competition to see who can answer the most questions, it's about hearing many ideas from many people in the class. I feel like this system could get overly competitive fast (depending on how many people are participating in the first place), and discourage some from participating in the discussion.
ReplyDeleteI feel as if this whole issue isn't really a big one anyways. Everyone who has a hand raised for a while usually gets a chance to say something, and I feel like our class is always really flexible about jumping around from place to place. Plus, with such a big class it's a given that not every single person will be able to say what they want about every single topic. I think that's one of the reasons we have the blogs. If you didn't get a chance to respond in class then you can just go rant about it on your blog.
I think you do bring a good point about the competion of who can speak first. In terms of the subsets, they are there for when multiple people raising their fingers. This subset was made simply for the aid of whoever is leading the discussion. Of course, the expectation is that it isn't going to be used quite as often-- it is just to be used in a causual way.
DeleteIt is indeed true that the issue isn't that big but it is important to clarify so that a class discussion can move on smoothly..
I was afraid that all this would be taken in not such a positive sence-- my intentions are not to turn the class into a race, but rather help the class flow even better than before.