How To Use Fishbowl Discussions for Engaging Every Student

There may be nothing more fascinating than watching students getting engaged in a class discussion. When the eyes of the students light up and they walk the tightrope between actively listening to their peers and providing a voice to an idea which they can’t wait to share, the room just comes alive. But, it’s not necessary that class-wide discussions will always work.

We all know that the students who casually avert their eyes in the hopes of not being called on, just as we know the students who can’t seem to take a breath long enough to let others find their voice. This winter I tried to address these issues by stopping classroom discussions using a technique called “the fishbowl.” Suddenly, even the most reserved students found they had a voice. Here is a general rundown on how fishbowl discussions work. First, present kids with a list of questions to think about and these questions will be the focus of the discussion.

The questions which are asked from students should be broad and open-ended. As much as possible they should be questions which have more than one possible answer, questions which students can debate rather than answer in short declarative sentences. For English, this means all the questions about theme rather than plot. In science, it means that the questions about systems rather than components. For music, it means questions about composition rather than chromatic scales. By getting the questions ahead of time, every kid is empowered to come prepared with something to add to the conversation.

By: Preeti Narula

Content: https://www.weareteachers.com/fishbowl-discussions/