by Kristen Figgins

Disclaimer

This is not my idea. It’s an AVID (a non-profit that works to prepare students for college) strategy that they might have adapted from some other source. However, it’s excellent and it can really work in a classroom where students tend to be too shy or quiet to talk.

Materials

  • Something to discuss (preferably a reading)
  • Post-it notes or scrap paper
  • Writing utensils

Procedure

Have students arrange their chairs in two cocentric circles.

Image result for two concentric circle

The outer circle is made up of “co-pilots” and the inner circle is made up of “pilots.” Students in the inner circle are responsible for talking and sharing their ideas while students on the outer circle are meant to make sure that conversation doesn’t lag. There will usually be about two co-pilots per pilot.

Co-pilots are provided with sticky notes or scrap paper and hand their ideas to the pilots as those ideas occur to them. Pilots talk, but they’re also responsible for sharing the ideas of their co-pilots. The idea here is that discussion will be more lively because even when the pilots run out of things to say, they have two people backing them up with interesting ideas or questions.

Tip: Halfway through the discussion or when you change topics, it can be useful to give people the option to jump out of the “co-pilot” role and into the “pilot” role. Sometimes being able to write things down will make students realize how much they had to say! And shy students who don’t feel comfortable speaking up will be excited to be able to contribute without exacerbating their anxiety.

Isn’t this a little childish for college students?

Not really! I’ve done this as an adult and found it really helpful (even grown people have trepidation sometimes about speaking up, especially when one or two extroverted peers might be dominating conversation). If you’ve really tried to facilitate discussion and it still isn’t happening, this can be really helpful.

Want to know more?

Below is a video that goes into more detail about the entire process.

Kristen Figgins is a doctoral candidate in English at the University of Arkansas. Her specialization is 19c British Literature, with a secondary focus on Rhetoric and Composition. Her current research involves tracing evolving 19c attitudes towards animals through canonical 19c British literature and their adaptations.