Interesting dynamics happen in an academic year. In the Fall semester, students begin their scholastic journey of a particular grade level. And in the Spring semester, there is a promise of a new year, which brings excitement and anticipation. A combination of reflection and review, mixed with expectancy, permeates the experience. The classroom reflects this, with high energy, a slump midway, and high energy at the end. How do you address the slump? How can you capture the positivity and energy at the beginning of a new year to push your students to completion?
In January, take a break from your typical schedule. Make time and space for students to reflect on fresh starts. Give the assignment to consider these things and make notes: 1) how to create enjoyable moments completing yearbook work; 2) consider ways to view unexpected happenings in the yearbook class as a positive thing; 3) what happened in the first semester that they liked and want to revisit? These positive moments can continue when you divide students into small group discussions called Fishbowl Discussions. Ask the editor or co-editors to record the results from the discussions. You want to translate the essence of these into tangible ways.
The following is taken from Facing History and Ourselves.
“What Is a Fishbowl Discussion?
A Fishbowl Discussion is a strategy for facilitating group discussions. Divide students into groups, with 3-4 in the fishbowl, and several outside the group listening to the conversation. Students inside the fishbowl actively discuss a topic. They take turns practicing in both of these roles. This is a useful activity when all students need to participate in a discussion. It helps them with reflection and provides a structure to discuss controversial and difficult topics. Use the Fishbowl discussion for a pre-writing activity because the practice often unearths ideas or questions that can be explored more deeply in an independent writing assignment.
How to Run a Fishbowl Discussion
Select a Topic
The most effective prompts do not have one right answer or interpretation. Any topic is suitable, and the exercise allows for multiple perspectives. The yearbook process can cause many issues among staff to come up. The Fishbowl strategy is a powerful method to discuss dilemmas, such as final touches to the Senior section, formatting a page spread, and more.
Set Up the Room
Prepare for a Fishbowl discussion by moving chairs into a circle with enough room around the circle for the other students to observe and listen. The adviser decides how many chairs to use to create the circle. A typical fishbowl has six to twelve chairs and is conducive for every student to speak and give opinions. These discussions are most effective if students have a few moments to prepare ideas and fashion questions in advance.
Prepare for the Discussion
Like many structured conversations, Fishbowl discussions are most effective when students have had a few minutes to prepare ideas and questions in advance.
Discuss Norms and Rules
Before you begin a Fishbowl exercise, make sure you explain the boundaries to the students. Students who listen need guidance on what to listen for and guide them on what notes to take. Remind them to be respectful in their conversation, and to focus on the aspects of the topic. Make note of those who speak too often, any disrespectful language, how many interruptions, etc. You will provide the length of time to the students, ten to fifteen minutes in the bowl, for example, before announcing "Switch." Or you can choose the "tap" system, where students on the outside gently tap the students in the bowl to indicate the switch.
Debrief
Now that you have an understanding of the Fishbowl exercise and how it can be used in the classroom, recall the reflection exercise at the beginning of the new year and the 3 items you asked the students to consider. These can be directly applied with the fishbowl technique. The positive attributes from the first semester can continue into the new year, the second semester. Let the FIshbowl begin! After, let students evaluate their performance as listeners and participants. Your staff can face their yearbook duties with a better understanding of what they need to do to finish the year strong!
United Yearbook joins you and your staff in capturing the positive spirit of the new year. We offer resources to complement your instruction and enrich your yearbook staff’s learning. Our website, www.unitedyearbook.net , and our newsletter, podcast, and blog, are tools available to you as you move forward in the new year and complete the book. Schedule your yearbook 1-on-1 consult here.
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Contributor: Lucy McHugh comes to United Yearbook Printing from a 39-year career in public and private school education. She was a former visual art teacher and yearbook adviser. She received a Bachelors of Science in Art from Columbia College in Columbia, SC, a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Nebraska in 2000, and in 2014 earned a Certificate in Catholic School Leadership from Loyola Marymount University. Lucy enjoys her family, making art and gardening.
Editor: Donna Ladner obtained a B.A. in Education and a minor in English from California Baptist University, and a M.S. in ESL from USC, Los Angeles. After she married Daniel, their family moved to Indonesia with a non-profit organization and lived cross-culturally for 15 years before returning to the U.S in 2012. Donna has been working as an editor and proofreader for TSE Worldwide Press and its subsidiary, United Yearbook since 2015.
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