Rules of Discussion

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Discuss the purpose of different types of communication.
  
• Explore reasons for miscommunication.
  
• Collaborate to develop guidelines for a fair and respectful discussion.
  
• Understand that a respectful conversation requires communicating clearly, listening to other's viewpoints, and focusing on shared ideas.
  
• Practice using guidelines during a discussion.

Resources:

Materials

For each team:

• A large piece of chart paper taped to the wall
• A marker

For the leader:

• Stopwatch or timer

Resources:

Preparation

• Read through and familiarize yourself with the entire activity.
• Hang chart paper on the wall for each team. 
• Select a discussion question to pose to students.
• Gather all other materials.

Resources:

Activity Steps

1. Begin by asking students to recall the people with whom they have spoken in the past 24 hours. Then, ask them to think about if there were any misunderstandings in those conversations. Have volunteers share examples.
2. Ask: "What happens when people do not communicate clearly or discuss an idea respectfully?" Allow time for students to think of a response. Encourage them to share examples from their lives or favorite books, movies, or television programs.
3. Introduce today's activity by telling students that they will think about how to reduce communication problems by collaborating to write rules for discussions. 
4. Divide students into small teams of 4-6. Have each team line up in front of a piece of chart paper. Give a marker to the first person in line.
5. Tell groups they will "Relay Write." Explain: "On the signal, the first person in line will write their answer, hand the marker to the next person, then return to the end of the line. They will repeat the process and keep adding ideas to the chart for 90 seconds. Tell students they may not repeat a previous answer on the chart. 
6. Pose the question: "How can people improve their communication?" Then, start the timer and have them begin. If they need help getting started, you may want to offer ideas such as speaking clearly, listening without interrupting, asking questions for clarification, trying to understand another person's point of view, allowing everyone a chance to speak, or criticizing only ideas, not people.
7. When time is up, have groups review their lists and pick their top 5 favorite answers. Then, go around the room and have groups share their chosen responses.
8. Have groups review their lists and consider the answers from other groups to come up with a list of 5 rules for discussion. Explain that the purpose of these rules is to encourage open dialogue and respectful and constructive discussions. 
9. Emphasize the idea that a good discussion involves communicating clearly, listening to others' ideas, and respectfully responding to others. Encourage teams to add to or subtract from their original ideas based on the information they learned from the other groups. 
10. Now, tell students they are going to test out their rules as they have a discussion. Choose 1 of the following questions or make 1 up that is relevant to the group:
    
    • Is it really kind to own a pet?
    • Should people stop driving vehicles?
    • Is a paramedic really a hero if they are a trained professional doing their job?
    • Is it more important to play sports or musical instruments?
    • Should middle school kids use social media?
11. Give students a few moments to think about their responses and then have them discuss the issue in their small groups.
12. Circulate among the groups and help students enforce their new discussion rules, as needed. 
13. If time permits, reconvene the group and lead a wrap-up discussion:
    • What did you consider when making your group's discussion rules?
    • How did having these rules affect your discussion? 
    • What rules would you add to your list? 
    • Would you delete or change any rules on your list?
    • Why is it important to have discussion rules in a classroom or group setting?

Resources:

Variations

1. Ask for volunteers who may role-play step 2 to demonstrate how poor communication can cause problems. 
2. Post or write the following information on the board for students to refer to as they come up with their discussion rules and hold their own discussions:
   
   • THINK acronym: Is it True? Is it Helpful? Is it Inspiring? 
     Is it Necessary? Is it Kind?
   • Sentence frames to use during discussions:
     When I hear/see ____, I think/feel ____.
     I think ______ because _____.
     Why do you think ____?
     How can ____?
     What is an example of ___?
     You think/feel ___. Have you thought about ____?
     Another reason to consider is___.
     According to ______.
     I see your point. There is another way to ____.
3. Introduce the topic by playing the video "How Miscommunication Happens" for the group (link is below). After viewing, ask the following questions:
   
   • What problems did you see?
   • What causes these problems?
   • What gets in the way of effective communication?
   • How can understanding these roadblocks help us be better communicators?
   • What is the difference between passive and active listening?

Resources:

"How Miscommunication Happens"