Suggested “Rules” for Dialogic Discussions

Possible “rules” for discussion: 

(Abridged from Big Ideas for Little Kids: Teaching Philosophy Through Children’s Literature, by Thomas Wartenberg, 2014. I highly recommend this book.)

Speakers:

• Think about the question and how to answer it
• Answer as clearly as you can
• Provide reasons for your answer (Why do you think that?)

Listeners:

• Listen patiently with your hands down
• Look at the speaker
• Try to understand what the speaker means
• Ask for clarification if you don’t understand (Can you explain what you mean by …)
• Decide if you agree or disagree with the speaker’s answer
• Try to think of an example that doesn’t fit the answer

Facilitator’s role in the discussion:

• Avoid providing your answer to the questions
• Encourage the speaker and listeners in their roles
• Remind the students that disagreements are an important part of discussions
• Provide prompts such as “I agree with {name} because …” (Pennell, 2014)
• When there is agreement, ask “why?” to further the conversation
• Praise the process. Thinking is the goal rather than finding the answer (Pennell, 2014)
• Make it clear the conversation doesn’t have to end in agreement or a “right” answer
• No winners or losers
• Remind listeners to look at the speaker and the speaker to look at the listener to whom they are responding

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