Quaker Dialogue: What is It? And, Does it Work?

This assignment is a summary of the online discussion forum conversations that took place from October 14, 2017 to October 25, 2017 on the topic of Quaker Dialogue using the Moodle platform. This assignment is a part of the PIDP 3250 – Instructional Strategies curriculum.

The topic that was introduced to the participants was “Quaker Dialogue.” First participants were given an explanation of what Quaker Dialogue is – which is listed below:

TOPIC OF DISCUSSION

Quaker Dialogue - is a technique in which each member of a group has the chance to participate and be involved in the dialogue. Named after the traditions of the Quakers (i.e. equality, listening, and allowing time for silence), the method promotes equal participation and careful listening. The tool allows those members who are generally more quieter than others in the group the opportunity to get the floor and speak - while encouraging everyone in the group to listen carefully. This technique demonstrates one of the values that are important to the Quakers: respect for the individual.

The process is as follows:

1. A question is formulated that each person is asked to address.

2. Each person speaks in turn, usually going around in a circle.

3. Anyone may pass and take their turn later if they don't feel ready when their turn comes around.

4. Each speaker takes as long as need to fully express himself or herself, consistent with the number of people in the group and the time available.

5. No one is allowed to comment on or rebut anyone else's statement.

The power of this process is quite remarkable - as it allows everyone to be truly heard. This process allows for growth and openness by promoting full expression and real listening.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Once the topic was posted, fellow participants were asked to answer the following two questions to get them thinking and encourage the dialogue: 1. What are your thoughts on quaker dialogue? What are the pros and/or cons of this technique? 2. How would you apply this technique within your learning environment? Or would you not? Are there other techniques similar or different that could be applied to gain the same outcomes?

RESULTS

Question 1: What are your thoughts on quaker dialogue? What are the pros and/or cons of this technique?

There were nine (9) participants (including myself as facilitator) who responded to the question. A summary of the thoughts include:

Pros:

· good technique if you have strong willed or strong personality types who tend to control the conversations

· appears to be a powerful tool – but its value lies in it being used in combination with other tools

· very useful tool as a listening exercise

· opportunity for all to participate in the process

· good for small groups of 4 – 6 at maximum

· everyone gets a chance to be heard

· everyone will reflect and formulate their own opinion

· forces others to listen and hopefully reflect on how it affects their own opinions

· good be a good tool/strategy for debate teams

· pair students together to use the tool

· nice to share and discover explore a topic of interest without interruption

· for those students who have soft voices, didn’t feel pressure to need to raise their voice as they were not interrupted

· a nice tool to allow others to hear their classmates and have time to formulate their thoughts before giving their response

· the dialogue reinforces the notion of equity and equality

Cons:

· Introverted (quiet student) will tend to take a pass every time. How does this technique encourage them to voice their opinions?

· the process can be very time consuming – especially with large class sizes some participants may well talk for extended periods of time, which may disengage the rest of the group

· creates anxiety for students who don’t feel comfortable speaking in front of a class, or shy to state their opinion in an open forum

· with a large class size – answers/responses could potentially become redundant

· some people are not strong communicators, or would prefer other methods of learning and sharing

Question 2: How would you apply this technique within your learning environment? Or would you not? Are there other techniques similar or different that could be applied to gain the same outcomes?

There were five (5) participants (including myself as facilitator) who participated in the discussion.

A summary of the thoughts include:

· the technique would be used with a twist – think, pair, share approach first – and then move into the quaker dialogue

· potential to use the tool in a workplace setting (i.e. staff meeting)

· good technique if an instructor wishes to hear every student in the class on a matter –such as collective intelligence

· use the tool as form of debate

· good tool to use, especially if the group gets to know each other well

· technique could be used as to first teach the concept to the entire class, then break into small groups to try it out on a non-threatening topic, and then present it back to the group on the experience.

CONCLUSION

The tool certainly has its place in the learning environment; however, it seem that it is more than likely best used in small settings. A lot of the participants were “on the fence” if they would use it – but there were some very creative ideas on how it can be incorporated with other strategies to utilize the benefits of the tool, as mentioned above.

On a side note – within Question 2 –the topic of introverts arose (i.e. Susan Cain’s video “The Power of Introverts”) which changed the dynamic of the conversation by looking at the Quaker Dialogue tool through the lenses of both introverts and extroverts. Great discussion on this topic also ensued*, which was really nice, as not only did we get the opportunity to explore and share thoughts on an instructional learning tool, but also the end-users of the tool were front and centre in the conversation.

*”brain-writing”, “cyber-storming”, “chalk-talk”, “the Nominal Group Technique.”

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