Speaking in public can be a nerve-wracking experience for many. Particularly after the first phases of the pandemic, where people lived and learned isolated from each other, coming back to the classroom or entering it for the first time ever can be a frightening experience. It can be helpful to clearly lie the rules of engagement out and define how the space should be shared. Ideally, this is a collaborative project so that people feel ownership and responsibility for how space is shared and interactions occur. The goal should be to have as many perspectives as possible in the classroom and find a balance where people can contribute in multiple ways. People learn and process at different speeds and equally they are ready to share at a different pace. The way people do or do not speak up in the classroom is also heavily racialized, gendered, and classed. It is important to be aware of these dynamics, speak about them openly, (encourage marginalized students,) and make enough space and sit with silence (comfortably) so that people who need more time or encouragement get the chance to speak whereas others who feel free to share at all times might take a step back and practice to listen. How can the class achieve a balance together? Students can come up with their own system, like for example a first speaker, second speaker principle where every first speaker should have contributed before anyone gets the chance to speak again. If the politics of speaking behavior is not addressed early on and rules of engagement are not set in place, soon a dynamic will set in where only some students will feel empowered to speak while others will not. Once this dynamic settles, it will structure the rules of engagement throughout the semester. Interrupting and changing it will be extremely difficult. Catching that dynamic early on and changing it actively, with everybody being aware of it and responsible for co-holding and creating the space is crucial. It can be a powerful tool to come back to an agreement later in the semester if some of the agreed-upon principles are violated. While everybody can be aware of the dynamic and point out when something is moving off track, the overall responsibility for holding the container is with the teacher who acts as a moderator to keep a balanced dynamic in the room.
Bodies and voices in space
For brainstorm exercises, start off with a popcorn style exercise (give somebody the mic and let it “pop” around the space). The effect: everybody is getting comfortable with the voices in the room and gets a somatic feeling for the space. An important element of these exercises is to integrate a feedback loop, where everybody shares what their experience was like (even if it is just one word that you associate with that) — this process places everybody’s voice into the space even of some participants who are otherwise not comfortable talking. Acknowledge that there are students that are less comfortable with speaking up in a classroom setting and some find it difficult to be visible altogether. Getting a sense of these various levels of comfort, how to mitigate needs, and negotiate a learning space that feels more comfortable for all participants will be a crucial part of the learning experience and building relationships with students. This goal is of course influenced by the time available to you and your class: if you share the learning space together only punctually, it will be more challenging to build a personal connection and know about different student needs. However, even for short-time or singular lessons, you can offer a variety of materials and opportunities for engagement to enhance the learning experience for as many types of learners as possible. You can explore learning concepts verbally and through brainstorms, somatically/physically through movement games, and for visual learners through writing and visual art (zine or collage making) exercises. In the center of these different concepts and modalities is inviting students into these conversations.
Tips for leading discussions & break out session/Diades
Examples of introducing social/emotional/personal connections into your teaching
connectivity: brainstorming & free association
Asking open questions: What does it mean to you when I say sensing? Or when I say very small? This exercise, making space for different perspectives, lenses, and scales in the classroom, does not just allow your students to get in conversation (with you and, importantly, with each other) and share their associations, you also get an idea of where people are at. This allows you to tune into the community in front of you to get a first impression of which kind of space you are going to build this idea together in.
Examples of introducing social/emotional/personal connections into your teaching
Flexibility, openness vs closeness in the container/students as co-creators of a classroom and the learning process
What are other ways of making sure that everybody gets to express themselves in their own way? Think of different registers like non-verbal communication (signaling systems to show support of somebody’s contribution, agreement, disagreement, desire to go deeper into something, etc.). What other registers can you think about?
Managing silence, affirming contributions against the void
Silence in the classroom can be hard to manage and we all need to learn how to sit with it, which can be taxing. However, silence becomes excruciating when people share something and wait for a response that never comes. The tension will keep hanging in the space and create pressure that makes it less likely that the person will feel like sharing again. As the teacher, make sure that you affirm that you have heard a contribution and “close it up”. This is vital so that the conversation can move on and the void does not become unbearable for single people in the classroom. Value any contributions with a response, to give the person the feeling that they have been heard.
