Community of Enquiry Discussion Strategy: Explanation
A community of enquiry is a democratic way of developing discussion.
Due to how it works, it tends to increase learner motivation.
The room should be arranged as per the Circle Time discussion activity. That is, in a circle of chairs with any tables pushed to one side.
Learners, teacher, and any support staff sit in the circle and a warm-up activity is used if the teacher feels it is appropriate. For example, a memory game, a drama game, or a movement game. This helps break the ice and bind the group together.
You can also use the warm-up game to move learners around (discreetly) if you want to change the group dynamic.
The teacher explains that the discussion will focus on a question created by members of the group and chosen through a class vote.
One of two paths can be followed here.
Either the teacher indicates the topic that questions should be about, or they present some stimulus material and invite learners to develop, in response, questions they would like to discuss.
Learners work in groups of three to five (depending on the class size) to produce their questions.
When everyone is ready, each group in turn reads out what they have come up with, providing an explanation if necessary.
Having heard all the options, the class votes.
The most popular question forms the basis of the discussion.
This method is similar to that of Philosophy for Children (P4C). It can be useful to encourage learners to aim for conceptual questions rather than concrete ones, as these provide greater scope for discussion.
Community of Enquiry Discussion Strategy: Example
Topic: Designing products that benefit consumers.
Learners rearrange the room into a circle of chairs.
The teacher explains the topic and indicates that the questions groups produce should directly relate to it.
The class is divided into groups and each one is given some paper and a pen.
Learners then have three minutes to discuss their ideas before settling on a question they feel happy putting forward to the whole class.
Each question is heard in turn, with a volunteer scribing these on the board for everyone to see.
Voting can take place in a few ways:
- Learners close their eyes and put their hands up as the teacher reads out their favoured choice.
- By secret ballot.
- Through preferential voting, where each learner can vote for a first, second and third choice (with three votes going to the first, two to the second and one to the third).
The board is wiped clean, and the winning question is rewritten, this time larger and in the centre.
Discussion ensues, starting with contributions from the group whose question it was.
Community of Enquiry Discussion Strategy: Extensions and Developments
- Give each group the opportunity to advocate for their question. They should have a specific length of time (to make it fair) and must refrain from making negative comments about any other questions.
- If several questions prove popular, save the ones that just missed out on being discussed and follow-up on these in future lessons.
