Distancing Discussion Strategy: Explanation
Some topics can be difficult for learners to discuss because the material is too personal.
Equally, some topics can evoke feelings and emotions that inhibit discussion.
Examples include bullying, bereavement and child poverty.
In each of these cases, members of a group may have personal experience of the issue.
They may find it difficult to talk about the topic, or to listen to others talk about it, because of the potentially traumatic or distressing experiences they have had.
Situations such as these are a possibility with any group of learners.
Distancing is an approach to discussion that helps make it easier to talk about difficult subjects.
It makes it less likely that learners will feel upset or that they will feel unable to take part (though it does not wholly remove these possibilities).
It involves putting distance between the subject of discussion and the individuals who are discussing it.
To do this, the teacher can use methods such as role-play, drama, and third-party personal narratives.
In each case, the discussion comes to be about the thing that is external (such as the role-play) rather than that which is internal (personal experiences and feelings).
This means learners are thinking and talking about the issue (including the emotions that go with it) without having to bring in their own ego and experiences.
Their personality and sense of self is distanced from the issue.
Distancing Discussion Strategy: Example
Topic: Bereavement
The teacher makes use of a personal narrative written by a young person but provided through a charity teaching resource.
This is given to learners as a hand-out and the class read it through together.
Having done so, the teacher asks everyone to think about their own responses before, when they are ready, sharing these with the person sat next to them.
The noise level in the room will creep up gradually. Learners will feeling increasingly comfortable to talk as they hear more voices in the room.
Various questions can be explored from here.
The teacher could also introduce a range of activities to supplement the discussion.
The key point to remember with this approach is that it involves finding a way to distance the topic from learners’ personal experience and sense of self.
Doing this allows pupils to discuss whatever is at issue and, usually, these topics are the kind of topics which really benefit from discussion.
Distancing Discussion Strategy: Extensions and Developments
- If you decide to capture a distanced discussion in writing, remember that the method is equally appropriate in that medium as well. For example, you could ask learners to write about the topic as if they were a particular person other than themselves, or you could ask them to provide general guidelines about the topic for an audience of younger learners.
- You may like to connect a range of distancing methods to help learners think about the topic from different perspectives. For example, begin by reading a personal narrative, then conduct some role-play and, finally, ask learners to construct their own drama piece. Your discussion could then roam across all three things you’ve done, providing plenty of stimulus for learners to talk about.
