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Basics of Structured Conversations
Structured conversations, which are guided by protocols for listening and speaking – are an essential part of peer observation practice. The protocol structure, which everyone understands and has agreed to in advance, allows productive conversations to occur in which all participants have a chance to speak and to actively listen. Often, the kind of conversation that takes place is one that people are not in the habit of having.
In a typical structured conversation, practitioners meet in a group with a facilitator who leads them through a set of prescribed steps. These steps may include presentation of a focusing question, close examination of work, description of work, clarifying questions, feedback to the person(s) observed, and reflection on the process.
Most conversation protocols incorporate three basic "rules":
- There are restrictions on when the person(s) observed can talk and when the feedback group can talk. Almost everyone feels awkward at first when told they "can't talk now," but this structure gives both the observers and the person observed time to listen carefully without having to respond.
- There is a segment during which the members of the feedback group talk to each other, purposely leaving the person(s) observed out of the conversation and speaking of them in the third person, almost as though they were not in the room (although they are, in fact, actively listening).
- There are time limits to each person's speech. This provides everyone with an opportunity to be heard.
There are many possible variations on conversation protocols for peer observations, depending on the particular school and its needs. The Consultancy, a version of which is provided in these pages, is a flexible protocol that can be adapted to a wide variety of purposes and settings.
Benefits of Using Structured Conversations
Using a structured conversation almost always increases learning. Even for those who generally don't like structured conversations, they support learning by
- giving the observers time to listen carefully to the entire presentation without needing to quickly generate questions or comments
- giving the person(s) observed time to simply listen and write (during feedback time) without needing to think about providing eye contact or immediately responding
- having time limits that make it less likely that a small number of individuals will dominate the air time
The Importance of Being Considerate and Collegial
As vehicles for developing the skills and culture necessary for collaborative work, structured conversations often enable groups to build trust by accomplishing substantive work together. It is important to remember that the purpose of a structured conversation is not simply to "do the protocol right," but to have a respectful, in-depth, insightful conversation about teaching and learning.
Participants need to be considerate about how they speak. Passionate discussion is beneficial as long as the tone is collegial, so it is important to monitor one's tone of voice and body language. When giving challenging feedback that may be evaluative in nature, sometimes it is best to express it with some qualification, or in the form of a question, e.g., "I wonder if . . ." or "What do you think about . . . " rather than "I think you should . . . " or "Here's how I would have done it."
However, simply framing feedback in the form of questions is not enough. An observer will contribute the most to the conversation when he or she uses feedback questions or comments as an opportunity to genuinely clarify the intent of the person observed, recognizing that the observer usually doesn't know the context of the situation well enough to tell the person(s) observed what to do. Limiting feedback to description rather than interpretation or evaluation can sometimes help the observer avoid making assumptions (see Description, Interpretation, or Evaluation? Giving Constructive Feedback)
The structured conversations described here should not be considered a set way of doing things; participants will get better at having these conversations over time and should adapt these structures to fit their needs.
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