Facilitating Professional Learning in Mathematics:Focused Conversation Method

Eleanor Skead, Aboriginal Advisor Keewatin-Patricia District School Board

Danielle Blair, Provincial Math Lead

“Once a society loses this capacity [to dialogue], all that is left is a cacophony of voices battling it out to see who wins and

who loses. There is no capacity to go deeper, to find a deeper meaning that transcends individual views and self interest. It

seems reasonable to ask whether many of our deeper problems in governing ourselves today, the so-called ‘gridlock’

and loss of mutual respect and caring might not stem from this lost capacity to talk with one another, to think together as part of a larger community.” Peter M. Senge, in “A New

View of Institutional Leadership” in Reflections on Leadership (ICA Associates Inc.)

“In any Learning Organization, they [Structured Conversations] provide ways for teams and

groups to reflect constantly on their experiences and learn from it….It is a relatively simple process that enables a conversation to

flow from surface to depth (ICA Associates Inc.).”

Background

The Focused Conversation Method:• reflects 40 years of work by the Institute of Cultural Affairs

(ICA) • is based on research and observation of how people

process information • Is also referred to as ORID • provides a framework for creating questions to engage a

group in purposeful and meaningful dialogue• helps groups become aware of their thinking and use that

awareness to clarify and deepen their thinking.

A Learner:• encounters the external world

• associates internal experiences with it

• finds meaning

• makes a conclusion or decision based on all of the above (application of learning)

The Natural Thinking Process

In much of our education and training we are taught to short-cut this[thinking] process and move directly to…

evaluate and judge things like a poem, a political system, a person’s promotional potential, or the source of a problem, without first gathering all the objective

data available. We are also taught that emotional responses are irrelevant and should be avoided or

repressed. Once at the interpretive level, we often stop there, never formulating a response that leads to

action. Laura Spencer, Winning Through Participation, pg 13 The Art of Focused Conversation

Purpose

• In a Focused Conversation a facilitator asks questions to elicit responses that take a group from the surface of a topic to its depths (Stanfield 1997).

• The four-stage process of a focused conversation disrupts people’s tendency to be selective in the data they deem relevant and to jump to premature conclusions based on that selective data (ladder of inference problem described by Ross 1994).

Rational Aim: To understand the deeper meaning of focused conversations.

Experiential Aim: Experience the power and importance of focused conversations.

Stories of Practice

• First Nation Communities of Northwestern Ontario• Keewatin-Patricia District School

Board/Restorative Practices• Beaver Brae High School (KPDSB)• Equity and Math Education: Connecting

Anishinaabe Agindaasowin and Western Mathematical Ways of Knowing Research Project

• Collaborative Action Research• Yesterday

Positioning within Mathematics Facilitation

• explore the use of the ORID method within current models of professional learning such as CIL-M, artifact study, coaching, action research, as a means to enrich participants learning and experience

Benefits• Consensus-making in small groups• Problem-solving• Trouble-shooting• Coaching• Research• Interpretation of data• Means to share common concerns and experiences in depth• Learning experience• High level of participation and action generated• Dramatic impact on participants

Benefits

• Works with people of mixed backgrounds and ages• Provides focus and path to decisions• Pushes people to be creative rather than critical• Provides room for real listening• Each person’s comments are received, and none are

disqualified • Provides time and place for all input – flow maintained• Sidetracks negative thinking• Sidetracks politicking and power plays

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O.R.I.D.A PATHWAY TO CRITICAL THINKING

01 May 2002©Institute of Cultural Affairs

The Objective Level of Thinking• External• Sensory (see, hear,

smell, taste, texture)• Directly observable• Facts and data

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The Reflective Level of Thinking• Internal• Immediate response

or reaction• Feelings and intuition• Memory or

associations

01 May 2002©Institute of Cultural Affairs

The Interpretive Level of Thinking• Implications• Meaning• Significance• Value• Story• “Why?”

01 May 2002©Institute of Cultural Affairs

The Decisional Level of Thinking• Future Resolve:– Next steps– Who will do it– Product produced– Aims accomplished– Application

• Closure

Summary of ORID

• A series of relationships – each level builds on the level before it! Promotes the clear thinking that leads to decision/action;

Preparing A Conversation

• Pick your target- what topic will your conversation focus on?

• Too general will not get to a meaningful conversation;

• Rational Aim: what learning/knowledge will people take away?

• Experiential Aim: the process outcome-how will the group be different?

Preparing a Conversation

• A shared experience or a concrete object ;• Brainstorm questions for each level;• Decide which are best – which will meet your

rational and experiential aim;• Answer the questions!• Opening Comments – I’ve used rational and

experiential aim –let’s talk about the steps..;

Preparing a Conversation

• Context – how does the conversation relate to what we’re doing – let’s talk about ……now that we had some experience with it/this;

• ICA – Participation Guidelines; Behavior Expectations;

• Closing – acknowledge group insight;

Learn from your Experience

• Reflect after every conversation; the group process? what worked well? what can be changed? What are some next steps in your learning?