How to Facilitate Healthy & Respectful Conversations from a Presentation for the Tarrant Foundation

 

SETTING NORMS FOR ONLINE DISCUSSIONS

Creating norms- or ground rules- for working together in the classroom or online  is important  for a class to build community and also to establish  trust, to learn together and to work through difficult issues when they arise. Norms are different than "rules" in that they are established by the group itself, not dictated by a teacher. When students participate in the creation of  classroom and online norms they take ownership in establishing a learning environment that works for them. When remote learning becomes the new normal, the task of creating deep learning experiences for students becomes more challenging. How do we create a classroom culture and engaging learning experiences online? We must first begin by setting norms for the online classroom.

 

 The School Reform Initiative has an excellent protocol for forming ground rules that can be used with students to help them create their online norms. I have used this eight step process in my classes to create online norms. This process takes about 30 minutes and can be done on line or in person, before the first online session. Here are the steps of this process:

 1. Ask everyone to write down what each person needs in order to work productively in a group, giving an example of one thing the facilitator needs, i.e. “to have all voices heard,” or “to start and end our meetings when we say we will.” (This is to help people focus on process rather than product.) 

2. Each participant names one thing from her/his written list, going around in a circle, with no repeats, and as many circuits as necessary to have all the ground rules listed.

 3. Ask for any clarifications needed. One person may not understand what another person has listed, or may interpret the language differently. 

4. If the list is VERY long — more than 10 ground rules — ask the group if some of them can be combined to make the list more manageable. Sometimes the subtle differences are important to people, so it is more important that everyone feel their needs have been honored than it is to have a short list.

 5. Ask if everyone can abide by the listed ground rules. If anyone dislikes or doesn’t want to comply with one of them, that ground rule should be discussed and a decision should be made to keep it on the list with a notation of objection, to remove it, or to try it for a specified amount of time and check it again. 

6. Ask if any one of the ground rules might be hard for the group to follow. If there is one or more, those Ground Rules should be highlighted and given attention. With time it will become clear if it should be dropped, or needs significant work. Sometimes what might appear to be a difficult rule turns out not to be hard at all. “Everyone has a turn to speak,” is sometimes debated for example, with the argument that not everyone likes to talk every time an issue is raised, and others think aloud and only process well if they have the space to do that. Frequently, a system of checking in with everyone, without requiring everyone to speak, becomes a more effective ground rule.

 7. While work is in progress, refer to the ground rules whenever they would help group process. If one person is dominating, for example, it is easier to refer to a ground rule that says, “take care with how often and how long you speak,” than to ask someone directly to stop dominating the group. 

8. Check in on the ground rules when reflection is done on the group work. Note any that were not followed particularly well for attention in the next work session. Being sure they are followed, refining them, and adding or subtracting ground rules is important, as it makes for smoother work and more trust within the group.

Post these norms on your google classroom and have students read and agree to them before each discussion. After a few  discussions, ask the students, “Do we  need to make any changes to this list? If so, what?” Be open to their contributions.

Here is an example of the  norms that my students developed for our on-line discussions  last spring:

1) Please mute yourself whenever you aren’t talking to avoid feedback audio

2) Unmute if you want to talk (kind of like leaning into the table to talk) We found that it was easiest to ‘lean in’ by unmuting

3) If you have technical questions, use the chat so as not to interrupt the dialogue

4) Please stay on the Zoom or Google Meet call window for the entire discussion

5) We need everyone to be fully present! Please do not communicate with other people, even anyone who is part of the  discussion, on other windows or media.

6) If you really need to leave, please notify the group through the chat so that you do not interrupt the discussion

7) Please have a printed copy of all the materials, you need ready in front of you prior to beginning the class You will also benefit from numbering pages/ paragraphs on written materials

8) Remember to use appropriate and respectful language, tone of voice and body language.- this is ESPECIALLY important online!

9) Remember to monitor your airtime, and invite others to  speak as well

One of my students developed her additional  norms for our discussions:

1) The Golden Rule

 Treat others how you want to be treated. 

2) The “Hidden Value” Rule

 Look for the good in everyone. You may not see it immediately, but I promise, it’s there.                     

Believe that everyone provides some kind of value, even if it’s not abundantly clear on the surface.

Trust that the person standing in front of you has redeeming qualities that, if you knew more about them, would inspire, delight and enchant you. Give everyone the benefit of the doubt.

3) The “Everyone Is Special” Rule

 Recognize that everyone comes from a different place, and they all bring vast amounts of experience and wisdom with them. Everyone knows something you don’t know. Everyone is capable of doing and being someone completely different from you and that is a worthwhile thing to respect. 

Take a look at the norms for online discussion that ninth grade global students taught by Kate Stauss and Ryan McCormick developed during the first week of school.

Finally, know that groups go through "four stages of transformation," (aptly) named "forming, storming, norming, and performing." These directly relate to experiences with our students in schools. Read about these stages here.

Additional resources you might consult in establishing norms for your class:

Fostering Belonging with Classroom Norms - from Edutopia

Norms Construction: A Process of Negotiation- from SRI

Establishing Our Collective Work Norms- from the Teaching Channel

Creating Norms When Nothing is Normal- from the Association for Middle Level Education

Remote Learning Resource: Setting Norms - from opensciend.org