A Protocol for Thinking Productively About a Dilemma A dilemma is an issue that you are struggling with as a writer or as a teacher. Before you engage in the collaborative exploration of this dilemma with a group, it is helpful to spend some time reflecting on it and creating a rich portrait of it that will allow you to represent its meaning clearly. Journaling about the following prompts can help:
Describe your dilemma and how it came to be. Then, use your five senses to enrich the detail. Create an accurate metaphor for it. Are you close to finding a resolution on your own? Are you relying on others to change in order to resolve the dilemma? If so, know that it may not be helpful for you to bring this dilemma to the group. Which artifacts, work samples, or other documents that can help you portray your dilemma in a meaningful way? Consider bringing them to the table.
The Process: 1. Share your dilemma with the group and the critical questions that it provokes. 2. Share any artifacts, work samples, or documents that you have brought in order to inform this process. 3. Group should take a few moments to consider your dilemma, the questions you have asked, and the materials that you have provided to them. 4. Group members may ask clarifying questions. 5. Group members may use prompts like those below to help you consider varied perspectives and potential solutions. I wonder…..
Have you considered….
This reminds me of… How do you feel about….
I’m noticing….
Tell me more…..
What were you thinking when……
Why do you think you did….. What were the results of…..
What are your hunches about….
As group members are sharing their questions, consider your responses in silence, and make note of important discoveries. 6. At the end of this first round of questioning, restate those that prompted deeper thought, a shift in your perspective, or ideas about a potential resolution. Share them, as well as your responses, with the group. 7. The group will then talk with one another about the dilemma presented and your response to their provocations, using prompts like those below: I heard…..
I’ve learned…. I think we should consider…. I didn’t hear…..
I’m uncertain how…. I wonder if…. If faced with a similar dilemma, I will….. 8. Reflect on what you’ve learned, what you plan to do next, and how the process influenced your thinking.
Created by Angela Stockman, 2014. For more information or additional resources, visit: http://makewriting.com . Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) You are free to share and adapt this resource for noncommercial purposes, as long as you attribute the work to me and link back to http://makewriting.com. This protocol was adapted from the work of the National School Reform Faculty http://nsrfharmony.org
Created by Angela Stockman, 2014. For more information or additional resources, visit: http://makewriting.com . Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) You are free to share and adapt this resource for noncommercial purposes, as long as you attribute the work to me and link back to http://makewriting.com. This protocol was adapted from the work of the National School Reform Faculty http://nsrfharmony.org