INTRODUCING QUAKER-BASED DECISION-MAKING TO YOUNG LEARNERS

Daniel Potter

Background

Quaker-based decision-making (QBDM) is a non-voting, collaborative process that encourages discussion, where each constituent can freely express their ideas about which decision they think the group should make. Through this discussion, the group seeks to discover what is the best collective path forward, a path that might differ from the preferences of individual members. This practice of decision-making stands in direct contrast to the system of voting used to make political and other decisions in our country.

In my experience, QBDM leads to a more committed and involved community where its members feel valued and heard, but it also has pitfalls. QBDM can take much longer to make decisions than other methods, and members of the decision-making body can find themselves in situations where no sense of the meeting, no understanding of the right collective decision, is present. When opportunities arose in the classroom for me to implement QBDM with students, I realized that all of the pitfalls adults experience are magnified with children. Knowing that the benefits of using this process with children would be worth navigating its pitfalls led me naturally to the question I am exploring in my action research: how can one adapt and scaffold QBDM for young learners?

Exploration

To help guide my research into the use of QBDM in the classroom, I created a survey that asked teachers to share their opinions and experiences with QBDM and shared the survey with teachers at Princeton Friends School and nearby Newtown Friends School. While over 80% of respondents shared that they have used or tried to use QBDM with their students, they also shared many things that got in the way of implementing it. These included that it takes too much time to implement at the expense of curriculum, that it’s hard to facilitate without training, that students aren’t mature enough to handle the process or don’t seem to care about the opinions of others, and that there are few decisions to make in the classroom for which QBDM would be appropriate. These concerns mirrored many of my own and supported my decision to continue down this path of inquiry.

To fnd out more about what QBDM strategies teachers have found successful, I spoke to two teachers who had experience using it: Garrett McVaugh, a preschool teacher from Moorestown Friends School, and Denise Coffn, a Kindergarten teacher from Sidwell Friends School. They both gave me ideas for how to explain the process of QBDM to students and how to modify and scaffold it for them, and Denise shared the following seven-step framework for using QBDM with children: posing the question; generating ideas; asking clarifying questions; sharing what we value about the ideas given; sharing suggestions, ideas, and concerns; making a decision; and thanking each other for thinking together.

I implemented their suggestions and Denise’s framework in two case studies at PFS. The frst was a music project where the 3rd-grade class students needed to pick one song from the PFS songbook to illustrate together, and the second was working with the 8th-grade class to decide what they wanted to perform together for our annual talent show. To make the seven-step process easier for students to follow, I made a chart that represented the steps as traveling up a mountain, and several 3rd-graders shared that they found the visual representation helpful. I also

Overall, this process for QBDM worked much better than anything I had used in the past, and it led to successful decision-making in both of my case studies. Students were respectful of each other’s ideas and the process, though some wanted to move faster than the process allowed. Denise’s seven-step framework was very helpful when working with my 3rd-grade students but less so with my 8th-graders, and I’m curious if future case studies would yield similar results. Above all, my biggest learning was that PFS students need more practice in having a slow discussion where they refrain from talking over each other.

Takeaways

While I have still more to learn, the following points I feel are the most important for any teacher who wishes to try implementing QBDM in their classroom:

• Explain the process to children, and let them know that it will take time.

• Emphasize that the decision the group makes should be the best for the group, not for any individual member or subset of members of the group.

• Take notes during the conversation that you can refer back to at the start of future decision-making sessions. Don’t be afraid to tell students to slow down or wait for you to write things down.

• Ask students to share what they like about the opinions others have come up with so that they don’t focus only on their own ideas.

• Invite quiet students into the conversation; make sure all voices are heard.

Next Steps

My two case studies showed me that there is still work to be done to refine the framework I adapted from Denise, and I’m excited to rework it based on future case studies. Once it reaches a more finalized state, I hope to share it with other teachers and help them implement the process with their students with the goal that all teachers and students at PFS be fluent in this process, leading to more thoughtful students and a more reflective school community.

DANIEL POTTER

Music and Math Teacher, 6th-8th Grade Advisor, and Educational Technology Coordinator Princeton Friends SchoolPrinceton, NJ

My journey with Friends education began when I enrolled in Wilmington Friends School in seventh grade. I immediately found philosophical and ideological connections between my developing beliefs and values system and Quaker philosophy, and by high school, I felt connected enough that I served on several student committees that were deeply embedded in the Quaker philosophy and practice of the school.

By the time I graduated from WFS, I knew I wanted to be an educator, and so in 2020, I was extremely excited to join the faculty of Princeton Friends School, where I teach music and math and serve as a 6th-8th grade advisor. Working in a Friends school has confrmed my belief in the power of a Friends education to positively impact young students and to help them learn how to use their voice to act for change in the world.