Created by Erin Herrmann

Context: With a key question to address in class, perhaps about how to write a rhetorical analysis assignment or about understanding a theoretical concept such as collaboration, speed dialoguing can be an engaging approach for students to consider the question/topic and discuss their ideas with their peers. This assignment is one I have used in Peer Tutoring that would also be relevant in myriad courses where new terminology and concepts are introduced and are important to the learning in the course. I assign this as an in-class activity after students have read related course readings (such as scholarly articles, textbook chapters, or assignment guidelines) but before we have discussed in detail as a class. This talking-to-learn activity is intended to support students in achieving the key outcome of using writing/communication to investigate complex, relevant topics and address significant questions through engagement with credible sources.

Directions:

1. Present the topic/assignment/concept to the class. Provide context with the class by referencing any related readings or activities. Brainstorm as a class about key questions to ask and consider.
2. Each participant takes roughly five minutes to reflect individually, by writing, listing, sketching, etc. My goal is this reflection time will lead to questions the participant wishes to ask, experiences she wishes to share, and ideas she is interested in exploring further in dialogue.
3. Participants are placed in groups of two or three at tables or clusters of desks.
4. Each group has 5-7 minutes (depending on the size of the group) to dialogue. Each participant should share what his reflections brought up and pose corresponding questions and ideas to the group for discussion.
5. Rotate participants 3 to 4 times (depending on the overall size of the class).
6. Review and reflect on the activity as a class. Possible questions to pose include:
   1. What was the experience like?
   2. What questions/ideas seem to come up among multiple participants? What answers/conclusions did you come to?
   3. What lingering questions should we address?

Student Response: Students have commented that they enjoyed talking with their peers and realizing the similarities they have with one another. In addition, students have noted that hearing stories and ideas from others that they did not think of helped them to understand the idea in a broader way. In particular, students in Peer Tutoring dialogued about their past experiences with evaluation and feedback from teachers. Some students commiserated together about lack of useful feedback while others explained how effective the comments from their teachers were to their revision processes. Learning about various types of teacher response helps these students prepare to work with writers in the writing center who bring in writing with various types of teacher feedback in addition to considering what types of feedback they find most effective and may therefore be helpful to consider with how they approach providing feedback and support to writers.