The teacher as moderator: a technique for interactional learning Keith Purvis

Moderation is a way of solving problems as a group activity using visual techniques. Becoming increasingly popular in West German firms and organizations, it is used as a 'trouble-shooting' technique; in personnel training; in order to plan marketing and selling at management level, and for many other reasons. Moderation is also useful for English language teaching, most obviously because it provides a framework for discussion which ensures that everyone is involved. But it is also a way of organizing group work with a minimum of teacher interference. It is a highly consultative technique; in the context ofELTthe activity is run by a teacher-moderator, who must maintain strict neutrality with regard to the problem under consideration.
Psychological and pedagogical advantages of moderation

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The technique of moderation has arisen from the open, consultative style of management found in many American and German firms. The underlying philosophy is that, if everyone who will be affected by a decision is fully involved in the making of that decision, it will be less difficult to implement. In the context of training, it is thought that learning is more effective if the learners regard the learning task, as a corporate responsibility and interact with each other while the teacher acts as moderator. There is less risk that course participants will 'switch off' than if the teacher adopted a more directive style, and the visual techniques demand die full involvement of everyone present. Setting a problem The teacher-moderator writes a problem for group discussion in felt pen on a strip of paper (c. 60x15 cms), and this is pinned on to the top lefthand side of a sheet of brown paper (c. 1-^ metres square) that has been pinned on to a pinboard. It may be a complete question like: 'What reasons can you find in favour of using the bicycle more?'. Or it can be an incomplete statement which the participants have to complete, such as, 'The Deutschmark is strong at present because Ideas The participants write their ideas on smaller pieces of paper (c. 25x 12 cms), putting only one idea on each piece of paper. (I shall call these 'cards'.) They should all write the same number of cards, and die total should not exceed diirty-six, because they will be arranged later on the sheet of brown paper. Each card should contain no more dian seven words, that occupy no more dian three lines and use up all the space on the card. The teacher-moderator collects die cards as the participants complete diem, which gives him or her the chance to point out any linguistic errors that may occur. He or she may have to ask for a card to be rewritten if a correction would make it illegible.
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The uses of moderation The Simple Card Question

Clustering the cards When all the participants have completed dieir cards, the teachermoderator must put them in clusters according to dieir 'sense'. This is done in consultation with die group, each card being read out and then pinned in an appropriate place. There is sometimes irreconcilable disagreement about which cluster a card belongs to, and in this case a duplicate card is written out, so that there is no winner and no loser: identical cards are placed in bodi clusters. Asking for clarification The teacher-moderator or any of die participants should ask for clarification if a card is ambiguous. The writer of die card should not be asked to explain. Instead die group should be asked to provide die explanation, die inquiry being introduced by a formula like, 'It would be interesting to know what is meant by . . . " or 'Can anyone explain what is meant by this?' This will avoid forcing a shy member of die group, who may have written die card and be unwilling to discuss it, to answer, and it will encourage odier pardcipants to speculate. Anyone offering an explanation is asked to write it on an oval card after giving it orally. After die rectangular cards have been arranged on the pinboard to everyone's satisfaction, die teachermoderator collects in die oval cards. Objecting If a pardcipant disagrees widi a card, he calls, 'Objection!', upon which the proceedings stop until die objection has been made. Anodier participant can counter-object by also calling, 'Objection!' After die objection has been made orally, die 'objector' writes his or her objection on an oval card widi a red lightning flash drawn across it, and diis is also taken in by die teacher-moderator when all the rectangular cards are in place. Headings After die rectangular cards have been arranged in clusters, die oval cards bearing explanations and objections are placed next to die appropriate rectangular cards. The teacher-moderator pins a paper disc at the head of each cluster. The participants must now find a heading for each cluster, and, when one has been agreed, it is written on diis disc. Groups frequently realize at diis stage diat a card is in die wrong cluster. When each cluster has a heading diat die participants are satisfied widi, die teachermoderator draws a diick red line round each cluster. Arranging the reasons in order of importance The time has now arrived for die members of die group to vote on die significance of die reasons or solutions suggested, as represented by the various clusters on the pinboard. Participants are given two or diree paper dots each, which diey have to stick on die heading or headings of die clusters) diey consider to be die most important. This provides a visible rank-ordering of reasons for solutions to a problem according to dieir relative importance for die group diat has diought of diem. Figure 1 shows what a completed Simple Card Question might look like. Note diat when a reason or solution is represented by one card only, it automatically becomes die heading, and is highlighted by a disc, on which die dots are subsequendy stuck. 222 Keith Purvis

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Figure 1: Simple Card Question (DM. = Deutschmark; GNP = Gross National Product)

THE D M

IS RATHER WEAK AT

PRESENT BECAUSE...

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The teacher as moderator

The Double Card Question

The group has to consider in turn the arguments in favour of two contradictory statements. They might, for example, consider the following problem, using the same technique as that just described for dealing with the Simple Card Question: 'A friend of yours is thinking of going into advertising. Which arguments would you use to encourage him or her?' After this has been completed, the participants turn their attention to the opposite problem: 'A friend of yours is thinking of going into advertising. Which arguments would you use to dissuade him or her?' about a controversial topic. The participants are presented with a 'thesis' and are each given a coloured dot, which they have to put at their own chosen points on the 'continuum of opinion', ranging from strong agreement to strong disagreement. This can be indicated by using + and symbols (e.g. + + + 0 ) . The spread of opinion, expressed now in graphic terms, is discussed. The teacher-moderator should focus initially on the reasons for a minority position, provided this is not represented by one person only. Justifications offered by members of the group are dictated by the teacher-moderator to a 'scribe', who writes them on cards. The wording must, of course, be approved by the participants in question.

The Thesis This technique is used to establish the spectrum of opinion in a group

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The Scale

The 'Scale' serves the same purpose as the Thesis in showing the spread of opinion in a group, but it also quantifies the spread by indicating differences numerically. For example, a group of foreign exchange dealers were asked individually to predict the international value of the Deutschmark in six months' time, on a scale ranging from $0.40 to $0.50, and to give reasons for their predictions. Care must be taken by the teacher-moderator that the numbers on the scale do produce an interesting spread. As with the Thesis, to produce the cards the teacher-moderator dictates a summary of each participant's contribution to a scribe. A problem is set, such as 'What shall we do after the English class?' or 'What I look for in my job is . . .', and the participants call out their opinions, which the teacher-moderator writes on the brown paper in a list. When he or she has received about nine or ten suggestions, the list is closed, and the participants vote on the most important or best suggestions by putting a coloured dot or dots next to the suggestion of their choice. This is a shorter and quicker way of dealing with the sort of problem that could also be the subject of a Simple Card Question. This assumes that several pinboards are available. Each group is given a problem to consider (or they can all consider the same problem independently), such as 'How could this English course be made more interesting?' Each group, consisting preferably of three to five people, has a sheet of brown paper to work on. This is divided into three sections so that the problem can be considered in three stages; namely, definition (of problem), ideas (that might solve the problem) and barriers (that might hinder the implementation of the ideas). One member of the group acts as the moderator and each of the three stages of the group discussion is treated as a mini Simple Card Question. When all the groups have completed their work, the moderators present the results of their discussions to the whole class. Explanations can be asked for and objections made, and these are subsequently written on oval cards and fixed to the pinboards as
Keith Purvis

Brainstorming

Structured Group Work

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for the Simple Card Question. This kind of group work will be most productive if group members are fairly familiar with the interactional techniques just described.
Feedback Matrix

The participants are each given a coloured dot and asked to place it in the appropriate place in the matrix (Fig. 2). This is then used as the basis for discussion on the course or the stage of the course that has just been completed.
tigure 2: feedback Matrix How do you judge the course?

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Combining the techniques of moderation to design a teaching module

Figure 3 is a flow-chart which shows how a sequence of the seven techniques just described can form a simple discussion skills unit lasting approximately two and a half hours. This could be greatly extended by introducing more than one technique of moderation at each stage in the

Fig. J: Course design based on a sequence of activities involving moderation

Trailer

Setting the problem

Discussing the problem

Conclusion

Scale
Thesis Brainstorming 15/20 mins.

Brainstorming

I I

I
Simple and Double Card Questions 45-60 mins.
The teacher as moderator

Group work followed by plenum

Scale Thesis Brainstorming

I I

60-75 mins.

15/20 mins. 225

sequence and/or by inserting appropriate 'language input' exercises of a grammatical or functional nature. The example given was taught as part of an intensive course for Patent Examiners given at The British Council in Munich, in which there had already been ample practice of language in controlled situations. The purpose of the techniques of moderation that are illustrated here was to achieve a discussion of current issues in the European Patent Office, thus providing free practice in discussion skills. The module design was as follows: 1 Trailer. Thesis: 'Is a Patent Examiner's job a demanding or an undemanding one?'. 2 Setting the problem. Double Card Question: 'A young person is diinking of becoming a Patent Examiner. What arguments do you use to encourage/discourage him or her?' 3 Discussing the problem. Group work: The subjects or problems which the group tackled were those identified in the part of the Double Card Question in which die Patent Examiners considered the negative aspects of dieir job.
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4 Conclusion. Brainstorrmng: The subject was: 'The President of the European Patent Office ought to take the following steps. . .' (in order to solve or alleviate die problems discussed in die groups and the plenary session diat followed). The basic design of this module could be expanded to form the basis of a discussion skills course lasting very much longer dian our module actually did. This expansion could involve eidier making the language 'inputs' more complex, or using more dian one technique of moderation at each stage, or bodi. Guidelines for teacher* wishing to try moderation 1 Positioning: when the group is in plenum, always face die class. 2 Read out everything diat is written on die cards. 3 Pause after each reading to allow participants a chance to speak. Do not be afraid of short silences. 4 Arbitrate in die event of disputes, but do not make a judgement. 5 If you are asked your opinion about die topic under discussion, dirow the question back to die group. 6 Be flexible. For example, if a member of the group believes that a term used in a question or problem needs definition and he or she can persuade die group diat it does, men diis definition should be discussed. Such 'digressions' can be surprisingly fruitful, for you may not have realized die full potential of die topic when you designed the sequence of activities. 7 Aldiough you should be consultative and flexible, you also have the responsibility to exercise audiority. For example, you must be prepared to stop a participant who is too loquacious, if die group interest is endangered. You must not lose control of die pace of die activities, as you might if, for instance, you give up your right to have die first say about which cluster a card belongs to in a Simple and Double Card Question. First of all, it is fun. Most learners of English will enjoy moderation because of die variety of activity it involves, provided diey have at least an intermediate level of competence in English. Secondly, it encourages active participation by the whole group. Keith Purvis

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Everyone fills in cards and has the same number of dots when it comes to voting. This is an encouragement for those in the group who are less able, and, though die teacher-moderator should not put pressure on weaker participants, die result is generally that people who would not open their moudis in an unstructured discussion will contribute in moderation, particularly in group work. Thirdly, moderation requires minimal teacher preparation. You can handle discussions involving subjects diat it would be difficult to find authentic materials for. Familiarity widi the techniques of moderation will come after a very few lessons, and you will quickly recognize which technique is appropriate for which situation. A furdier advantage is that moderation exercises are a satisfying experience for learners, because they are discussing matters of genuine importance in English. The structured nature of the techniques of moderation acts as a support. And die discussions have a satisfying outcome in the expression of a group opinion or set of priorities. Widi a litde imagination you can produce interesting feedback by encouraging one group of people to influence die discussion of anodier. In one class, for example, a group of Germans was asked in the context of a Simple Card Question to write down things and characteristics they considered to be typically British. Meanwhile, a group of British people had completed a Simple Card Question on die subject of the Germans, and when die Germans had finished dieir Simple Card Question on the British, diey were presented widi a British view of themselves. The result was a very lively discussion on how we perceive each odier. One final advantage of the moderation technique is diat it provides a setting for practising grammatical forms or functional exponents. A completed Simple or Double Card Question, a Thesis or Scale represents an argument in schematic form diat can be kept and later used widi the group who made it as a context in which to practise grammatical and functional points naturally. For example, die number of coloured dots placed on die clusters in a Simple or Double Card Question indicates the probability of die suggestions made according to the group. The headings can then be used as stimuli in order to practise conditional forms or phrases ranging from 'XY is die main reason for/most likely reason for. . .' to 'YZ may possibly be responsible for ..." A Brainstorming sheet can be used to practise degrees of necessity.

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Reservations about the use of moderation

Because moderation is usable only in problem-solving situations involving a degree of controversy, it works best in groups of lively people who are full of ideas, and if diere are one or two eccentrics present, so much the better. It follows diat it works least well in groups of like-minded people. One potential difficulty arises from die fact diat die exercise awakens expectations and encourages frankness. If the participants on a course are asked to discuss an issue like 'How could this English course be made more interesting?', they will expect dieir recommendations to be followed up. If die teacher-moderator has neidier die power rior the desire to make any changes, let alone die radical ones such a topic might encourage the participants to recommend, he or she would be wiser not to use diis technique as a device for eliciting feedback and suggestions. The question arises in diis connection as to whedier techniques of moderation can be used if participants are unfamiliar with democratic traditions. In my view diey can, provided diat die topics discussed do not
The teacher as moderator 227

gTeady embarrass or completely silence participants. It is, of course, much more interesting to discuss issues of immediate relevance of a controversial nature, but in situations where this is not possible, all forms of critical discussion may be stifled, not only that stimulated by the techniques of moderation. Conclusion Broadly speaking, techniques of moderation can be used in ELT in three possible ways. At the lowest level, they can be entertaining activities for use in an ad hoc way to add variety to a course. Secondly, they can add to the 'tone' of the course, while remaining in terms of time perhaps a minor component. This would be the case, for instance, if (a) the course had been prepared for by a session in which the participants had used a Simple Card Question technique when discussing their individual needs and wishes in order to establish a set of group aims; or (b) if techniques of moderation were used at the end of every stage of the course to provide free practice of language features that had so far been practised in other ways; or (c) if the techniques were used in the feedback sessions. The third possibility is diat moderation is used as a basis for course design, and this is most likely to be the case in a discussion skills course for people at a fairly advanced level. The second possibility is the most interesting to develop, for it is motivating, and therefore desirable, for learners of a foreign language to feel involved in a group activity that demands a degree of cooperation and commitment to a corporate task (which is not found in most teaching situations). A pre-requisite for this, however, is a teacher to act as moderator who is capable of genuine self-effacement; that is, of being detached from the problem but committed to the group that is discussing it. D
Received March 1982 The author Keith Purvis teaches English in Munich. He obtained his first degree at Cambridge in English and Theology in 1965, his DipTEO at Manchester in 1969, and an MA in Applied Linguistics at Essex University in 1977. He has worked in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and, since 1977, in West Germany, where he was joint Director of

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Studies in The British Council's Hamburg Direct Teaching of English Operation, before moving to Munich to be Director of Courses and Marketing in DTEO there from 1980 to 1981. He is author of Read and M>te(Heinemann Educational Books, 1978).

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Keith Purvis