8/17/13

Buythisissue ShareonTwitter ShareonFacebook ShareonLinkedIn ShareonGoogle+ ReadAbstract

April1998|Volume55|Number7 ReshapingSchoolLeadershipPages3034

TeacherTalkThatMakesaDifference
RobertGarmstonandBruceWellman Whenschoolfacultiesdeveloptheskillsofdialogueanddiscussion,theylearnhowtotransformtheirtalkinto meaningfulcommunicationthatimprovesrelationshipsandmakesarealdifferenceforstudentlearning. Anelementaryschoolstaffwasstrugglingwiththeproblemofreducedmoneyforinstructionalaides.Although consensusandfairnessweretheirgoals,theyreportedthattheyfeltliketurkeysbeingaskedtovoteonthemeritsof Thanksgiving.Noonereallywantedhisorheraidetimecut.One1stgradeteacherwasadamant:Shewouldloseaide time"overmydeadbody."Sixmonthslater,aspartofaschoolwideeffortsupportingdevelopmentofliteracyand readingskills,thissameteachervolunteeredtoshareherclassroomaidewitha3rdgradetutoringprogram"ifitwill reallymakeadifferenceinthosestudents'learningtoread." Whathappened?Insixmonthstheseteacherslearnedtopracticetwodifferentwaysoftalkingdialogueand discussion(seefig.1).Theyadoptedspecifiednormsofcollaborationand,individually,theyfocusedontheir capabilitiesforprofessionaldiscourseandopenlyreflectedonthesetoimprovepersonalandcollectivepractice.

Figure1.WaysofTalking

1/6

8/17/13

Thesecapacitiesformthecoreofaprofessionalcommunity.Suchcommunitiestalkabouthardissuestheyhonor cognitiveconflictandminimizeaffectiveconflict(Amasonetal.1995),andtheymakedecisionsbasedonobjective data,sharedvalues,anddeepexaminationofmentalmodels.Theymeasuresuccessbyincreasedstudentlearning andadults'satisfactionwiththeirwork. Developingastaff'scapacitiesfortalkingtogetherprofessionallyisnomagicbullet.Butitmaybethesinglemost significantinvestmentfacultiescanmakeforstudentlearning.

DifferentWaysofTalking
Conversationisinformaltalkinginwhichparticipantscanlearnfromoneanotherorsimplyenjoyoneanother's company.Butwhenconversationbeginstotakeonaconsciouslyorganizedpurposethatis,thegroupmustnow eitherdeepenunderstandingormakeadecisiontheyhavereachedaplaceofdeliberationachoicepoint:Theycan choosetomovetowardeitherdialogueordiscussion.Althoughdialogueandskilleddiscussionusemanyofthesame capabilitiesandtools,theircoreintentionsarequitedifferent. Dialogueleadstocollectivemeaningmakingandsharedunderstanding.Itbuildsasenseofconnectionandbelonging, andcreatesanemotionalandcognitivesafetyzonewhereideasflowforexaminationwithoutjudgment.Itconnects individualstotheirunderlyingmotivationsandmentalmodels.Thisformoftalkisthefoundationforcoherent,sustained effortandcommunitybuilding.Indialoguewehearphraseslike,"AnassumptionIhaveisthat...." Discussionleadstodecisionsthatstaymade.Skillfuldiscussionsdisplayrigorouscriticalthinking,mutualrespect, weighingofoptions,anddecisionmakingthatservesthegroup'svision,values,andgoals.Indiscussionwemighthear commentslike,"Weneedtoclarifyourgoalsbeforetalkingaboutsolutions." Mostschoolstaffsareunawarethattheycanchooseawayoftalkingthatisdifferentfromtheculturallyembedded norms.Ourmediasaturatedworldbombardsuswithargumentsframedbycommentatorsaspointcounterpoint,pro andcon,leftversusright,andotherpolarities.Wecarrytheseimagesintoourconversations.Theyframehowwelisten toothersandhowwespeak.Ifwearenotcareful,welistennottounderstandbuttoheartheerrorsorlogicalgapsin others'presentations,orwejumpintomakeapoint.Conversationsthenbreakdownintoverbalcombat,withwinners andlosers.Alltoooften,valuedcolleaguesbecomeconscientiousobjectors,choosingnottoparticipate.Thegroup thenlosesperspectiveandalternativeviewpoints.Theloudestormostpersistentvoicesbecomethepolicymakers,and intheworstcases,theprocesssowsseedsofpassivenoncomplianceorsabotagewithinthosewhofeelexcluded. Whengroupsunderstandthattheyhavealternativewaysoftalking,theyconsciouslydecidetopursuedialogueor discussion.Theymayexplicitlymarkagendaitemsasoneortheotherimportantmattersrequireboth.Forreally importantissues,thetwowaysoftalkingmayoccurinseparatesessions.Thisoptionisespeciallyimportantifpersonal reflectionwilladdtothequalityofthedecision. Asgroupmembersbecomemoresophisticatedwithwaysoftalking,thepathwaysbecomemoremalleable.For example,duringadialogue,someonesensesanemergingconsensusonanissue.Heorshetheninquiresifthisisso andframesaproposaltomovetheitem.Inanothercase,duringadiscussion,emotionsriseandthefactsbecome
2/6

8/17/13

muddied.Someonethenproposesthatthegroupswitchtoadialogueformatforasetperiodoftimetoexplorethe feelingsandunderlyingissuesthatarepresent(seefig.2).

Figure2.ShiftingfromDiscussiontoDialogue
Discussion Thesetestdatapointtoaneedtochangeourspellingprogram. Idon'tthinkit'stheprogramIthinkit'sthetest. Idon'tthinkit'seitheroneIthinkit'sattitude. Transition Waitaminute.thisissoundingmessierthanitfirstlooked.Canweshifttodialogueandexploreourassumptions aboutwhat'sgoingonwithourkidsandspelling? Dialogue Weseemtohavethreetopicsbeforeusthetestscores,kids'skills,andtheirattitudetowardspellingtests.I'm wonderingwhetherthereareotherelementsinthismix. Helpusunderstandwhatyouthinksomeoftheseotherelementsmightbe.

ACloserLookatDialogue
Dialogueisareflectivelearningprocessinwhichgroupmembersseektounderstandoneanother'sviewpointsand deeplyheldassumptions.TheworddialoguecomesfromtheGreekdialogos.Diameans"through"andlogosmeans "theword."Inthisprocessof"meaningmakingthroughwords,"groupmembersinquireintotheirownandoneanother's beliefs,values,andmentalmodelstobetterunderstandhowthingsworkintheirworld.Eachparticipantdoesmuchof thedeepestworkinternally. Suspensionistheessentialinternalskillindialogue.Whenwesuspendjudgment,wesetasideforatimeour perceptions,feelings,judgments,andimpulsesandmonitorcarefullyourowninternalexperience.Suspensionrequires beingalerttoourlisteninganddoingsomethingaboutourthinkinginthemoment.Pointsofpersonalconflictcaneasily emergewefeelothersarenothearingusortheyaredistortingourpointsofview.Wemaybarelybeawareofour angeroruneasiness,yetourdiscomfortinfluencesourlisteningandcaninfluencehowwerespond,whichinturncan influenceothergroupmembers.Suspensionalsoinvolvesbecomingawareofourassumptionsand"hangingthem fromtheceiling"suspendedinfrontofthegroupsoallcanexaminethem.Assumptionsarebeliefsoften unexaminedofwhythingsworkastheydo.Theydriveourperceptions,simultaneouslyopeningandblindingusto certainawarenesses. Participantsshouldrecognizeapotentialpitfallintheprocessofdialogueconviviality.Whenagroupconfusessafety withcomfort,itsacrificesproductivetensionfortheeaseofconviviality.Humorandbantercanbeavoidancestrategies asmuchastheycanbesociallubricants.Toohighacomfortlevelweakensdialogueandunderminesthelearning possibilitiesofthemoment.

ACloserLookatDiscussion
Skilleddiscussionsareorganized,collectiveeffortsincriticalthinking.Thegoalistoreachdecisionsthatstaymade. Decide,initsLatinroots,meansto"killchoice."Thepurposeofdiscussionistoeliminatesomeideasfromafieldof possibilitiesandhavethestrongerideaswin.Groupsthatareskilledatdiscussionemploymanycognitiveoperations relatedtocriticalthinking,butnotinanyparticularsequence.Beyer(1987)lists10criticalthinkingskills: Distinguishingbetweenverifiablefactsandvalueclaims Distinguishingrelevantfromirrelevantinformation,claims,orreasons Determiningthefactualaccuracyofastatement Determiningthecredibilityofasource Identifyingambiguousclaimsorarguments Identifyingunstatedassumptions Detectingbias Identifyinglogicalfallacies Recognizinglogicalinconsistenciesinalineofreasoning Determiningthestrengthofanargumentorclaim Thetermdiscussionshareslinguisticrootswithwordssuchaspercussion,concussion,anddiscuss.Initsmost
3/6

8/17/13

ineffectiveform,discussionisahurlingofideasatoneanother.Oftenittakestheformofserialsharingandserial advocacy.Participantsattempttoreachdecisionsthroughavarietyofeithervotingorconsensustechniques.When discussionisunskilledanddialogueisabsent,decisionsareoftenofpoorquality,representtheopinionsofthemost vocalmembersortheleader,lackgroupcommitment,anddonotstayinplace. Skilleddiscussionstakeplacewithinashapeknowntotheparticipants.Threeelementshelpformthisshape:(1)clarity aboutdecisionmakingprocessesandauthority,(2)knowledgeoftheboundariessurroundingthetopicsopentoa group'sdecisionmakingauthority,and(3)standardsfororderlydecisionmakingmeetings(GarmstonandWellmanin press). Liketheskillofsuspensionindialogue,aparallelsetofmentalskillshelpsparticipantsengageinskillfuldiscussion. Wecallthissetofskills"thebalconyview,"aperceptualpositionthatisneitheregocentric(Iamintenselyawareofmy thoughts,feelings,andintentions,andknowmyownboundaries)norallocentric(Iamawareofhowsomethinglooks, feels,andsoundsfromthepointofviewofanother).Thebalconyviewismacrocentric.(Withcompassionor detachment,Iunderstandthenatureofthesituation.Lookingdownatmyinteractionwiththegroup,Igainthemost knowledgeaboutme,aboutthegroup,andaboutourinteractionsandIcanmakethemoststrategicdecisionsabout myparticipation.WhendoIpress,whendoIprobefordetailorletitgo,howdoIphraseideasforgreatestinfluence?) Thisisthesameskillthatteachersemploywhenthey"monitorandadjust"intheirclassroom. Justasparticipantsindialoguemustwatchoutfortheconvivialitypitfall,soparticipantsindiscussionmustbewaryof strayingfromskilleddiscussiontoanunskilleduseofdebate.Whenthishappens,thegrouphasovershotuseful advocacyforideasandlandedinaplaceoflisteningonlyforlogicalfallacyandargumentsto"beatdown"(theLatin originofdebate)theideasofothers.

SevenNormsThatEnhanceTeacherTalk
Ourworkwithschoolsemphasizestheuseofsevencommunicationtoolsthatenhanceteachertalk: 1. Pausing 2. Paraphrasing 3. Probingforspecificity 4. Puttingideasonthetable 5. Payingattentiontoselfandothers 6. Presumingpositiveintentions 7. Balancingadvocacyandinquiry ThesetoolsareextrapolationsourcolleagueBillBakerhasmadefromtheCognitiveCoachingModel(Costaand Garmston1994Bakeretal.1997)andtheworkofPeterSengeandhiscolleagues(1994).Whenschoolfacultiesturn theseseventoolsintonormsnormaloperatingbehaviorsinformalandinformalinteractionswithintheschooladult relationshipsimprove,groupsworkskillfullytoexploremembers'mentalmodelsandassumptions,andbothdiscussion anddialogueareserved. Ofallthenorms,balancingadvocacyandinquiryrequiresthemostcognitive,emotional,andmoralsophisticationand createsthemostprofoundshiftsingroupthinkingandrelationships.Itisonewayforindividuals,bythemselves,to beginchangingalargeorganizationfromwithin(Sengeetal.1994). Whenadvocating,groupmembersmaketheirthinkingandreasoningvisiblebystatingtheirassumptions, distinguishingdatafrominference,andgivingexamples.Membersalsotesttheirassumptionsandconclusionsby revealingwhattheyareleastcertainabout,stayingopentootherinterpretations,andencouragingotherstoexplore theirthinking.Wheninquiringintoothers'views,memberscheckforunderstanding,askotherstomaketheirreasoning visible,inviteintrospection,andexplaintheirreasonsforinquiring(GarmstonandWellmaninpress).Groupsthatlearn todothiswellareastoundedbytheresults.AgroupinIowarecentlyusedtheseprocessestotalkaboutthemost importantideasforstudentstolearninmath."Weneverhadanythinglikethisbefore,"saidonesuperintendent."The groupwasintense,focused,andlearningfromoneanother.Previouslythiskindoftopicwouldhavehadusgriping."

FourCapabilitiesThatEnhanceGroupWork
Invisibleskillsrelatedtoconsciousness,intention,andselfcontrolinformallbehaviorsofgroupmembers.Groups seekingtoenhancetheirjointworkpayattentiontofourparticularcapabilities: 1. Knowingone'sintentionsandchoosingcongruentbehaviors. 2. Settingasideunproductivepatternsoflistening,responding,andinquiring. 3. Knowingwhentoselfassertandwhentointegrate. 4. Knowingandsupportingthegroup'spurposes,topics,processes,anddevelopment. Opportunitiesforprivatereflectionandpublicconversationaboutthesecapabilitiesvastlyincreasemembers'group skillsandfrequentlybringmembersclosertogetherastheysharewhatisusuallynotshared.

4/6

8/17/13

RoundRobinReflection
Certainstructuresbringsafetytogroupssothatmemberscanexperienceusefuldiscomfortandacceleratetheir learning.Onesuchstructurethatleadsrapidlytoimprovedgroupconversationsissomethingwecall"roundrobin reflection."Inthisprocess,everyonetakes30secondstosilentlyrespondtotwoquestions:(1)Whataresomeofthe decisionsImadeaboutwhenandhowtoparticipateinthisconversation?(2)Whatweresomeoftheeffectsofmy decisionsformeandforthegroup? Next,afacilitatorchoosessomeoneatrandomtobegintalkingtothegroupabouttheirresponses.Whenthispersonis finished,thegrouppauses.Next,anothermemberparaphraseswhattheyhaveheardandrespectfullyasksfor clarification,moreinformation,andsoon.Now,inroundrobinfashion,thepersontotherightofthefirstspeakertalksto thegroupandtheprocessisrepeated.

GettingStarted
Thecollaborativenormsofthegrouphavemoreinfluenceonthepossibilityofsuccessthandoestheknowledgeand talentsofthegroupfacilitator.Thusourstaffdevelopmentenergiesmustgotogroups,nottodesignatedleadersof groups.Wehavefoundthreecomponentshelpfulingroupsthatachievehighlevelsofskillsinthechallengingtalk requiredinprofessionalcommunities. 1. Overview.Providegroupswitharationaleandamapforthetwowaysoftalking(seefig.1).Withinthisframewe addkeydetailsaboutthesevennorms,thefourcapabilities,thepurposesofdialogueanddiscussion,and approachestoconstructiveconflict.Thisoverviewisintendedtocreatedissatisfactionwiththecurrentstateofteam andworkinggroupperformanceandprovideaglimpseofproductivewaysofworkingtogether. 2. Inventory.Inventoryingmembers'perceptionsofhowthegroupusesthenormsrevealsbeliefsaboutcurrent operatingpractices.Groupsthencanselectoneortwonormstodevelopandcanestablishmonitoringsystemsto improvetheiruseofthemapandtools.Inventoriescanbesimpleratingscalesrankingpersonalandcollectiveuse ofeachnorm,ormoredetailedquestionnairesdetailingsubsetsofeachnorm(Bakeretal.1997). 3. Monitor.Anygroupthatistoobusytoreflectonitsworkistoobusytoimprove.Everyworkinggrouphasfarmore taskthantimeandsoisnaturallyreluctanttospendtimemonitoringandreflectingonitsworkingprocesses.Many groupscommitthemselvestoatask/processratiotoovercomethistendencyandbudgetaprotectedpercentageof eachmeetingforexamininghowwellthegroupisworkingandwhatitmightdotoimprove. Reflectioncantakemanyforms.Theleasteffectivewayinvolvesaprocessobserveraspecialroleforgatheringdata aboutthefrequencyordistributionofbehaviorsthegroupfeelsareimportant.Becausethisplacesthegatheringofdata outsidegroupmembers,membersultimatelybecomelessaccurateingatheringtheirowndataandselfassessments. Themosteffectivewayisthroughreflectiononthefourcapabilitiesdescribedearlier.Thiscanoccurthroughjournal writing,roundrobinreflection,anddialoguefocusedonpersonalandcollectivelearningaboutthepowerofattentionto process. Humanbeingsareasocialspecies.Livingandworkingingroupsisanimportantpartofourgeneticheritage.Itisironic, then,thatinmanyschools,professionalswhoarechargedwithpreparingstudentstobesuccessful,collaborative citizensarethemselvescutofffromtherichresourcesofferedbytruecollegiality.Thatwetalktogetherinourschoolsis vitallyimportantinthesechangingtimes.Howwetalkisasimportant,foritishowwetalkthatinfluencesthepersonal andcollectivesatisfactionthatmotivatesustocontinuetalkingtogetherinourschools.

References
Amason,A.C.,K.R.Thompson,W.A.Hochwarter,andA.W.Harrison.(August1995)."Conflict:AnImportantDimension inSuccessfulManagementTeams."OrganizationalDynamics24,2:2035. Baker,W.,A.Costa,andS.Shalit.(1997)."TheNormsofCollaboration:AttainingCommunicativeCompetence."InThe ProcessCenteredSchool,SustainingaRenaissanceCommunity,editedbyA.L.CostaandR.M.Liebmann.Thousand Oaks,Calif.:CorwinPress. Beyer,B.K.(1987).PracticalStrategiesfortheTeachingofThinking.Boston:AllynandBacon. Costa,A.,andR.Garmston.(1994).CognitiveCoaching:AFoundationforRenaissanceSchools.Norwood,Mass.: ChristopherGordon. Garmston,R.,andB.Wellman.(inpress).TheAdaptiveSchool:DevelopingandFacilitatingCollaborativeGroups. Norwood,Mass.:ChristopherGordon. Senge,P.M.,A.Kleiner,C.Roberts,R.B.Boss,andB.J.Smith.(1994).TheFifthDisciplineFieldbook:Strategiesand ToolsforBuildingaLearningOrganization.NewYork:Doubleday.
RobertGarmstonisCoDirectoroftheInstituteforIntelligentBehavior,337GuadalupeDr.,ElDoradoHills,CA95617(email: FABob@aol.com).BruceWellmanisCoDirectorofPathwaystoUnderstanding,CoylerRd.,R.R.#4,Box843,Guilford,VT05301
5/6

8/17/13

(email:Bwellman@aol.com). Copyright1998byAssociationforSupervisionandCurriculumDevelopment

RequestingPermission
Forphotocopy,electronicandonlineaccess,andrepublicationrequests,gototheCopyrightClearanceCenter. Entertheperiodicaltitlewithinthe"GetPermission"searchfield. Totranslatethisarticle,contactpermissions@ascd.org

6/6