Creating a Community Circle Process

During the Spring 2019 semester, I began implementing “community circles” to build classroom culture. Inspired by the work of Monte Syrie (@MonteSyrie) and his Smiles and Frowns and some readings I had some in sociocultural learning theory, I went for it. This blog will review—first—how my students responded, and then explain my process before concluding with adjustments for this coming year.

STUDENT RESPONSE

At the end of last semester, I provided a course survey to gauge student responses to our work. My co-teacher and I talk with our students often (as they enter the room, between classes, as we confer during workshop, their bi-weekly-or-so e-mail reflections, etc.), but this was a way for us to get some typed responses to look at. Below is our prompt and some responses

The community circle gatherings were new to us this year. What were your thoughts? Should we continue them in the future? What could they be used for?

i feel they are good to get to know each other but we should also continue to use them in big class discussions.

i liked them because i got to know my peers better. And knowing them when i went up to present or to do anything in the front of the class i was not nervous or scared because i knew them.

I think so because they gave everyone a chance to learn everyone's names and what they were like.

I enjoyed the community circles I feel they help us come out of our comfort zones a little.

I think that they were a good idea especially for the topic about gun control and securities at school because all students can talk about it and say their own opinion.

Yes, for maybe discussing different topics to write or to help us communicate more

I liked them i wish we did more.

i really liked them because it got us to interact with each other and have fun.

I liked them i think they helped you get to know others and it made us feel like you weren't treating us like kids but mature people

I liked them a lot. I think we should do them more frequently at the beginning of the year to get people to talk to each other more.

I had not expected these responses (and these are representative of the 37 students who typed a response to this question). My Special Education teacher and I loop with our students from 9^th to 10^th grade, so we will be continuing this procedure this year.

OUR PROCEDURE

We found time every two or three weeks to “circle up.” The general format is as follows:

1.     We’d sit in a circle. In my co-taught class, we divided the class into two groups of about 12 or so students apiece. In my Honors class of only 20 students, we stayed together. I could conceivably see this being done by one teacher but dividing students into two group with the teacher bouncing between groups. We normally would shift to the hallway (we have wide hallways) or the Library or cafeteria.

2.     We provide a prompt. Sometimes these are goofy: Which is the best breakfast food: pancakes, waffles, or French toast? If you were a monster hunter, what would you go after: vampires, unicorns, or leprechauns? Other times, these questions may be more mundane: What class are you most excited for this quarter? What are you plans for break? Other times, the prompt is more serious or critical: What are your thoughts on school safety?

3.     We first go around the circle and everyone says their name aloud.

4.     Then, we go around again. Every student says their name aloud a second time and then responds to the prompt. Students may say “Pass” after their name if they do not want to respond.

5.     After everyone has the opportunity to respond, the conversation opens. We work on responding to each other’s specific thoughts or following up with ideas. As the teacher, I enter the conversation as little as possible. If I need to, I can ask if anyone wants to follow up to a specific student’s thoughts, or I can bring students back to the topic-at-hand if we go too far off (but sometimes I don’t mind). I often tell students the conversation can go in whatever direction they’d like. This is not necessarily an exploration of academic content, so I can be open here.

6.     Once I feel we are done (based on the flow or even just time), I will wrap up the conversation and ask everyone to go around the circle one more time to speak their name.

This process may last about 15 minutes, but we can adjust down to 10 or provide more if necessary. For one meeting, we got a parachute from the gym (elementary-school style) and we played parachute games. It was so much fun seeing students relive their younger days.

MOVING FORWARD

We will be following this same procedure this year. However, I plan to begin within the first week. Ideally, I would prefer to alternate community circles with our e-mail reflections home each week—so, we’d meet with community circles every two weeks; on the other weeks, students will type an e-mail reflection and then e-mail that home (and CC me). This schedule will not be perfect. I also tried to do e-mails on every other Wednesday but found that I did not have to stay with a specific schedule: the same will go for community circles. We will gather as necessary or as our schedule allows, but we need to meet more often than once a month.

However, to compliment community circles, I do plan to implement Monte Syrie’s Smiles and Frowns at the start of each class. I plan to open the floor at the start of each class (rather, after independent reading time) and ask if anyone would like to share a Smile (something positive in their life) or a Frown (a frustration). Ideally, I would like to keep this to about five minutes a day. I don’t want to place too many restrictions yet until I implement, but I do want to give students space. As with everything, I am cognizant that this will reduce time that I teach or that students have in workshop, but the community-building will be worth it.

I also plan to implement more turn-and-talk during our min-lessons. Students will be sat in pods (for the first time in my 13-year teaching career!). During mini-lessons, rather than asking a question for students to raise hands, they’ll turn and talk to each other and I can listen in for a minute or so before bringing the class back together, sharing what I heard, and clarifying as necessary. I was inspired to make this shift after reading Kate Roberts’s (@teachkate) A Novel Approach: Whole-Class Novels, Student-Centered Teaching, and Choice.

Centralizing this work makes our shift to the start of the year exhilarating. I look forward to seeing my students again as they begin their sophomore year.