Philosophical chairs is a discussion model used to reinforce or introduce concepts in a collaborative way using listening and speaking skills in the classroom. Students learn appropriate academic discussion norms, how to respectfully disagree, and how to evaluate a topic or issue. There are a TON of ways this can be modified to fit your classroom and content and has a high rate of success once established as a norm. Here are some potential roadblocks:
1. Getting used to discussion- Students in various subjects may not have had many opportunities to openly discuss these ideas, therefore they may struggle at first with the confidence and language needed to participate meaningfully. The more you implement discussion techniques, the more students will develop these skills and confidence over time.
2. Silence- Similar to the above, students need time to process new ideas and this can create uncomfortable silences. Silence is part of the thinking process and is okay! However, if this makes you cringe, you can try some pre-discussion think time or time to write down ideas before having them get up to discuss. Also, some students just need a few seconds to build up the confidence to share their ideas and can use this time to do so.
3. Class size- Large classes can make sharing as a whole group difficult. Try a jigsaw style or four corners to give students a chance to speak with others in small groups first before discussing together.
This week, Joey Gregg used philosophical chairs to reinforce when to use specific methods when solving systems of equations. He set up 3 possible answers: graphing, substitution, and elimination. He had students select which method they thought best to use. They then discussed based on philosophical chairs strategy, and then at the end they had to solve the actual problem based on the method they chose! At the end of the period he made them do a quickwrite about which method they would most often choose and why. This is a great way to use it and follow it up with a written product.
We would LOVE to see how you adapt it for your classrooms. Please share with us!
Thank You,
AVID PD Team
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