We have spent the last few weeks using a wide variety of learning opportunities to facilitate discussion, with the DLO above reflecting some of the synthesising that has taken place. Moving from group to group today I found that my learners were happy to share their opinions, but was met with a wall of silence when I asked why they felt like this. It is hard to keep quiet and not immediately scaffold and support by saying I share their thinking, but it is important that I continue to grow and nurture their ability to make an informed opinion.
I was completely taken aback today when one of my learners was told me that he didn't like sharing his thinking because he might have the wrong answer and he didn't want to be mocked for not knowing the right facts. I see from this honesty that we have work to do to ensure that everyone in the group feels 'safe'. Going forward I'm going to use google forms to find out if others feel this way and if so, will use the same forum to find out from their perspectives what I can do to help them feel empowered when their personal perspectives differ from the perspectives of their peers.
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