Clarification
Active Member
Fishbowl Discussion is where there are two circles; inner circle and outer circle. Inner circle discusses about their book chapters while outer circle anonymously records information about a certain person they are assigned to that's in the inner circle. You are graded on participation. I was chosen inner circle.
Some of the rules for inner circle:
You have to listen and respect everyone when they talk.
You can't interrupt anyone
So I was prepared to do my very best. I wanted to have an A+; I just wanted to succeed. So that discussion began.
In the beginning, there was a couple of seconds of silence. I was about to start but someone else spoke first. This, I was fine with that.
Couple minutes in, I'm waiting for an opening in the endless conversation. I watch intently on whoever was speaking, waiting for a pause in the conversation. There was barely any openings.
Then - YES. A second of silence. I open my mouth; not my voice. Someone else spoke. Now repeat this happening a couple times more until I felt a meltdown welling up me. I stayed deliberately quiet to calm down. I check the time; not much time left.
I need to get my participation points. There was a second and a half silence so I started to speak - and someone else was starting to speak, too. When our voices collide, we both stopped - so there was a second pause. I continued to speak and after I finished my sentence, the teacher says, "Hold on, Isabella wanted to speak first." And from there, Isabella finished her sentence, the discussion continued from what she said. I felt so discouraged to talk anymore. After the conversation pointed to me by Isabella saying, "You were saying something?" to me, no one even understood what I said. It was so frustrating. Today I got back some feedback from my teacher saying I interrupted someone - which means points off and it feels like many don't like me now because I was the first and only person who interrupted someone in the discussion. There were no openings or if there were, I wasn't fast enough.
I couldn't speak unless I had to accidentally interrupt someone; I cannot get a good grade in future fishbowl discussions when the next chapters are up! Today the teacher had given the whole class some general feedback, saying "everything went well and relaxed, but sometimes someone is trying to speak and someone else interrupts them..." etc, etc. At first I thought she realized that I kept trying to speak but someone else kept going before me, but then I got the paper that contained the specific feedback from her. I have half credit on the assignment. That's pretty much an F.
I've been watching and listening carefully for an opening in the discussion - but there's never an opening. I don't know how my classmates smoothly exchange the speaking role throughout the group but whenever I try to speak at the right time, I interrupt someone else. Is there some secret way of exchanging opinions in such a structure? What is this structure?
Some of the rules for inner circle:
You have to listen and respect everyone when they talk.
You can't interrupt anyone
So I was prepared to do my very best. I wanted to have an A+; I just wanted to succeed. So that discussion began.
In the beginning, there was a couple of seconds of silence. I was about to start but someone else spoke first. This, I was fine with that.
Couple minutes in, I'm waiting for an opening in the endless conversation. I watch intently on whoever was speaking, waiting for a pause in the conversation. There was barely any openings.
Then - YES. A second of silence. I open my mouth; not my voice. Someone else spoke. Now repeat this happening a couple times more until I felt a meltdown welling up me. I stayed deliberately quiet to calm down. I check the time; not much time left.
I need to get my participation points. There was a second and a half silence so I started to speak - and someone else was starting to speak, too. When our voices collide, we both stopped - so there was a second pause. I continued to speak and after I finished my sentence, the teacher says, "Hold on, Isabella wanted to speak first." And from there, Isabella finished her sentence, the discussion continued from what she said. I felt so discouraged to talk anymore. After the conversation pointed to me by Isabella saying, "You were saying something?" to me, no one even understood what I said. It was so frustrating. Today I got back some feedback from my teacher saying I interrupted someone - which means points off and it feels like many don't like me now because I was the first and only person who interrupted someone in the discussion. There were no openings or if there were, I wasn't fast enough.
I couldn't speak unless I had to accidentally interrupt someone; I cannot get a good grade in future fishbowl discussions when the next chapters are up! Today the teacher had given the whole class some general feedback, saying "everything went well and relaxed, but sometimes someone is trying to speak and someone else interrupts them..." etc, etc. At first I thought she realized that I kept trying to speak but someone else kept going before me, but then I got the paper that contained the specific feedback from her. I have half credit on the assignment. That's pretty much an F.
I've been watching and listening carefully for an opening in the discussion - but there's never an opening. I don't know how my classmates smoothly exchange the speaking role throughout the group but whenever I try to speak at the right time, I interrupt someone else. Is there some secret way of exchanging opinions in such a structure? What is this structure?
