[amc] Re: Next Sunday's (Nov 13) Adult Forum
- From: "Heidi Xiong" <heidi.ratzlaff.xiong@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <amc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 8 Nov 2005 11:54:16 -0600
Hello Ray,
I want to clarify my suggestion for dividing into two groups for the initial
part of Sunday's discussions (like when we have groups of 20 or more).
The point (in my view) of the initial comment round, is less about getting
useful comments on the table and much more about engaging each person for the
upcoming active discussion by letting each individual have a chance to
formulate and practice expressing their main views (its like a warm up).
The most insightful comments then come in the active (back and forth)
discussion part of the Sunday hour when people are reacting to each other and
are triggered by new opinions.
So my goal would be 1) to reduce the time spent on, (but not the value of)
initial expressions and 2) to increase the time available for active (whole
group) discussion which is where the value of the discussion happens.
(It is painful to have to wait for over half an hour to comment back on what
someone said earlier.)
And I don't want to miss the active discussion portion of the other group,
therefore, I propose:
5 minutes - Introduction from the discussion leader (Ray) to the whole group
15 minutes - Sharing one's initial thoughts within a small group of 6-10
people, (2 minutes max. per person)
5 minutes - Coming back together as a whole group and briefly sumarizing the
main thoughts.
30 minutes - Active discussion among whole group
5 minutes - Final comments by group members and closing thoughts by the leader.
This format will possibly even improve participation in the initial expression
portion, because the group is temporarily more intimate in size.
I'd be glad to hear anyone else's suggestions on improving an already great
discussion hour.
Heidi
----- Original Message -----
From: Ray Gingerich
To: Austin Mennonite Church
Cc: Weaver, J. Denny
Sent: Sunday, November 06, 2005 2:46 PM
Subject: [amc] Next Sunday's (Nov 13) Adult Forum
Attached is the J. Denny Weaver lecture that we will discuss next Sunday. I
think it really facilitated the discussion today that most everyone had read
the lecture before class.
Since the attendance was so large today, there was a suggestion that we may
want to divide into two groups next Sunday and then come together for the last
15 minutes where each group could summarize their discussion.
Also, some of you suggested that you didn't have time to articulate what you
would have liked to regarding the lecture and that you might wish to send an
e-mail directly to Weaver. Since he asked for feedback and his e-address is
posted on the Bluffton website, here it is: weaverjd@xxxxxxxxxxxx . All of us
might learn from your post, so might I suggest that you copy the AMC listserve.
I will copy the list on the notes that Janice took this a.m. when I get them
transcribed.
Thanks for your participation in this discussion.
Ray
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