ThePinwheel:AClassroomDesignforBoostingSocialLearning

Duringthisevent,Peterwill:

•  Introduceanddescribethera0onaleforusingthe“pinwheel”structure

•  demonstratealessonusingthepinwheelapproach

•  provideanactivitywhichmaximizesstudents’talk-timewhilerotatingcontactandideasamongclassmates

PeterEdwardsPeterEdwardsholdsanMAinLiteraturefromUCBerkeleyandaPhDinAppliedLinguis0csfromtheUniversityofNoFngham.HiscareerbeganinPoland,buthehasspentthepast24yearsteachingandresearchinginEastAsia.StudyAbroadandNeurodidac0csholdsomeofPeter’scurrentfocus.HeisafoundingassociatewithAcademicsSuppor0ngKorogocho(ASK),buildingschoolprogramsinNairobi,Kenya.HerecentlyconsultedinCali,Colombia,asanEnglishSpecialist,andcurrentlyadvisesagraduateprogramatMountKenyaUniversityinKigali,Rwanda.Hisnextposi0onisatauniversityinSaudiArabia.

The Pinwheel AClassroomStructureforSimula1ng

Authen1cIntergroupContact

PeterA.Edwards,PhD

©2018byDr.PeterEdwards.ThePinwheel:AClassroomStructureforSimula7ngAuthen7cIntergroupContactfortheOfficeofEnglishLanguagePrograms.ThisworkislicensedundertheCrea0veCommonsAZribu0on4.0License,exceptwherenoted.Toviewacopyofthislicense,visithZp://crea0vecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The Contact Hypothesis

• ThePinwheelisbasedGordonAllport’s(1954)ContactHypothesiscondi0ons:• Equalstatus• Commongoals• Coopera0on• Authoritysupport• Friendshippoten0al

Today’s OBJECTIVES

• DefinethePinwheelasaframeworktomixgroupsformorecontactlearningamongstudentsandprovidemoreindividualspotlighttalk-1me

• Showwaystodivideandpriori1zetopictogetmoreu1lityandoriginalityfromit

Discussion Ques@on 1

Howcontentarewetohavejustthetopstudentsanswer

ques0ons?

Discussion Ques@on 2

Howmuchdoourstudentscareaboutschoolsubjects

comparedwithschoolfriendships?

Sid’s Story: The contact that sparked my career

S.O.A.P. • Students’• Original• Abundant• Produc0on

Humans are social animals!

A.I.R.

• AZrac0ng• Intergroup• Respect

A.I.R.

• AZrac0ng• Intergroup• Respect

Is your classroom “bubbly”? (Bubbles come from soap & air.)

• HOWSOAPyisthequieterhalfofyourclass?

• Original=notread,parroted,ormemorized• Abundant=7+minutesof7+worduZerances

• HOWAIRyisyourwholeclass?• Flexibleenoughtomingleamonggroups• Intergroup—amongclasscliquesandstrangers

The Pinwheel makes BUBBLES!

ThePinwheelisa7-stepframeworkwithtwomainfunc0ons…

1.  Divideandmixstudentgroups!

2.  Divideandmixpartsofanytopic!

The seven steps of the Pinwheel!

1. MAKEGROUPS2. ASSIGNNUMBERS3. SPOTLIGHT4. DISCUSS5. SWITCH6. DIVIDE7. RANK

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Show Pinwheel Video

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1. GROUPS!

•  Threestudentsineachgroup• OrganizeGroupsintoaclassroomcirclewithemptyspaceinthemiddle

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2. NUMBERS!

• Numberstudentswithineachgroup:1,2,and3

• Studentskeepthissamenumberfortheen0reclassday

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3. SPOTLIGHT TIME!

•  Callonstudent#1tostandandspeakforanexactchosen0meonachosentopic(opinion,homework,etc).

•  Speakersmaynotstall,finishearly,orgobeyondthe0melimit.

•  OthergroupmemberslistenaZen0velybutsilently.Listenersclapbrieflywhenspeakerfinishesandsits.

•  Repeatforstudents#2and#3.

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4. DISCUSS!

•  Aserallmembersdothespotlightac0vity,studentsdiscussmorefreely.

•  Topicscanbefurtherexploredwithques0onstospeakersorteacher.

•  Teachercanpointoutlanguageortopicissues.

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5. SWITCH GROUPS! (1)

•  All#1schangetonewgroupsbyrota0ngclockwise.#2srotatecounterclockwise.HINT:reduceconfusionbyhavingstudentspointtotheirnextgroupbeforetheymove!

•  Repeatspotlightanddiscussion7mewiththesenewgroups.Alternatespeakerorder.

5. SWITCH GROUPS! (2)

•  Switchgroupsasneededforlanguageandideadevelopment.

•  Returntooriginal“home”group.Exchangehowideashavedevelopedsincestudentslesthehomegroup.

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The basic pinwheel framework can be used with any number of students…

Pinwheel with 23

The Pinwheel also works with fixed desks, like in lecture halls and computer rooms….

Let’s now look at Part Two: the last steps of the Pinwheel…

Wecanalreadydothefirstfivesteps:GROUPS—NUMBERS—SPOTLIGHT—DISCUSS—SWITCH!

Part Two: Dividing Topics

•  Topicssuchas“learningEnglish”or“pets”maybetoobigforstudents.

•  Theymightnotknowwheretostarttalkingorhowtosaysomethingoriginal.

• But!Weasteacherscanhelpbydividingtopicsintopartsthatstudentscanmoreeasilyanduniquelycombine!

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Cut up BIG TOPICS!

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Now… 6

•  DIVIDETOPICintoPARTS!•  Teacher(orstudents)selectssevenparts,types,elements,etc.ofonetopic

•  Example:“7factorsforlanguagelearning”or“7popularpets”

•  Thenumbersevenhasseveraladvantages:•  Itallowsforvarietyandcrea0vitywithoutbeingoverwhelming

•  It’sacommonnumberofdivisions:rainbows,musicalnotes,etc.

•  Everyonedividesandorganizestheirweeksintosevendays!

And…. 7!

•  RANKTOPICPARTSintoHIGH,MIDDLE,andLOWlevels•  Studentsplacethesevenpartsintothreelevels(2/3/2)

•  Example:importance,favor,etc.•  Thisreducesthecomplexity.Studentscandiscussoneortwoparts

• Whatisonehigh-levelfactor,andonelower-levelfactorforlanguagelearning?

• Whatkindofanimalwouldyoumost/leastwanttohave?

Let’s divide the topic of language learning into seven possibly helpful factors. 1.  Supportathome2.  PriorL2success3.  Classroomenvironment4.  Teacher’sfaithinstudentssuccess5.  Personality6.  Age7.  ComfortspeakingL2aroundL1users

Let’s all choose two… the most and least important in our opinion • Thisissimilartoourbody’sfitness!•  ImagineyouwanttoplayyourfavoritesportbeZer

• Whichfitnessfactorswouldbemostandleastimportant?

•  Strength?•  Flexibility?•  Endurance?

•  Nowtrywiththesevenlanguagelearningfactors!

Let’s divide the topic of language learning into seven possibly helpful factors. 1.  Supportathome2.  PriorL2success3.  Classroomenvironment4.  Teacher’sfaithinstudentssuccess5.  Personality6.  Age7.  ComfortspeakingL2aroundL1users

How would one student experience a Pinwheel class? •  Let’stakethetopicofpets.• Ourclasshadthehomeworkofrankingsevenpetsintothreelevels.

•  Let’slookatjustsomeofhowwecanusethePinwheel…

Meet Doris…

Dorisreallylikescats.Sheneverthoughtaboutotheranimalsaspets.Intoday’sclassshemeetsclassmateswithdifferentopinions.

PETS

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Dividetopicsintosevenparts.

TOPIC BOOKSHELF

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Low

Middle

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F

Imagine Doris going through one cycle, four seasons, of the Pinwheel... • Doriswillhavecontactwithsixotherstudents.•  Eachoftheotherstudentshasdifferentopinionsaboutpets.

• Dorislistenscarefullytowhatandhowherclassmatesspeak.

•  ThroughthePinwheel,Doris’sopinionsaboutpetschange!

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Order ScorefromDoris

HIGH

HIGH

MIDDLE

MIDDLE

MIDDLE

LOW

LOW

WINTER ✔➖

✔

WINTER(HOME)

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1Doris

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Order ScorefromDoris

HIGH

HIGH

MIDDLE

MIDDLE

MIDDLE

LOW

LOW

✔➕

SPRING ✔

SPRING(2)

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1Doris

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HIGH

HIGH

MIDDLE

MIDDLE

MIDDLE

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✔

SUMMER

✔➖

SUMMER(3)

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1Doris

1Doris

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Order ScorefromDoris

HIGH

HIGH

MIDDLE

MIDDLE

MIDDLE

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AUTUMN ✔➕

✔

AUTUMN(HOMEagain!)

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1Doris

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Let’s look over Doris’s Pinwheel journey…

Doris’sfirstthoughts.Catsarecute.Snakesarescary.

Doris’swinterthoughtsCatsscratchfurniture.Snakesarenotslimy.

Amir

Doris’sspringthoughtsCatshatenewpets.Snakeseatonceaweek. Bahar

Doris’ssummerthoughtsCatsplayosen.Snakesareunusualtopics.

Chang

Canisa Butch

Doris’sautumnthoughtsCatsarefunny.Snakesareeasy.

Amir2

Anna2 Anna

Doris’sfinalthoughts.Catsarecomplex.

Snakesarenotcrazypets

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Remember!ThebasicstructureofthePinwheelisverysimple,butitcanbeusedinmanywaysto…•  increasecontactand

talk-0me•  togetmoreoutof

anytopic

Yuka’sSketch:Whatideas from our presenta@on today do you see here?

Seven References

1.  Allport, G. W. (1954). The nature of prejudice. 2.  Schultz, K. (2011). Being wrong: Adventures

in the margin of error. 3.  Lieberman, M. D. (2013). Social: Why our

brains are wired to connect. 4.  Christian, B., & Griffiths, T. (2016). Algorithms

to live by: the computer science of human decisions.

Seven References (con@nued)

5. Willingham, D. T. (2009). Why don't students like school?: A cognitive scientist answers questions about how the mind works and what it means for the classroom. 6. Tokuhama-Espinosa, T. (2014). Making classrooms better: 50 practical applications of mind, brain, and education science. 7. Morgan, A., & Barden, M. (2015). A beautiful constraint: how to transform your limitations into advantages, and why it's everyone's business.