In the midst of a year with many mandates and directives, tasks and tests, Zach Serrano brought an opportunity to his high school students to speak, listen and be heard—and in the end, to hear themselves.
“On the Friday before spring break, I brought constructivist listening [from Victor Cary at National Equity Project] to sophomores.”
[With this structure], he says he provided ‘space to build personal connections to whatever is going on in classroom–release emotion or think about things…space created to push you in to a deeper level of thinking through a designated time for each person in a dyad to respond to a prompt without interruption.
The first time Zach used this structure with his students, the third and final prompt was: ‘”Remember the last time you remember being fully listened to…'”
He says that “afterward one student came over to me—he started crying, ‘I just want you to know how important what we did today in class was. Its been a really hard day for me. Not everyone was here… I feel kind of alone. Last class I sat by myself. I didn’t say anything to anybody. Here, we had to listen to each other and we had to talk to each other. I really needed that.’
By opening the space we let humanity breathe in the room. The beauty of it is–if you adhere to the structure,if you have this ritualized routine in your classroom, imagine how kids could connect to what you’re studying. Fundamentally we are empowering kids to be better humans.”
The Constructivist Listening Dyad
Adapted from the National Coalition for Equity in Education by Victor Cary.
Purpose
To create a safe space to become better at listening and talking in depth. Constructivist Listening Dyads help us as we work through feelings, thoughts, and beliefs that sometimes produce anger or passivity, undermine confidence, or cause interference in relationships with students or colleagues.
Time
2-30 minutes
Facilitation
Talk about the purpose of a constructivist listening dyad.
The simplest format for constructivist listening is a dyad, which is the exchange of constructivist listening between 2 people…
I agree to listen to and think about you for a fixed period of time in exchange for you doing the same for me. I keep in my mind that my listening is for your benefit so I do not ask questions for my information.
Start with 2 minutes — at first it may seem difficult, but participants, over the course of time, may work their way up to 5-8 minutes or more each. Remind participants that the purpose of a constructivist listening dyad is that the listening is for the benefit of the speaker. This is an essential point to access the usefulness and power of a Constructivist Listening Dyad.
Guidelines for Constructivist Listening
1. Each person is given equal time to talk. (Everyone deserves to be listened to.)
- The listener does not interpret, paraphrase, analyze, give advice, or break in with a personal story.
(People can solve their own problems.)
- Confidentiality is maintained. (People need to know they can be completely authentic.)
- The speaker does not criticize or complain about a listener(s) or about mutual colleagues during their
time to talk. (A person cannot listen well when she/he is feeling attacked or defensive.)
Process
Each person will have 2 minutes or more to respond to a prompt. It is very useful to scaffold the prompts. When is the last time you remembered being fully listened too? How did it feel? Growing up, what was your experience as a learner? What felt supportive? What interfered with your learning? How did race, class or gender impact your experience as a learner in school?
Reflection Questions Following the Activity
• What came up for you using this structure? What came up for you reflecting on the prompt? • What worked for you? What was difficult for you?
• What purpose do you think it might serve?
• When could it be used?Protocols are most powerful and effective when used within an ongoing professional learning community and facilitated by a skilled facilitator. To learn more about professional learning communities and seminars for facilitation, please visit the School Reform Initiative website at www.schoolreforminitiative.org.