Reflection Circle Guide

1) Help learners develop their ideas, enhance understanding of other perspectives, and increase awareness of their own learning process

2) Enable students to connect their past and present experiences, which contributes to personal and academic growth

3) Make student thinking visible, allowing teachers to hear students’ perceptions and developing ideas

4) Build community and encourage honest, authentic dialogue that is necessary to effectively respond to challenging issues and circumstances

1) Open seating arrangement: Circles support reflection because they create a sense of community and equity. Everyone in the circle should be able to see everyone’s face without having to move. Ensure the circle has a clear central space by removing any furniture beforehand. Students should know how to move easily from their typical seating arrangement (e.g., rows of desks) to a circle as needed.

2) Clear conversation guidelines: Reflective and exploratory talk thrives in a safe, respectful class culture. Create and nourish this kind of classroom talk by establishing norms for reflection circles, which you can introduce and post at circle time, such as: 

• Everyone needs to hear and be heard
• One person speaks at a time
• Listen carefully to each speaker
• Be honest and truthful when sharing your ideas
• Respond respectfully and positively, even if you disagree
• Respect everyone’s perspective and experience

3) Ensure all students can participate: Just as clear visibility matters, so does the clarity of each voice. Choose a circle talking structure that creates a sense of familiarity and ensures all students can contribute. Possible conversation structures:

• Use a talking piece, in which a special object is held by the speaker and then passed to the next speaker
• Play "popcorn" so students call on a classmate whose hand is raised when they’re done speaking
• Call on students who raise their hands when they want to share

4) Meaningful talk: Meaningful discussions make circles worth having. This means starting with quality questions and ensuring quality talk. Each Empatico experience suggests a unique set of discussion questions, which reflect our belief that open-ended questions prompt deeper thinking, while narrow (yes-no) questions can limit quality discussion. Teach students how to relate their ideas to other students’ ideas and experiences. You might post the following sentence frames to support students:

• I believe ___ because...
• I agree with what ____ said because...
• I respectfully disagree with ___ because...
• I want to add onto what ___ said because...
• What did you mean when you said ____ ?

5) Clear circle closure: When it’s time to end, ask students to comment on their circle experience. Then, close the circle by ringing a bell or making a specific signal that indicates it’s time to move back from circle time to ordinary time. Intentionally closing the circle makes the experience feel special.

1) Wait for students to answer: After posing a question... wait! (for 3 or more seconds!) Consider asking students to show a signal (e.g. a raised thumb) when they have an idea to share, and open discussion when the majority of students are ready. Research shows increased wait time leads to more thoughtful student responses, increased student-to-student exchanges, and greater student participation.

2) Support group cohesion and community: Ensure the reflection circle allows everyone to hear and be heard while keeping students talking to each other (not to you, the teacher).

3) Focus on ideas: Expect good listening and keep everyone on the same page by asking students to repeat key ideas. For example: 

• “Samir, can you repeat what Marcia said in your own words?”
• “Marcia, was that what you were trying to say?”

4) Link contributions: Help students link their ideas to the on-going conversation by using questions like these:

• "Who agrees?”
• "Who disagrees?"
• "Who wants to add on to what Carlos just said?”

5) Press for reasoning: When students respond with brief or surface answers (e.g., “I agree.”) press students to explain their reasoning. Use questions like these to draw out logical connections ands reasoning:

• "Why do you think that?"
• "Can you say more about that?"

Caldwell, M. (2017, Jan 30). How to listen with compassion in the classroom. Greater Good Magazine: Science-based insights for a meaningful life (UC Berkeley). Retrieved from https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_to_listen_with_compassion_in_the_classroom

Clifford, M. A. (2013). Teaching Restorative Practices with Classroom Circles. Center for Restorative Process. Retrived from http://www.centerforrestorativeprocess.com/restorative-practices.html

Glenview Elementary. (2014, July 1). Using dialogue circles to support classroom management. Edutopia. Retreived from https://www.edutopia.org/practice/stw-glenview-practice-dialogue-circles-video

Michaels, S., O’Connor, C., Hall M. W., & Resnick, L. B. (2010). Accountable Talk Sourcebook: For Classroom Conversation that Works. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Institute for Learning.

Responsive Classroom. (2017). Principles & Practices. Retrieved from https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/about/principles-practices/