The Fishbowl Technique

The Fishbowl Technique

Sarah Rinker & Charlotte Ihme

Example

There are many variations of the Fishbowl technique. Here is one variation from Teach Like This.

How does it work?

Results

Purpose

As a result of utilizing the Fishbowl technique, students will increase their active listening skills as only half are discussing at a time. Students can be grouped for the Fishbowl discussion by ability level, allowing Gifted students the opportunity to discuss a topic in detail with their Gifted peers, leading to a richer, more valued discussion.

Divide your class in half. Each group will make a circle, one inner, one outer. Each group will face in towards the center.

The Fishbowl technique allows students to discuss content while learning to interact in thoughtful conversations and appreciate the ideas of others. Having a group of students who are just required to observe, take notes, and grade the participants gives them an opportunity to closely observe social interactions and prepare thoughtful responses.

The Fishbowl Technique

This learning strategy is a cooperative learning strategy focusing on social interactions among students.

Begin Discussion!

The inner circle will begin discussing the topic first. Students in the outer circle should write down any notes or comments that they have so that they can share them.

Classroom Examples

Government

Ideas for all content areas

Predetermined Topic

ELA: After the class has read "To Kill A Mockingbird", the Fishbowl discussion to follow could focus on the question: "Is the novel meant to shed light on civil rights and politics? Or is it meant to be a coming of age story?"

Science: After discussing and researching a controversial topic, students will come together to discuss the relationship of science and ethics by choosing a side in the debate. For example: Should stem cell research be banned or given access to federal funding?

When investigating the Supreme Court and the process of nominating and vetting potential Supreme Court Justices, students will be asked to research the impact of different SCOTUS nominees throughout history. They will then answer the question "Should Supreme Court Justices be elected by the people instead of nominated by the President?" The fishbowl technique will then be used for a rich discussion on the impact of judicial nominations versus a democratic election.

Have students form an opinion or ideas on this topic before the discussion.

Math

Debriefing

The Circles

As with all discussion techniques, an opportunity for students to summarize and reflect on the fishbowl discussion should be offered (journal, exit ticket, etc.)

The outer circle may not talk while they are on on the outside. When you as the teacher feel ready, you may swap the students. The new inner circle will be allowed to talk, but the new outer circle must take notes and stay quiet.

A fishbowl can be used in mathematics to allow students discuss patterns in equations or graphs to discover relationships. While the inside group is discussing this, the outside group can determine if they've discussed all characteristics, observed the correct patterns and given sufficient examples or drawn the correct conclusions.