Teaching and Learning in Circle
(Page 6 of 9)

The Importance of Balance

A primary teaching of the medicine wheel is balance. Every system needs to be in balance to function well. This is true in nature, in health, in human relationships and in systems. It also holds that teaching in a circle does not require elimination of all of a teacher’s previous good practices:

… a paradigm shift does not negate what has gone before. Usually when we obtain more up-to-date information, our first tendency is toss away what has been taught before, but a paradigm shift does not mean that we throw the baby out with the bathwater…
Previous knowledge can be saved and used, but as physicist Thomas Kuhn points out, its domain of application becomes more restricted. [14]

A description of my physical classroom can demonstrate the importance of balance between old and new, innovation and "tried and true":

In the center of my classroom is a rug. On the rug are a vase with flowers, a Tibetan "singing bowl", books and a jar containing scraps of paper with ideas contributed by the students. The chairs in the classroom are arranged in a circle around the center. The pestle from the singing bowl serves as the "talking piece" and discussion flows clockwise.

Outside the circle, on the perimeters of the classroom are eight "workstations". These have computers connected to the internet. Students work collaboratively at various times throughout the course. Also outside the circle is a "media station." When we need to present information – we suspend the talking piece and provide a PowerPoint presentation. We have a Smart Board and a projection system. These presentations are then saved in outline form and uploaded to the course web site. This web site also contains assignments, discussion boards, an abundance of enrichment readings, photographs and video from the class.

Two walls of the classroom have chalkboards – these have been covered over with student work. Two walls have bookcases. There are hundreds of books that the students may use at any time.

The "message" of this classroom arrangement is reflective of my philosophy of learning – I do not teach – I provide tools and a safe atmosphere for learning. Students gather and process information outside of the circle. Then they share that learning in the circle in an environment in which power is shared. Their ideas are tested and refined. Their questions are reworked. From this free exchange comes knowledge.

Keeping the technology outside the circle reminds us that the information that is passed is data – it is not the same thing as knowledge. Presenting information and learning something are entirely different processes. The mantra of "prepare…prepare…prepare" is not only for the teacher, but the learner as well. She is called to bring her informed thought to the Circle. Early on I tell my students that opinions are like pinky toes – almost everyone has them – and most are worthless.

As an educator I recognize that the paradigm for teaching and learning has changed dramatically and forever. The amount of information available to us and to our students is staggering in its size, complexity and accessibility.

We must, as teachers and learners, deal not so much with the acquisition of information and knowledge, as with their effective communication. To paraphrase T.S. Eliot we have the answers, it’s the questions that we need. Asking the right question has never been more important. According to Richard Lanham, the electronic media "show us how to use our communicative skills self-consciously in an environment in which we do not seek to possess the truth, but to create it collectively." [15] This is also true of Circle.

The use of the circle process helps ensure that collective creation through the empowerment of the individual as she works in community. The modern workplace does not depend on the acquisition of a skill, or preparation for a trade, but the application of many skills to what will probably be multiple careers. The common denominator is communication.

My classroom represents balance- between ancient methodology and the newest technology. I do not believe that either one would be as effective without the other. Out of this balance comes a unique learning environment.

Page last updated 11/27/2005

A project of Campus Conflict Resolution Resources.
Supported by a FIPSE grant from the US Department of Education
and seed money from the Hewlett Foundation-funded CRInfo project.

Correspondence to CMHE Report
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Campus Conflict Resolution Resources Project
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