CS 330 Fishbowl Discussions

Procedures and Grading

Fishbowls are small-group discussions with the following rules:

• A small group of assigned leaders begin the discussion. These leaders have to complete the additional prep work described below.
• All other students form a circle around the fishbowl, observing and taking hand-written notes as needed.
• Only students "in the fishbowl" are allowed to speak.
• Once each leader has made an initial contribution to the discussion, a seat will be added to invite others to communicate.
• If someone outside the fishbowl would like to speak, they can take the empty seat to indicate they want to join. However, they must wait until someone leaves in order to join in the conversation.
• At the end of the fishbowl, everyone will be asked to submit their note card, including a response to a brief prompt about the discussion.

Fishbowl Leader Preparation

If you are assigned to lead a fishbowl discussion, you will turn in a one-page summary providing an initial position statement at the start of class. Your summary should include the following:

• A position statement: In one or two sentences, how do would you respond to the fishbowl topic's prompt (the question in bold)?
• Reading summaries: Each fishbowl includes recommended readings that are relevant to the topic. You don't need to read every word or critique it in detail, but provide a basic summary of the key ideas, what you think is important to bring to the discussion, and your general evaluation of that position. Each should only be about one paragraph in length.
• Two additional references: These could be news articles, scholarly papers, books you've read, or some other source that brings a new perspective to the topic. You are welcome to use blog posts or other commentary, but it should be from a thoughtful or insightful source. Basically, don't cite some random blog entry that essentially just says, "That thing is dumb."
• Additional explanation and key points: Expand on your position statement with a little more detail and what points you think are most important to consider.

Grading and Point Allocations

For leaders, you will be graded on a five-point scale.

• Attending and speaking at least once (1 point)
• Completed preparation (1-2 points)
• Contributing to the discussion (1-2 points)

For everyone else, your submitted responses will be given one point for attendance and a possible additional point for a good-faith effort to observe and respond to the discussion.