Pounding Tables - Intercollegiate Studies Institute

Pounding Tables

A couple weeks back, I attended an ISI debate symposium in Mecosta, Michigan, at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal.  There, twenty college students argued different issues in politics, society, and culture.  However, unlike any conference in my past experience, it was highly collaborative and engaging.  Rather than sitting quietly in a caffeine stupor through each debate, students were encouraged to react to the speeches, to give instant feedback.  If they agreed with a point, a rambunctious banging on tables would commence.  If disagreement occurred, a sharp hiss was warranted from the crowd.

Now, while this may initially seem a crude and uncivilized exercise, it immediately changed the debate atmosphere from potential stiffness and quietude to open, friendly competition.  Fun, exciting, entertaining, such audience-engagement techniques actually harken to 18th and 19th century halls of Congress and Parliament, wherein such reactions were normal and–dare I say–encouraged!

Imagine using these tools in classroom discussions, in presentations, in lesson plans?  What if students noised their approval of Beowulf, readily voiced their dislike of Grendel, and rose to present their own counter-points or imaginative examples?  If students were encouraged to actively affirm or dissent in discussions–whether as an assessment tool in differentiation, a method of engagement, a form of play–this simple change could have great ramifications within the classroom.

I, for one, would enjoy this tradition’s renewal.

You should try it, too.

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