Kristin, some comments from the students, together with my own reflections/worries, led me to think a bit about what happened in the small group discussion, what I/we might have done differently, etc.
I wished that we'd been able to dig a little deeper on what happened in the rotations, as the conversations were, apparently, guided by what the host conveyed about what went in their particular meeting. I wondered how the reps from the other groups were (or were not) able to bring in some of what they talked about in their previous group. I also wonder how things might have been different had we charged each group (or the host) with forming a question they would pose to the people who joined them. I think that the cafe conversation guidelines, however flexible, seemed to be geared to pre-chosen questions, but I'll bet that the students could have pulled this off on the fly, and perhaps then the conversations would have built on what came before in ways that would have fit with our desire to let the students take more rather than less ownership.
Whatever the case, I hope that some of the students blog about this part of class...maybe for some the serendipitous nature of the conversations was appealing. Perhaps for others it felt aimless and random. Both could be useful in their own ways, and I suppose that's a good thought opportunity in its own way.
What do you think?
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