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The Dialogue Game® Section: main page
This section includes the following features:
Background of The Dialogue Game
Precedents to The Dialogue Game
Rules of The Dialogue Game
Keys to Deeper Enjoyment of The Dialogue Game
How to Play
Background
of The Dialogue Game®
The Dialogue Game has been played for thousands of years, although not using the same terms you will find here. This version has evolved into its current format through the process of training public school teachers to facilitate dialogue in the classroom.While none of the following precedents speak about The Dialogue Game in the same terms, the spirit is the same. It has always been as a mode of learning in which all the participants benefit because they come together as equals.
Precedents to The Dialogue Game®
Socrates and Plato
Precedents
- Socrates
and Plato
- In the Athens of 300 BCE,
Socrates "taught" by asking questions. He engaged
students one on one, or in small groups, often
insisting that he really knew nothing. But the skill
of his questioning allowed others to learn from the
process. Read any of the Dialogues of Socrates to see
how masterful questioning can produce self-generated
understanding.
Plato was a student of Socrates, and it is he who wrote down the Dialogues which have inspired thinkers for more than two thousand years. Plato called this process the "dialectic", and considered it to be the pinnacle of the education of the Philosopher-King.
At his point in history, we think it should be part of the education of every human being. Furthermore, we think that it is possible to read Plato's "Philosopher-King" as another name for the Soul -- that part of each person who is the only one fit to rule that person's life.
- In the Athens of 300 BCE,
Socrates "taught" by asking questions. He engaged
students one on one, or in small groups, often
insisting that he really knew nothing. But the skill
of his questioning allowed others to learn from the
process. Read any of the Dialogues of Socrates to see
how masterful questioning can produce self-generated
understanding.
- John
Dewey
- Generally considered to be
the leading progressive educator of this century, John
Dewey wrote extensively on issues in education. One of
his most accessible works, Education and
Experience, written late in his career, may be
considered a sort of summation of his
philosophy.
In this work, he tries to find a synthesis of the principles of traditional education and those of progressive education. A key for him is the experience of the learner; this is also a key component of The Dialogue Game .
Another key component is that of critical inquiry. Dewey states that: "any theory and set of practices is dogmatic which is not based upon critical examination of its own underlying principles." [p.22] This is also a key component of dialogue as practiced by David Bohm and Peter Senge.
- Generally considered to be
the leading progressive educator of this century, John
Dewey wrote extensively on issues in education. One of
his most accessible works, Education and
Experience, written late in his career, may be
considered a sort of summation of his
philosophy.
- The
Great Books Program
- The Great Books Program was
started by Mortimer Adler when he was the Chairman of
the Encyclopedia Britannica. It was conceived as a way
to support lifelong learning in adults -- learning
about things which really matter. Adler is a
philosopher, and he found that the things most worth
reading, talking, and thinking about are the same
questions which have entertained humanity since we
first began to think. Scott Buchanan, a colleague of
Adler's, refers to this as "The Great
Conversation".
Central to the Great Books Program is the idea that philosophy (or the great human questions) should not be just the province of professional academics. They are the legitimate interest of anyone who wants to lead a more meaningful and more satisfying life.
So the Great Books are a collection of the major works of Western Civilization, and the program includes a mode of discussion called a "Great Books Discussion", or "seminar". This mode of discussion led directly to The Paideia Proposal, The Coalition of Essential Schools, and Socratic Seminars.
The Great Books Program still operates out of Chicago, and in 197? added a program for young people, The Junior Great Books Program.
We think that all of the "Great Books" make wonderful texts for playing The Dialogue Game . We also think that there are other Great Books from other civilizations, including writers from the present.
St. John's College
University of Chicago
- The Great Books Program was
started by Mortimer Adler when he was the Chairman of
the Encyclopedia Britannica. It was conceived as a way
to support lifelong learning in adults -- learning
about things which really matter. Adler is a
philosopher, and he found that the things most worth
reading, talking, and thinking about are the same
questions which have entertained humanity since we
first began to think. Scott Buchanan, a colleague of
Adler's, refers to this as "The Great
Conversation".
- The
Paideia Proposal
- In the early 1980's,
Mortimer Adler became chairman of a group of educators
who met to look at the state of education in the
United States, and to propose some changes. It was
their analysis that democracy was not very well served
by the way public schooling is usually conducted. In
the report which they wrote together, The Paideia
Proposal : An Educational Manifesto, they
suggested a way that schooling might be changed for
the benefit of the students and of society.
Central to their thesis is the idea that a democracy can only function with a well-informed citizenry. This meant two things : 1) that all the citizens should be well-educated enough to understand our place in history -- where we came from and the big ideas which have formed our country, and 2) that all citizens should be able to think critically and made intelligent decisions.
They called this a liberal education, meaning an education with a good deal of breadth, not aimed towards any specific profession or job. They said that this sort of education should be freely available to all, not just those with enough money to attend an exclusive private school.
One of the central practices of the Paideia Program is the practice of Seminars, a type of discussion much like the Great Books Discussions. It is intended to make it easier for all students to better understand the great ideas of the great thinkers of history.
The National Paideia Center was founded in 19??, to carry on this work, which they do to this day.
- In the early 1980's,
Mortimer Adler became chairman of a group of educators
who met to look at the state of education in the
United States, and to propose some changes. It was
their analysis that democracy was not very well served
by the way public schooling is usually conducted. In
the report which they wrote together, The Paideia
Proposal : An Educational Manifesto, they
suggested a way that schooling might be changed for
the benefit of the students and of society.
- The
Coalition of Essential Schools
- One of the other members of
the Paideia Group was Ted Sizer, a former headmaster
of Phillips School in Andover, Mass., and former dean
of the Graduate School of Education at Harvard. In
1991, he wrote a book which vividly depicted the life
of the American high school. The book, entitled
Horace's Compromise, was named after a
composite teacher named Horace. By taking a close look
at what was wrong with American high schools, Sizer
came up with a way to improve them.
One of the problems he saw was that most high schools try to do everything from reading and writing, to auto shop and home ec, to football and basketball. One of the results is that, for most students, they don't seem to learn to do anything terribly well. Sizer thought it would be better do do what is most essential and do it well.
He came up with a set of principles for The Coalition of Essential Schools. They define the ideals which help to make an Essential School different from a traditional school. The first principle is that "students should learn to use their minds well" by mastering a few important skills, instead of learning to do a lot of things not-so-well. Another principle is that "teachers should be generalists", instead of being specialists who have trouble talking to each other about what they are doing in their classes.
Because Essential Schools aim to help students learn to use their minds well, many of them use Socratic Seminars, a type of discussion which developed out of Great Books and Paideia.
Today, there are entire states, called Re:Learning States, which have adopted the Common Principles of the Coalition of Essential Schools as a means of improving the schools throughout the state.
Essential Questions:
- One of the other members of
the Paideia Group was Ted Sizer, a former headmaster
of Phillips School in Andover, Mass., and former dean
of the Graduate School of Education at Harvard. In
1991, he wrote a book which vividly depicted the life
of the American high school. The book, entitled
Horace's Compromise, was named after a
composite teacher named Horace. By taking a close look
at what was wrong with American high schools, Sizer
came up with a way to improve them.
- Socratic
Seminars
- Another member of the
Paideia Group, Dennis Gray, went on from there to
train educators to lead what he called "Socratic
Seminars". He felt that this was the part of the
Paideia Program least familiar to most educators,
therefore most in need of special attention.
Dennis added several elements which were missing from the Great Books Discussions. He brought in texts from women and non-European writers; he added the element of "Critique", by which the seminar becomes self-improving; he added the idea that the facilitator should encourage everyone to take responsibility for co-facilitating the seminar, thus turning himself into an equal participant.
Many teachers around the country, in Essential Schools and elsewhere, were trained to lead Socratic Seminars by Dennis Gray. The Dialogue Game is a direct descendent of the work of Dennis Gray.
- Another member of the
Paideia Group, Dennis Gray, went on from there to
train educators to lead what he called "Socratic
Seminars". He felt that this was the part of the
Paideia Program least familiar to most educators,
therefore most in need of special attention.
- David
Bohm
- David Bohm is a physicist
who did ground-breaking work in theoretical physics.
He was also a colleague of Krishnamurti and a
practitioner of dialogue. He has written of his
experiences of dialogue with two distinct groups of
people: 1) scientists who work in different
specialities, and 2) community groups.
His work with dialogue is different than that of the Great Books in that he did not use a text. In the groups he led, the ideas they talked about were the ideas which the participants brought with them. This approach allowed him to focus on uncovering hidden assumptions which are the foundation of how each of us think about the world; these hidden assumptions are also the root of misundersanding between groups of people, and the indirect cause of war.
He has written extensively about the practice of dialogue, and influenced Peter Senge.
- David Bohm is a physicist
who did ground-breaking work in theoretical physics.
He was also a colleague of Krishnamurti and a
practitioner of dialogue. He has written of his
experiences of dialogue with two distinct groups of
people: 1) scientists who work in different
specialities, and 2) community groups.
- Peter
Senge
- Peter Senge
works at MIT, in the School of Organizational
Management. In 1992? he wrote a book, The Fifth
Discipline: The Theory and Practice of the Learning
Organization, which was a result of his work in
helping multi-national corporations become more
flexible and more adaptable.
Underpinning his work is the idea that the typical organization, to the degree which it is hierarchical and bureaucratic, is relatively slow to change. Because of the way different departments are separated from each other, it is possible that they can actually work against each other without knowing it. Such an organization will have trouble competing in a global marketplace, and may die as a result.
His work with these corporations involves helping its members to think about the whole system of which they are a part. He calls this "Systems Thinking". One of the four practices which helps an organization learn systems thinking he calls "Team Learning".
Team Learning is very much like a Great Books Discussion, and very much like the Dialogue of David Bohm. In fact, in listing the basic conditions necessary for dialogue, Peter Senge quotes Bohm.
It is interesting to note that, while The Fifth Discipline was written for the business community, it was very enthusiastically received by the school restructuring community. They found that it spoke to many of the same issues which they faced in trying to make schools more productive places to learn.
- Peter Senge
works at MIT, in the School of Organizational
Management. In 1992? he wrote a book, The Fifth
Discipline: The Theory and Practice of the Learning
Organization, which was a result of his work in
helping multi-national corporations become more
flexible and more adaptable.
- Summary
- There are
certainly other groups around the country who use some
form of dialogue in order to improve the learning of
individuals and groups. Those listed here are the ones
which have played a role in defining
The
Dialogue Game
.
We think thatThe Dialogue Game , because it draws on the wisdom of all these precedents, has the advantage that it can be used by groups of all sorts to improve their conversations.
Young people and adults, educators, business people, and community members -- all can use The Dialogue Game not only to begin their exploration of Socratic Dialogue. They can also use it to guide their practice into levels of maturity which we cannot yet imagine.
- There are
certainly other groups around the country who use some
form of dialogue in order to improve the learning of
individuals and groups. Those listed here are the ones
which have played a role in defining
The
Dialogue Game
.
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