Knowledge Building Circle

How do I use it?

• When possible, have participants sit in a circle facing one another, so that they all see themselves as part of a learning community.
• Ensure students have access to sentence starters if they are new to the process (see “Using This Strategy” below).
• Begin the circle by posing a question, such as: “I am wondering where rocks come from? Does anyone have any ideas, information or observations they would like to share in our Knowledge Building Circle?”
• Have students join the discussion by sharing an idea, theory or another question.
• Create a way for students to indicate that they have an idea to share. This could be a raised hand, and hand over the heart, or simply waiting until there is a natural pause in the discussion (this may work best with older students or students who have experience participating in Knowledge Building Circles).
• Encourage students to build on another student’s discussion point, actively listen, or raise a new idea.
• Watch the process carefully to ensure it remains democratic, is focused on advancing learning and that everyone is involved.
• Use educator prompts to advance the discourse when needed (see the educator prompts below).
• Look for problems of understanding that arise through the discussion and consider these when designing next steps for the inquiry.
• In a virtual environment, have students turn on video cameras if possible and raise their hand to share.

Variations

Knowledge Building Circles can be used at various stages throughout an inquiry, such as:

• Following an initial hands-on provocation or outdoor experience, for learners to share what they know and questions they have connected to the topic.
• After identifying a question to pursue, for learners to share and negotiate their initial theories and predictions.
• In the Analyze and Investigate phase of inquiry, for learners to share new understandings that have arisen from recent experiences, observations, information and/or investigations. Learners can build on one another’s ideas by agreeing, disagreeing, or contributing a new idea or possible solution.

Assessment

Record student questions and contributions for:

• Assessment AS Learning: Gives a glimpse into a student's thinking and understanding and informs next steps in developing a responsive curriculum.
• Assessment FOR Learning: Allows educators and peers to provide meaningful, responsive and actionable feedback to one another.
• Assessment OF Learning: Comparing a student’s knowledge, ideas and understandings over the course of several Knowledge Building Circles can be documented as evidence of learning.