The Fishbowl

Last day in class we did the fishbowl activity and per groups between 8 and 10 people we had to sit down like this picture shows:

Firstly, I had the opportunity to be an observer, and after a while, the roles changed and I was inside the fishbowl. According to that, I would like to point out that my feelings were different depending on my role.

On the one hand, when I was an observer I couldn't talk, so I just listened to the opinions and ideas of my mates inside the fishbowl trying to answer some questions proposed.  In that moment, I felt impotent and anxious because I wanted to add some information, suggest some new ideas and ask some questions when I didn't understand what my mates were saying, but I COULDN'T. 

On the other hand, when I was inside the fishbowl I could talk and share ideas with my mates, so I felt free to express my thoughts and at the same time really observed by my mates. We tried to widen the previous answers and answer some new questions. From my humble point of view, I strongly believe that we did a great job because we respected the turns of each member and we listened carefully to all the suggestions. However, when the observers explained us what they had understood about our discussion, I felt a little bit frustrated because I realized that some ideas were not still clear for them. 

WHY THE FISHBOWL ACTIVITY DESERVES AN ENTRANCE IN MY BLOG?

I have created this entrance for two reasons. The first one is because I want to show that depending on the role that you have inside this activity, the emotions and feelings can vary. However, we need to adapt ourselves to each moment because both situations can be really useful for learning. If we are observers, we can learn through listening our mates and taking notes and if we are inside the fishbowl, we can learn through sharing our ideas and thoughts with our mates and trying to build the answers together. 

The second reason is because I believe that this methodology can be implemented in primary schools since students can develop social skills and communication skills through a cooperative learning. Furthermore, this methodology can engage students with the subject and allow them to notice what behaviors are helpful or detrimental to a discussion.