Methodology
Touchstones discussions are unlike any other discussion, in that they are part of a highly structured program designed to build the fundamental learning skills. Such skills include improved listening, speaking, reasoning, comprehension, and teamwork.
The program includes carefully selected and edited works of philosophy, literature, history, and art- readings that offer common themes to which all participates can relate. Individual worksheets and small group activities are also vital components of the program and enhance the effectiveness of the large-group discussions. The texts, individual work, small-group work activities, and large-group discussions all serve as critical tools for the purpose of developing discussion and learning skills.
Early phases focus heavily on group dynamics and full participation. Discussing issues such as power, certainty, respect, and control allows participants to reflect on the topics as they relate to the text, their own experience, the group’s progress, and their own participation. Over time the group evolves to advanced questioning, reasoning, and problem solving. Rather than bring each discussion to a neat conclusion, or an assessment of who’s right or wrong, participants leave with a heightened sense of interest, an understanding of differing viewpoints, and the realization that there a rarely simple solutions to complex problems.
As the group progresses, participates learn to evaluate their discussions, monitor their development, and strategize on how to improve the overall effectiveness0. of the discussion sessions. In doing so, participants gain crucial experience in self-reflection and self-governance that helps them to become more productive in their everyday lives.
A Typical Touchstones Session
Touchstones sessions are typically held weekly or biweekly in forty- to sixty-minute sessions over the course of a year. Most programs require no advanced preparation from participants, ensuring that all participants begin on equal footing. Individual and small group activities allow participants uncomfortable with speaking in large groups to become more familiar with the topic at hand and to become more comfortable with one another.
All sessions culminate in a large group discussion based on a provided text. Participants, including the discussion leader, sit in a circle. The discussion leader reads a short text aloud as the group reads along silently, thus helping all students better understand and fully participate. The discussion begins with an open-ended question, and participants begin their discussion naturally by speaking directly to the group. Participants do not speak just to the discussion leader nor do they raise their hands or take turns by going around the circle in order. The discussion leader gently guides the course of discussion while sharing responsibility with the participants to encourage active listening and full participation. In taking joint responsibility, the leader and participants are able to solve problems with such discussion dynamics as domination by one person or participation in side conversations. As the group progresses, members take on increased responsibility. They begin to share leadership for the content and direction of the discussion.
The Four Stages
All discussion groups develop in four stages:
Stage One: PARTICIPATION – AUTHORITY AND EXPERTISE
- Characterized by deference to authority and reliance on expertise
- Main issues involve participation: What can I speak responsibly about? What do I really know?
- Primary task is to probe the interrelation between the text and our experiences.
- Participants learn that their voice is worth hearing.
Stage Two: COOPERATION – LEGITIMATE SPEAKERS
- Characterized by factions and subgroups.
- Main issues involve legitimacy: Whom do I like, trust, or believe? Whose contributions are not seen as valid? Why?
- Primary task is to recognize that we listen to some people and not others. The exploration of this pattern leads us to begin to examine how our needs, habits, and beliefs influence our listening behavior.
- Participants learn that others also have voices worth hearing and that factions and subgroups hinder this process.
Stage Three: LISTENING AND UNDERSTANDING
- Characterized by the recognition of the difference between hearing and listening.
- Main issues involve understanding how who we are impacts what we hear. “Who we are” is more than our personal opinions, it is our beliefs, language, culture, education, life experiences, epoch, and the period of history in which we live.
- Primary task is to become more aware of these assumptions and the ways in which they shape our experience of the world.
- Participants learn that many of our assumptions and presuppositions are only revealed through interaction with others.
Stage Four: SHARED LEADERSHIP, CRITICAL READING AND THINKING
Comparison of Touchstones to Socratic Seminars and Paideia Seminars
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