THE FORUM/SYMPOSIUM AS A TEACHING TECHNIQUE
DR V.K.MAHESHWARI MAHESHWARI
DR SURAKSHA BANSAL
P.hd
ARCHANA
P.hd
M.A Former Principal
Principal
K.L.D.A.V. College
M.I.T.College M.I.T.Col lege
Roorkee.INDIA Roorkee.INDIA INDIA
Meerut INDIA
Lecturer M.L.College Saharanpur
The purpose of higher learning is to develop the ability to respect the ideas and feelings of others, others, criticism, criticism, appreciati appreciation, on, and present present your own ideas and seek clarificat clarification. ion. The student should be able to present his own views on the theme. His potentialities can only be developed by employing higher technique of teaching and instruction at college level. The following are the main interactive techniques used for higher learning: The Colloquy , Debate Forum and Symposium-
Coll Colloq oquy uy::
Thre Threee or fou fourr pers person onss sele select cted ed from from a gro group up pres presen entt vario various us asp aspec ects ts of a problem to three or four resource persons who respond to them.
Debate Forum:
Speakers who have opposing views on a controversial subject are given equal time to present their reasons for their beliefs, followed by a free and open discussion of the issue by the entire group.
Symposium Symposium:: A series series of speeches speeches is given by by as many speaker speakerss as there there are are aspects of a problem or issue. . All three approaches are much alike alike with the minor differences differences noted in the description description above. The symposium differs from the panel in that the speakers d o not discuss the subject among themselves. They make separate but related speeches (generally about 5 to 10 minutes in length). In order to have a genuine symposium, you must utilize both the formal speeches a nd the subsequent audience participation.
The colloquy (sometimes called “colloquium”) differs from both the symposium and the forum in that there are two levels of participation: the one or two (usually not more than three) experts interact with other small groups of people. This might be the entire group if the class is small. On the other hand, this interaction may take place before a much larger audience so that really we have two groups of participants, the experts and the interacters. Since objective for the presentation is to offer as much information as possible in a limited time, and to air two diverse points of view on an important subject, he could use standard debate, a symposium, a colloquy, or even a panel. Any of these could be followed by a forum to include questions and discussion from the larger group
SYMPOSIUM The word “symposium” had several dictionary meanings. Firstly, Plato has used this term for “good “good dial dialog ogue” ue” to pres presen entt the the view viewss towa toward rdss God. God. Anot Anothe herr meani meaning ng of the the term term is the the intellectual recreation or enjoyment. The recent meaning of the term is a meeting of persons to discuss a problem or theme. The views on a theme are presented in a sequence. Each specific aspect of a theme is presented by an expert of the theme.
* Symposium originally referred to a drinking party (the Greek verb sympotein means "to drink together") but has since come to refer to any academic conference, or a style of university class characterized by an openly discursive format, rather than a lecture and question-answer format. ... As per
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symposium_(Plato)
* The Symposium (Συμπόσιον) is a philosophical text by Plato dated c. 385-380 BCE. It concerns itself at one level with the genesis, purpose and nature of love and, at another, with the nature of knowledge: How do we know what we know? n
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symposium_(Xenophon)refers
* Xenophon's Symposium (Συμπόσιον) records the discussion of Socrates and company at a dinner given by Callias for Autolycus, son of Lycon. (Some commentators identify this Lycon with the Lycon who was one of Socrates' prosecutors. ... * Meeting of a number of experts in a particular field at which papers are presented by specialists on particular subjects and discussed with a view to making recommendations conncerning the problems under discussion. *This way symposium refers to to a meeting or conference conference for the public discussion discussion of some topic especially one in which the participants form an audience and make presentationsn
Symposium is one of the techniques of higher learning. It is an instructional technique used to achieve higher cognitive and affective objectives. “The symposium technique or forum serves as an excellent device for informing an audience, crystallizing opinion and general preparing the listeners for arriving at decision, policies, value, judgment or understanding.” Objective of Symposium .
The main purpose of the symposium is to provide an understanding to the students or listener on theme or problem specifically to develop certain values and feelings. The following are the main objectives of the symposium technique: 1. To identify and understand various aspect aspec t of theme and problems. 2. To develop the ability to decision and judgment regarding a problem. 3. To develop the values and feelings regarding a problem. 4. To enable the listeners to form policies regarding a theme or problem.
Mechanism of Symposium Symposium is a type of discussion, in which two or more speakers, talk from ten to twenty minutes, develop individual approaches or solutions to a problem or present aspects of a policy, process or programme. The speeches are followed by questions or comments from the audience, as in the panel forum. The speeches may be persuasive, argumentative, informative or evocative. Each speech proceeds without interruption. The chairman of the symposium introduces the topic, comments on its importance and sometimes indicates the general approaches. The symposium forum serves as an excellent device for informing an audience, crystallizing opinion; and in general preparing the listener for arriving at decision, policies, value judgment or understanding. As there is no need for symposium interaction other than careful listening unless the members are to discuss the topic after the delivery of the speeches all members of the performing group can sit in a straight line behind a table or an adjoining chairs, ch airs, wit the chairman in the middle or to one side of the speakers. If the symposium is to present two conflicting pints of view, the seating arrangement can in opinion or in order to preserve peace. Characteristics of symposium 1. It provides broad understanding of a topic or a problem. 2. Opportunity is provided to the listeners to take decision about the problem. 3. it is used for higher classes to specific themes and problems. 4. It develops the feeling of cooperation and adjustment. 5. It achieves achieves synthesis synthesis and evaluation evaluation (creativity (creativity objectives) objectives) by employing employing the symposium symposium technique. 6. If provides different views on the topic or a theme. Precautions for Organizing Symposium
1. Firstly. The moderator should be sure to prepare the speakers or to see that they are prepared. They should know the rules of procedure, sequence of speaking, and the way in which the forum will be conducted. They should be aware of the ideas and back ground of the other performers. Like panelist, they might benefit from a brief warm up.
2. Secondly. The chairman or who ever is responsible for preparing the agents, should not attempt to stack the cards by omitting or ignoring vital phase of problem as he selects or delegates his speakers. It is not good to take up to an inadvertent misinterpretation or omission. To distort or omit an important point of view deliberately is to invite disaster. 3. Thirdly. In all the forum situations the chairman must plan very carefully for the questioning period that follows the prepared speeches, unless he wishes to take risk of boredom or dedlam. ded lam. Some Topics for Symposium The symposium symposium techniques techniques is used to realize realize the higher cognitive and effective effective objectives. objectives. The following are some topics for symposium in education:
1. Use of televi televisio sion n for for educ educati ation on 2. Scope Scope of dista distance nce educat education ion in our our educati education. on. 3. Use of of essay essay and and objec objectiv tivee type type tests. tests. 4. Semest Semester er syste system m in in educ educati ation on 5. Caus Causes es of of stud studen ents ts’’ unre unrest st 6. Qualit Quality y control control of educa educati tional onal rese researc arch. h. 7. Use of of micro micro teach teaching ing in in teacher teacher educa educatio tion. n. 8. Use of team team teac teachin hing g in the the scho schools ols.. 9. Use of acti action on resear research ch in class classroo room m teachin teaching g 10. Scope of educational educational technology technology in our education. Limitations of Symposium
1. the chairman has no control over the speakers as they have full freedom of prepare the theme for discussion. They can present any aspect of the theme or problem. 2. There is a lot of repetition because every speaker prepares theme as whole. Different aspects of theme are not prepared separately. It creates difficulty of understanding to the listener. 3. As different aspect of theme are presented simultaneously, therefore, the listeners are not able to understand the theme correctly. 4. The listeners remain passive because they are not given opportunities to seek clarification and put questions. 5. The discussion and presentation of theme is not summarized at the end. The participants conclude on their own. 6. The technique is employed to achieve the higher objectives of cognitive domain but affective domain objectives are not sufficiently emphasized THE FORUM METHOD
Since it is rarely used by itself, itself, the symposium should be viewed as a supplementary method which enhances and extends the benefits of other information—transmitting approaches to learning. It CAN offers the additional dimension of allowing the audience to ask questions about points which were not clear during the previous presentation. The forum also provides an opportunity for the correcting of misimpressions given by the speakers. The forum is also a form nof review in which the audience can again think through the issues, thereby providing additional order and design to the learning experience.
Good interest is usually maintained in a symposium . When p eople hear controversial points of view presented by speakers or debaters, they tend to be drawn into the subject at hand and subsequently want to interact with the viewpoints of the spea kers The most significant person in the presentation will not be one of the experts. More important to the success of a forum is the chairman, ch airman, who will keep the question on target, sort out key questions for discussion, prod the special speakers if necessary, and summarize the significant findings at the end of the session.
Values of the Forum Method
Since it is rarely used by itself, itself, the symposium should be viewed as a supplementary method which enhances and extends the benefits of other information—transmitting approaches to learning. It CAN offers the additional dimension of allowing the audience to ask questions about points which were not clear during the previous presentation. The forum also provides an opportunity for the correcting of misimpressions given by the speakers. The forum is also a form of review in which the audience can again think through the issues, thereby providing additional order and design to the learning experience. Good interest is usually maintained in a symposium . When p eople hear controversial points of view presented by speakers or debaters, they tend to be drawn into the subject at hand and subsequently want to interact with the viewpoints of the spea kers The most significant person in the presentation will not be one of the experts. More important to the success of a forum is the chairman, ch airman, who will keep the question on target, sort out key questions for discussion, prod the special speakers if necessary, and summarize the significant findings at the end of the session.
Principles for Effective Use of the Forum thought and offer information, not to solve Remember the primary objective is to stimulate to stimulate thought and problems. Make sure the chairman is competent for competent for his role, which includes introducing the speaker or speakers, reminding the audience to be ready to participate after the presentations are made, soliciting response from the larger group, clarifying questions and answers when necessary, avoiding awkward pauses of silence by posing questions himself, and keeping the discussion on the sharp edge of controversy. He must do all of this while refraining from a lengthy or prominent speaking role himself. Make sure that the original presentations are as objective and accurate as possible. If misinformation is given during this stage of the method, the discussion will be an exploration in error and meaninglessness rather than truth. Always include a summary at the conclusion which will attempt to clarify what issues have been presented, how they relate to one another, and what course of action should follow on the part of the group members. Problems in Using the Forum
The biggest danger in this teaching approach is failure to find an attractive subject. Sometimes a subject may be of interest to the speakers who wh o live with its implications day by day but of little concern to the audience. If so, when time for questions is offered, everyone will sit silently looking at the chairman. Such an experience is embarrassing to the speakers, and deadly in terms of creating a vital learning experience. In thinking about using a forum for your class, make sure they all agree that the subject matter for discussion is relevant and meaningful to them. Another problem is the danger of being overwhelmed by one particular position. This is particularly dangerous when using a lecture-forum. It can also become a problem in debate, deb ate, symposium, or colloquy if one side of the argument is weak. It is always difficult for a group to be objective on a controversial issue. But once a speaker has delineated an opinion and only one side of that issue has been adequately presented, it is almost impossible for an audience to consider the other side honestly and openly. It is only fair to say also that using any teaching method of this kind takes time. The teacher who uses various forms of discussion will invariably be a teacher who is committed to quality rather than quantity. In other words, he is more interested that his students learn well the things which he presents than that they skim over a lot of material during the classtime
