Talking+Chips

**This is a strategy I first learned at Kagan training. It has been one of my go to favorite strategies because it calms the blabbermouth beast in a group. Often when engaged in cooperative learning or group work, there is a born leader who takes over and won't let** **anybody else get a word in edgewise. When we truly analyze good leadership characteristics this isn't one of them but mistakenly it is sometimes viewed as good leadership. Anyway, to get rid of this tendency, we can structure the conversations with Talking Chips. Basically, I give each participant a poker chip (usually each person in the quad gets a different color). Then the conversation can begin with anyone tossing their chip into the center of the group and stating their contribution. The next person, tosses and talks and so on until everyone has spoken. Then the chips are retrieved and another round ensues. If anybody gets long winded, a chip goes in and it's no longer their floor. Also, this strategy helps those who don't have alot to say as they can start it all by saying, "let's get started" as they toss their chip into the center and then wait for everyone else to say something before they have to talk again (could actually wait two rounds if they start the first and wait until the end of the second). By then, they should have some idea as to what's going on and what they could contribute. Keep an eye out for inexpensive poker chips at the dollar store or make your own with pieces of paper or myriad of other substitutions.**