DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Artifact Two

Talking Bunny

 

Reflection

 

The talking bunny was introduced to History 5B on the second day of class.  Its role was both simple and complex: it ensured a quiet and, hopefully, attentive classroom when one student was speaking.  Whoever had the bunny could talk, then the bunny was passed on to someone who wanted to respond.  If a student did not have the bunny, the student could not speak but had to wait for their turn to hold the bunny.  When debates became heated, many hands shot up, demanding the bunny.  Sometimes the bunny was tossed not too gently, sometimes the students complained that the bunny violated their right to free speech.  We picked the bunny up whenever it landed on the floor, reminded the students to be gentle with it, and prided ourselves for creating the classroom culture in which the students could use the knowledge of human rights we were trying to impart on them to respectfully challenge their teachers.  But whatever the complaints, the bunny stayed and served its facilitating function.  During the last week of the class, every student spoke at least once a day.  On the last day of the course, when we asked the students to mention one academic summer achievement of which they were most proud, several students said they were proud of overcoming their fear of public speaking.  I believe the bunny played an important role in this process of building academic confidence.     

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.