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Descriptive Review or Focused Reflection
Time: at least thirty minutes
Roles:
Presenters (who bring an artifact for review by the group)
Reviewers
Facilitator
Descriptive Review originated with the Prospect Archive and Center for Education and Research in North Bennington, Vermont. It was developed to provide insight into a child's education through the use of close, collaborative description of children's "works" (visual art, writing, constructions, etc.). Descriptive Review can also be used in the classroom and yields deeper understandings of the meanings embedded in a work in much the same way as a Socratic Seminar does. An underlying assumption of the process is that all works bear the imprint and signature of the author(s) and so offer an important access to the maker's interests, ways of creating order, and point of view. Almost any artifact can be the subject of a Descriptive Review, as long as it can stay "in view" throughout the process.
The power of the process lies in the learning which takes place when people take the time to look at something deeply using descriptive rather than evaluative language. Description and evaluation are poles on a continuum; there is no description which does not embed some evaluative thinking. Nonetheless, the goal of this activity is to practice avoidance of evaluative language and to improve one's ability to be descriptive. As a result, people learn to look at one another in ways which are less superficial. The process is inductive and slow and, at times, can feel tedious.
1. The presenters give a quick introduction to the artifact, perhaps highlighting the major questions or problems with which they are struggling. They then ask the group members to tell them what each of them sees. They might be quite specific in telling the group what they want them to look for in the work (i.e., the underlying values and principles, the habits of mind that are demonstrated, the bias or assumptions). (5 minutes)
2. Reviewers may ask clarifying questions of the presenters. (3-5 minutes)
3. The facilitator begins the first round of description by posing the question: What do you see? Describe this work physically. Or Describe what you read - as literally as possible. Reviewers respond in turn around the circle.
4. The facilitator takes notes and, at the end of the round, sums up what was heard, restating important themes and ideas that emerged from the description before going on to the next round.
5. The facilitator frames each round with a question, calling at first for a fairly literal re-telling of the work. Subsequent rounds are less literal and are more likely to move into assumptions, values, compromises, patterns, images, etc. The purpose for each round builds from the previous rounds. A round may be repeated to obtain substantive responses.
6. Following the final restatement, participants are invited to offer suggestions or make recommendations to the presenters, and presenters might be invited to share with the participants any new insights or thoughts they have had as a result of listening to the participants' "descriptions."
7. At the end, there is a reflection on the process which focuses on the participants' learning.
This resource last updated: May 14, 2002
Database Information:
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Publisher: CES National
Type: Tool
School Level: All
Focus Area: School Design
STRAND: School Design: teacher collaboration & learning
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