Working Together: Explore Roles

Work together with your classmates to explore roles during a conversation. In a group of five, ask three people to talk about a topic that has recently been in the news or that has been the focus of attention on campus. As the conversation unfolds, the other two members of the group should listen and write down the different roles that are adopted during the conversation, noting when and why the roles were adopted. After five minutes of conversation, respond to the following prompts:

  1. What roles were adopted? The two observers should share their list of roles. Ask whether the observers saw the same roles. If there are differences, discuss them.
  2. When were different roles adopted? Ask when each role was adopted. Which roles were adopted at the beginning of the conversation? Did the members of the conversation shift roles during the conversation? If so, when?
  3. Why were different roles adopted? Explore the reasons for adopting each role. For example, ask whether people who knew more about the topic adopted different roles than did those who knew less. If you saw shifts in role, ask why those shifts occurred.
  4. Connect the activity to your work as a writer. Consider how the idea of roles might play out in your own writing. As a group, discuss roles you’ve adopted in the past, and consider how you might use the idea of roles in your future writing.