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Mendon-Upton Regional School District with Pam Moran and Ira Socol - Socol Moran Partners
The Four (or Five) As Protocol
Slightly adapted from the National School Reform Faculty: Harmony Education Center
Purpose — To listen deeply to others’ thoughts and beliefs around a text and to share one’s own beliefs and thoughts. This protocol requires participants to use critical thinking skills to tease out the author’s assumptions followed by the sharing of their own opinions and aspirations related to the text material.
Texts — In this protocol you may use texts, videos, research documents, short non-fiction accounts, short fiction accounts It is important to choose texts unlikely to generate complete agreement. As the University of Virginia Medical School points out about the case studies they use with their students, “if everyone agrees we throw that case study out.”
This morning we will use...
Table talk using the protocol with members of your team. Work through the 4As (plus Anchors) then report out - a 2 sentence summary of the article and responses to one of the questions. Record Here.
Group Norms — If the groups begin actively discussing when they should be silently listening, or discussing content randomly, remind everyone of the protocol structure and the value of working within the protocol rather than having an everyday conversation.
Preparation —Read the text or Watch the Video - taking notes to begin answering the following four “A” questions:
• What Assumptions does the author of the text hold?
• What do you Agree with in the text? On what research or knowledge do you Anchor your agreements?
• What do you want to Argue with in the text? On what research or knowledge do you Anchor your arguments? [The addition of the “Anchor” question is to help develop the skills and habits of reading research critically and understanding the difference between “data” and an anecdote (a “datum”)]
• What parts of the text do you Aspire to?
Step-by-Step:
1. Setup — (2 min.) Pause to skim the article, reviewing their marked sections.
2. Divide — (2 min.) Choose a facilitator/timekeeper who will also be a full participant.
3. Begin rounds — (4 min. per round) A volunteer to identifies one assumption in the text, citing the text (with page numbers, if appropriate) as evidence. The participant will briefly talk about why they chose that passage (up to 1 min.). The other participants should actively listen, but not respond. If they would like to comment on what others in their group say, they should make a note to do so during Step 5, the discussion round. Go around the quad until each has had their turn to discuss an assumption they believe the author holds.
4. Continue rounds — (Up to 4 min. per round for 3 rounds = up to 12 min.) Repeat, starting with a new participant for each question. Learn from your quad what each “wants to argue with,” “agree with,” and “aspire to.” Move seamlessly from one “A” to the next.
5. Discuss — (20 min. or longer, depending on time available) End the session with an open discussion framed around a question such as: What does what we’ve learned in this protocol mean for our work with students?
6. Debrief and reflect — (5 min.)
• How did you feel about the requirement to quote a particular passage rather than simply express your opinions related to the text?
• What important points came out in the discussion in each quad?
• How would this discussion have been different without going through each of the 4 A’s first?
• How do you feel about using this particular protocol compared with other text protocols?
• Which statements or ideas in the text or video did not strike you as important in your first reading that feel much more important now that you’ve discussed them?
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