Tips for General Education
Consensual Decision-Making (Parker Palmer)
- Avoid arguing for your own rankings. Present your position as
lucidly and logically as possible, but listen to other members' reactions
and consider them carefully before you press your point.
- Do not assume that someone must win and someone must lose when
discussion reaches a stalemate. Instead, look for the next most acceptable
alternative for all parties.
- Do not change your mind simply to avoid conflict or reach agreement
and harmony. When agreement seems to come too quickly and easily, be suspicious.
Explore the reasons and be sure everyone accepts the solution for basically
similar or complementary reasons. Yield only to positions that have objective
and logically sound foundations.
- Avoid techniques such as majority votes, averages, coin flips
and bargaining as ways to reduce conflict. When a dissenting member finally
agrees, don't feel that s/he must be rewarded by having his or her own
way on some later point.
- Differences of opinion are natural and expected. Seek them out
and try to involve everyone in the decision process. Disagreements can
help the group's decision because with a wide range of information and
opinions, there is a greater chance that the group will hit upon more adequate
solutions.
- Have fun--bring candy!
Writing Tips
- Organize
- Outline
- Beginning, middle, end
- Prewrite, Write, Rewrite
- Concrete Writing
- Both observation & reflection
- Edit
- right order
- right sentence
- right construction
- right word
Study Tips
- Read
- Read Actively
- SQR3 (survey, question, read, review, recite)
- Internal dialogue
- Review Actively
- Write sample test questions
- Study partner/group
© 1998 A.J.Filipovitch
Revised 23 March 1998