Thank-you to Nicola Simmons, PhD, who demonstrated this activity during a workshop. She published a piece on this technique in the 2008 Summer Newsletter of the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (see page 6). I adapted it as follows:
1. On your own, re-read the section(s) you read prior to coming to class and find two or three short phrases that identify the essence of that sub-section or that were particularly compelling to read. (4-5 minutes)
2. Form a group of 3-4 people (max) with others who read the same sub-sections as you did (embodied knowledge, indigenous ways of knowing, intuition).
3. Read your phrases aloud to each other. Why were you drawn to these? (5-6 minutes)
4. From among all the phrases you heard, choose up to five and list them in any order on the flipchart (5 minutes)
5. You will share your poem out loud. Your poem will be unique and will capture the essence of the section you read.
Below are some images of the poetic summaries created by students in EDST403/105 (2015)
