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Guidelines | Visit the Forum | Sign-up | Participate in the Forum An Invitation to Join Us In many of the casebooks described on this website, the cases are accompanied by at least two commentaries by other teachers, administrators, staff developers, or scholars. These commentaries are not meant to provide "correct" ways to analyze the narratives. Rather, their purpose is to enrich a case discussion by providing different perspectives and/or additional information. We’re trying something new with Groupwork in Diverse Classrooms. Instead of our soliciting commentaries from other educators, we invite you to write a response and enter it on this web site. Utilizing the technology, we can exceed the boundaries of any individual analysis. Guidelines for Commentaries We hope to stimulate dialogues on two themes: reactions to individual cases and experiences facilitating a case discussion. Our experience with case discussions suggests that the more a discussion leader can anticipate the reactions of group members, the more likely he or she will be prepared to lead a challenging discussion. Reactions to a case. When you read a particular case, how did you react? Have you had similar experiences? How did the case writer frame the problem(s) or dilemma(s)? Might students or other characters in the narrative frame it the same way? How might you have handled the situation? What do you think this is a case "of" (cases are usually "of" many things)? If someone else has written a reaction to a particular case, do you agree with that interpretation? Facilitating a case discussion: If you have conducted a discussion on a particular case, how did it go? What was the context for the discussion? What was your purpose for using this particular case? What had you hoped to accomplish? Did you have a particular plan for the discussion? Did you encounter any any surprises? Using the Discussion Forum: Simple as 1-2-3 1. Visiting the Forum You can visit the Forum area as a guest to see what topics are in discussion. However, you will not be able to post a comment of your own until after you register 2. Signing Up If you want to post messages to the Forum, then you need to register as a guest. It's easy! After you do, you'll be sent to your personal identity page, and there you can click on the link into the Facilitator's Forum. Enjoy! 3. Participating in the Forum Make a note of your user ID and password. Anytime you want, revisit the Forum and participate in the discussion.