THE RECORD

There are three schools of thought regarding the presence of a recorder at a dialogue. Some believe that no written or audio recording of a dialogue should be kept as it inhibits the free participation of those in attendance. Others believe that a recorder might try to capture the basic ideas and contributions on large sheets of paper or a dry erase board to help people stay focused on the conversation. And still others believe that fairly extensive notes should be taken and even an audio recording made to learn the most from the conversation.

As facilitator(s), the choice is up to you. Preserving the privacy and promoting the freest exchange of ideas is a worthwhile goal, especially if you hold that these dialogues are more about the process of engaging student in civic conversations than about what they actually say.

The dialoguing at the Wingspread Student meeting in 2001, however, demonstrated that these conversations can result in opportunities to learn some profound new ways of understanding the way that today’s students see and understand their campus, communities and nation, but that learning these lessons requires very thorough analyses of the conversations of students. Toward this end, the careful attention to the actual content of dialogues, written and audio records can be extremely helpful.

Think this through in advance and be prepared with whatever material or equipment you need to capture the record you have decided to capture. For a written record of the dialogue, look for a student volunteer (maybe a student from a writing course or journalism course). Audio or video equipment can often be rented (for free) through the university with faculty/staff permission but it may be easier to borrow a small recorder from a student, as high quality recording is not necessary.

Another method is to meet with the planning team as soon after the dialogue as possible and compare notes of what happened. This approach is less obtrusive but not as effective as note taking in capturing the essence of the gathering.