Talking Stick Method

Talking Stick method is developed by Spencer Kagan (1992: 1). It is a group of study
that student learnt independently from one another, each student has the same chance to
express their ideas and concern with equal participant of students. It is one kinds of
Cooperative learning method. According to Robert E. Slavin in Mustari (2010: 12),
cooperative learning is one of the learning methods where student are engaged in groups
when they receive material from a teacher or do their task or assignment. Cooperative
learning is an approach to organizing classroom activities into academic and social learning
experience. Student must in group to complete the two sets of task collectively. Everyone
succeeds when group succeeds (Brown & Ciuffetelli Parker 2010 )

According to Knockwood (1992), in Mi’kmaw culture, Talking stick is a piece of

wood used in Talking Stick Ceremony. Anyone with the talking stick would have the right to
talk as long as they need to say without fear of being interrupted with question, criticism or
scolding. Hence it becomes signifier democracy. In OSLC classroom, the talking stick can be
any ordinary stick of any kind or any size. Whoever has the talking stick has the right to talk,
and else would keep silent and listen.

Passing the talking stick is a powerful method of creating deep communication

between people. Use this method when you want the students to listen to others as part of a
learner-centred curriculum. This method takes the focus off the teacher, as the sole purveyor
of knowledge. And by using it, students are encouraged to learn from each other.

The teacher can provide language materials with simple, everyday dialog and
situations, whereby the students can role-play the parts while in possession of the talking
stick. (Who decides who is to hold the stick, and when?)

Ensure that when one person is holding the stick and talking, everyone else must
listen attentively and without judgement. Even if a listener disagrees with what is said, they
must not show irritation, annoyance, contempt or any other discouragement.

 There are some steps implementation of talking stick, which are:

 Whoever holds the talking stick has within his hands the power of word.
 Begin with one person holding the talking stick, who then passes the stick to
somebody else.
  Others listen attentively because they don’t know if they will be passed the stick next.
 Decide how long the person can hold the stick.
 Identify a timekeeper.
 Chairs in a cicle.

The Talking Stick may be used when they teach children, hold council, make decisions
regarding disputes, hold Pow-Wow gatherings, have storytelling circles, or conduct a
ceremony where more than one person will speak.

The implementation of talking stick in classroom activity:

1. Explain to students that in many Native American tribes, people used a "talking stick"
to make sure that each person had a turn to share his or her ideas and opinions with
the rest of the group. The person holding the stick had the right to speak. Everyone
else was expected to listen with respect. When a person finished talking, he or she
passed the stick to someone else.
2. Have students sit in a circle and give the stick to a student who is comfortable
speaking to a group. Ask that student to share something with the class. You might
specify a topic or let students choose their own. When the first student finishes
sharing, he or she passes the stick to the student on the right. Tell students that anyone
who doesn't want to speak can simply pass the stick to the next person. Students
should continue passing the stick until each person has had a chance to speak. You
might want students to pass the stick more than once so some of the shyer students
have a second chance to share their thoughts, but don't insist that a student talk if he
or she doesn't want to.
3. You can use this activity in a variety of situations, including conflicts between two
students who have trouble listening to each other's point of view.