The Fishbowl

A strategy for large group discussions

>> There are a ton of resources on this site to help facilitate discussions, debates and conversations. If you're looking for a way to corral a large group, here is a possibility that might work for you.

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The Fishbowl is a classic discussion strategy that manages big groups by dividing them into an inner circle (the speakers) and an outer circle (the observers).

It gives everyone a clear (and somewhat low-anxiety) job. It also helps encourage respectful disagreement – at least that’s the idea!

You can keep things informal, without requiring the outer circle to take notes. Or you can extend the thinking involved by having them track and analyze the arguments they hear.

The Setup 

Arrange your classroom seats into two concentric circles.

• • The Inner Circle (The Fishbowl): Place 4 to 6 chairs in the very centre. These students are the fish who will do the active speaking. (One chair will remain empty to start.)
  • The Outer Circle: Arrange the rest of the classroom chairs in a larger ring around the centre. These students are the observers who listen and take notes.

How to Play

• • Only the Fish Can Speak: Only the students sitting in the inner circle are allowed to talk. 
  • The Outer Circle: All non-fish students must remain completely silent, actively listening and taking notes on the arguments – such as the main points; points they agree and disagree with; points they think are missing; and points they want to raise.
  • Hot Seat: Keep one chair in the fishbowl empty. If a student from the outer circle wants to contribute an idea, challenge a point, or ask a question, they must stand up, walk over, and sit in the hot seat. Once the hot seat student makes their point, they return to the outer circle, leaving the seat open for someone else.
  • The Facilitator's Role: The teacher or facilitator stands outside the bowl. Your only job is to drop the initial prompt, step back and occasionally redirect the inner circle if they get stuck or completely off-track.

Suggested break down of timing

• • The Launch (2-3 minutes): Announce the prompt or topic. Give everyone two minutes to think about their stance.
  • The Discussion (10-15 Minutes): The inner circle begins discussing. Students talk directly to each other, not to the teacher. Outer circle students take notes and use the hot seat to tap in and out.
  • The Whole-Class Debrief (5 Minutes): Bring everyone back together. Use the outer-circle notes to kickstart a quick post mortem debrief (e.g., "Outer circle, who made the most convincing point? What major question did the inner circle miss?").
  • Next time: Swap out the inner circle with a new set of fish when you’re ready to play again.

Variation: You can also use the empty chair to completely swap out members of the inner circle.

• • The Rule: When a student from the outer circle sits in the hot seat, they become a permanent part of the inner circle. However, because the fishbowl is now full, someone else in the inner circle must voluntarily get up and move to the outer circle to recreate another empty space.
  • What this does: It forces the students who have been dominating the conversation to gracefully exit and also gives quieter students an organic way to exit the spotlight when they feel they’ve said enough.

Good luck!