Summary of lectures given at the Cambridge Summer School, 5th-19th July, 1947 / the Women Public Health Officers' Association.

Date:
[1947?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Summary of lectures given at the Cambridge Summer School, 5th-19th July, 1947 / the Women Public Health Officers' Association. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    everyone can see those changes of facial expressions which make dis- cussion more vivid. Tables should be pushed to the back of the room. Wherever possible allow smoking, sewing or knitting. This will ease the conscience of those who feel they are wasting time, and gives the shy something to hide behind. Actually, after the first few minutes, the interest becomes so intense that the work is forgotten. Ifa pot of tea is available, inform- ality is assured. The number taking part should be 8—15, less than 8 makes each individual conspicuous, and this may prevent easy expression. Over I5 is too like a public meeting, and a friendly atmosphere will become a competitive one, in which too many people are struggling for the leader's attention. Since one of the values of discussion is that everyone should be able to take part, it is particularly undesirable that numbers should create a situation in which several are found to be mere spectators. The Group Leader. A friendly easy personality is more important than specialised know- ledge. The Group Leader is not a teacher, but should be more like a good hostess who has the knack of making people feel so much at home, that they will together produce ideas and suggestions, which will make a first class discussion. It is important that the group should feel sincerity and a willingness to submit opinions to a reasoned examina- tion by all. The leader should have the gift of asking the right ques- tions to stimulate clear thought, but should not be a provider of answers, for conclusions should be a group achievement. It follows that the leader should not be a dominating personality desirous of being the central figure in the way a lecturer is, rather, she should quietly serve the group by gathering the seperate threads of thought into a neat web. Another way in which the leader serves the group is by keeping an eye on very talkative persons, who like to occupy more than their share of the lime- light. These people can spoil it for the quieter, but not necessarily less thoughtfulones. A useful way to interrupt their flow and at the same same time to encourage the silent is ‘“That was a very interesting point Mrs. So and So, I wonder what the rest of the group feel about it?’’ Shy people need handling with great understanding. While a direct question may make them dry up permanently, they can often be en- couraged to speak by bringing the discussion round to aspects of the sub- jects with which they are familiar. For instance, the leader knows that Mrs. B’s child has recently had measles, so in a discussion on in- fectious diseases, she innocently asks the group ‘‘I wonder if anyone has been nursing a measles case in the last few years? 1o—1r Mrs. B. will speak before she realises she is doing so, and will become so inter- ested in retailing her experiences that she will forget she arrived feeling she would never dare to speak. Once she has taken the plunge, it will never again be difficult to join in, particularly if the leader cunningly refers to the interesting point raised by Mrs. B. This encourages her to feel she might speak another time if the group was interested in what she said.
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