The Delphi method (pron.: /ˈdɛlfaɪ/ del-fy) is a structured communication technique, originally developed as a systematic, interactive forecasting method which relies on a panel of experts.[1]
In the standard version, the experts answer questionnaires in two or more rounds. After each round, a facilitator provides an anonymous summary of the experts’ forecasts from the previous round as well as the reasons they provided for their judgments. Thus, experts are encouraged to revise their earlier answers in light of the replies of other members of their panel. It is believed that during this process the range of the answers will decrease and the group will converge towards the "correct" answer. Finally, the process is stopped after a pre-defined stop criterion (e.g. number of rounds, achievement of consensus, stability of results) and the mean or median scores of the final rounds determine the results.[2]
As I am about to move onto area and perimeter, words with which many pupils seem to struggle, I thought it might be an idea to use this Delphi method as a way to elicit meaning from the pupils, highlighting misconceptions then attempting to narrow down to a definition that all pupils agree with and can understand.
Possible Implementation: in silence each student writes down their own definition, then discuss to find best definition in groups of 4 - read out to class inc. any that they discarded because they thought it wasn't correct.
