Interpersonal Activity Design Exercise
Introduction
While the most exciting developments in Educational Technology as a field are
centered around experiences mediated through computers or video, there's still
a lot to be said for face-to-face direct experience. Icebreakers, role plays,
simulations... all of these have a place in your professional toolkit.
There are classic roleplays and simulation games that you should know about as a teacher or trainer. For example:
These kinds of activities take a long time to develop and require lots of play testing to perfect. Buying one ready made might be the perfect solution to a training situation you face. Here's a short video showing Bafa Bafa.
Somewhat easier to develop, but still tricky, are role plays that might end up taking only a couple of pages to describe. For example, the classic Fallout Shelter exercise often used (and misused) to clarify values and ethics.
In this exercise, though, we're going to focus on small-scale activities that are quick and cheap to produce.
Part 1
After a short discussion, we'd like you to spend 15 minutes exploring these three sites:
Your task while looking at these is to be able to report back answers to the following:
- Which activity/game seemed most promising to you as a tool you could use in your own teaching?
- Which seemed more instructional than fun? Which ones more fun than instructionally useful?
Part 2
You'll be randomly assigned to a small group breakout room. In each room, your task is to come up with one or more brief lesson plans to respond to a single scenario.
Your task is to create a single shared document per room that communicates what will happen in your activity. The page should include the following:
- Situation description - make up specifics about who, what, where and why
- Goal - what learning or affective outcomes would you hope for?
- Duration - how long would it take to set up, run and debrief?
- Step by step directions - spell it out
- Debriefing - What questions would you ask to clarify and solidify their learning. VERY IMPORTANT
Where your plan calls for specifics (prompts from the leader, words on the cards) you should provide them (a sample, not necessarily all).
Here are the scenarios:
Room 1 - Word Overload
You've just finished giving a series of classes/workshops where there was an unavoidably large number of new terms to be learned. You're pretty sure at this point that no one knows them all and most know only half at best. Use Forbidden Words as inspiration, but feel free to modify it. [COMET/Campus] [Extended Studies]
Room 2 - Cranial Inertia
You're facing a group/class that seems unable to break out of old perceptions or misconceptions. You'd like them to experience being creative in this domain. Try Double Brainstorming as a template for your activity. [COMET/Campus] [Extended Studies]
Room 3 - Painting it Gray
You're about to cover a topic that tends to polarize people and you anticipate that your group already sees it one way or the other. You'd like to loosen them up to see the good points of the side they oppose and appreciate the complexity of the domain. Look at Both Sides for ideas. [COMET/Campus] [Extended Studies]
Room 4 - Something's Got to Give
Imagine that there's a tough decision that your group has to make. E.g., your staff needs to stop offering a course or set of courses, or your company has to drop a line of products or close an office. The decision is hard because there are many defensible reasons for each choice before them. Use the Fallout Shelter role play as a model for developing an exercise to surface those different values and prepare people for making these kinds of decisions. [COMET/Campus] [Extended Studies]
Room 5 - Drilling Down
You want to instigate a focused discussion on a topic that doesn't necessarily inspire strong interest and heated debate. Use Pass it On to flesh out a plan for making it happen. [COMET/Campus] [Extended Studies]
Part 3 - Share your Activities
We'll reassemble in the big room. Be prepared to walk us through it.