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Creating a Sticky Situation for Learning

4/24/2019

No matter whether I am facilitating a small group discussion or presenting to a large group for an entire day, I always carry with me hundreds of sticky dots. Colored sticky dots are a versatile material that can be used in myriad ways. The “restickable” dots are even more versatile because participants can change their minds about where to place them. This is especially helpful when using them for a voting activity.

How To:

Provide everyone with colored sticky dots. They should each be given the same amount so they will have an equal voice. Usually, two or three dots of different colors will suffice for most activities.
Project or print a legend to match and value the dots. For example, green dots = high priority, yellow dots = low priority.
Make a voting ballot on a piece of chart paper. For example, participants might vote on favorite ideas from a brainstormed list, important next actions or two different versions of a mission statement.
Direct each participant to bring up his or her sticky dots and stick them next to the items they value the most.
When everyone has voted, allow participants to view the votes and decide if they would like to move their dot(s) to another place.
Discuss with the group the outcome of the voting

Variations:

If participants have a paper handout, sticky dots can be used in many other ways. The visual and tactile nature of the dots makes them a simple way to increase engagement. For example, individuals can be encouraged to stick a dot next to:

three questions from a lengthy list of questions
five things they will add to their repertoire
the one best idea from the morning session

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The Final Four of Professional Learning

4/1/2019

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It’s down to the last few minutes. The clock is ticking louder and louder. And as the learning coach, you have to make a critical call. Do you start talking even more quickly so that you can get in your last shot of content? Or do you change your strategy and spend a few minutes asking participants to summarize their learning?

Winning facilitators know that if learning is going to stick, summarization opportunities are critical. Here are four quick summarization activities that can be used with almost any content, in a virtual or in-person session.

Slogan Summary – Ask everyone to work in pairs or small groups and create a slogan that captures the key learning. (Virtual variation - slogans can be created individually. Ask participants to vote for their favorite and award that person a fun prize.)
3, 2, 1 – Ask everyone to create a 3-word, then a 2-word, then a 1-word summary of their take-aways. (Virtual variation – provide thirty seconds, then ask everyone to share their 3, 2, 1 in the chat.)
Brain Dump – Provide chart paper and ask participants to work in groups to write down everything they can remember from the session in two minutes. (Virtual variation – use the chat box and encourage participants to find something that is missing from the brain dump.)
Symbolic Summary – Provide one minute for each participant to draw a symbolic summary of the learning – no words allowed. Then provide one minute to partner up and explain their drawings. (Virtual variation – ask participants to snap a photo of their drawing and email it to you. Then show some of the images to the group.)

Looking for more ideas? Check out my newest book, “Caffeinated Training Design: An Engagement-Centered Approach.”

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Creating a Sticky Situation for Learning

​The Final Four of Professional Learning

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The Final Four of Professional Learning