​The Final Four of Professional Learning

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. 

1. 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.)
2. 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.)
3. 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.)
4. 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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