 Creative thinking comes naturally to some of us, but for others it takes practice and structure. The Answer Is… strategy is easy to integrate into any class to get your participants thinking “out of the box.” To boost brain safety, have participants answer your prompts anonymously.
How To: 1. Show The Answer Is... slide to your group and provide a few seconds of think time. The Answer Is… A Square. What is the question? 2. Reveal each of these possible answers one at a time
4. Provide 30 seconds for everyone to generate a question and write it on a sticky note. Ask them to bring their sticky notes up to a board or wall space. 5. Read the questions aloud anonymously and choose several for further, in-depth discussion with the group. Virtual Variation
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 Game shows, with their hype and competition, are a proven way to engage an audience. No need to travel to Hollywood or spend hours creating a complicated game. Instead, use The Famous Duos Game Show with almost any content objective, for an in-person or virtual session. How to: 1. Create a Famous Duos Game Show Slide, or download mine here. 2. Search for seven copyright free images of famous, successful partnerships.My collection includes Batman and Robin, Bert and Ernie, Barack and Michelle and a carton of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. 3. Create a slide for each image. 4. Announce to the group that it is time to play the Famous Duos Game Show. Explain that you will present a slide of a famous duo or partnership and they are to shout out, as quickly as possible, who it is. (In virtual training, have them shout and chat in the answer.) 5. Show the slides and celebrate those who got at least 6 out of 7 correct. 6. Explain that the duos are famous because they had successful collaborative relationships and structures in place for team work. From this point, jump into discussion about how this connects to your topic. It might be a very concrete, direct connection about teamwork, or it could be more abstract about how two concepts (language and attitude, precision and safety, questioning and closing) connect. For an interesting twist, show photos of less than successful partners, such as RoadRunner and Coyote, Boris and Natasha, Quaker and Snapple, or Britney Spears and Jason Alexander.  Partner and small group work is an integral part of my training sessions. Adult learners need to interact with content, engage in conversations and practice new skills with colleagues. To celebrate these small collaborations, I usually ask partners to exchange a “High 5.” (I’ve been in lots of sessions where this is the norm.) Thanks to feedback from a participant, I have changed this practice. After a training session I received an email from a participant who is Muslim. She reminded me that touching between unmarried men and women is forbidden in the Muslim faith. If participants were randomly partnered with someone of the opposite gender, the direction to “Give your partner a High 5,” could lead to an uncomfortable situation. Because my audiences are usually diverse, with an increasing representation from countries around the world, I appreciated the feedback and chance to rethink my practice. I still want participants to celebrate their work, so I have replaced High 5s with these 7 alternatives. Changing it up throughout a longer session keeps it fresh and fun.
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AuthorAnne Beninghof is passionate about teaching and learning. Archives
June 2021
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