Successful, Out-of-Their-Seat Summarization Strategy

This quick summarization strategy provides learners with an opportunity to retrieve and review new learning – all with NO PREP on your part!  I call it High Five Retrieval.




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1. Ask your learners to stand up and partner up, facing each other.
2. Direct them to raise a closed fist with their dominant hand. 
3. The person whose first name is closest to the beginning of the alphabet begins by sharing one thing they remember from the new content. As soon as they finish, they are to raise one finger on that hand. 
4. The next person shares and raises a finger. 
5. Both take turns until all five fingers have been raised (a total of 10 things remembered and shared.)
6. Partners finish with a high five before returning to their seats. 

 
Virtual Variation

If you are using break out rooms, you can pair participants and ask them to work together to list ten items and then raise their hands. If not, ask learners to jot down five things they remember and email it to you. Then share your screen to show a few of the emails for review. (I use a dedicated email account so that I don't have to worry about private emails showing in my in-box.)


As an alternative, try this at the beginning of your session to activate prior knowledge about the topic and to get your learners talking with each other.

Looking for even more research-based strategies to improve learning? Check out my most recent book, Caffeinated Training Design: An Engagement-Centered Process or contact me to work with your organization. 

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