Training (EN)

The participants arrive at the training venue. Coffee, tea and water is provided. Simple name tags are issued.

Local organiser welcomes the participants, all partners and facilitators introduce themselves. The lead facilitator should give a general introduction to the week. In particular, he or she should stress that the week is an opportunity for participants to reflect on and develop their own practice. It has been designed as a space in which the voices of all the participants should be heard, in which they can exchange ideas and experiences and, with some input and some challenge, explore how they might be able to include diversity and interculturality in their own practice. Learning from each other and sharing their own understandings and experiences is central to the experience.

General administrative announcements are made, and organisational questions answered.

Useful for:

the activity is designed to help participants learn each other’s names, begin conversations, and set everyone in the group at ease. It reinforces names with faces and helps establish basic introductions in a fun way.

Resources needed:

Music and a music player. Cards with the first letter of the first names of the participants. There should be one card with a letter for each group of participants whose names start with the same letter. Some cards will refer to only a single participant, as no one else shares the same starting letter.

Room layout:

A clear open space so that participants can move around freely.

What happens?

The facilitator starts the music. Participants move freely to the music in the room filling the whole space moving and dancing. When the music stops everyone freezes and the facilitator calls out a letter from one of the cards he or she has prepared. People whose first name starts with the letter called out come together in a group. Each then says their name, the country and the institution they come from. When the music then starts again, and people again move freely until the music stop when the process of freezing and calling out the letters is repeated.  The game ends when all the letters from the participants’ first names have been called out.

Useful for:

Icebreaker, some insight into the word of stereotypes, revealing the mechanisms of making stereotypes

Resources needed:

As many A6 or A5 size cardboard cards as there are participants. Marker pens.

Room layout:

Chairs in a circle. One chair for each participant and facilitator.

What Happens

Each participant is issued with a card and pen. Participants are then asked to write the name of the country they come from on the card and place it on the floor in the middle of the room (the name of the country facing up). Then, they are asked to pick another card, which does not have the name of their country written on it. On the back of the card they should write five statements which they think, know or feel are true about the people of that country. The cards are then collected, and each country group is given the cards which describe their countries. They have a few minutes to consider the statements. They then should read out the statements and comment on them. Every participant should have the opportunity to comment.

In doing so they should reflect on whether they feel that the statements are accurate and/or true, how reflective they are of the most important characteristics of the people from their country, what they feel was omitted, and what they would like to add. They should also describe how they feel about being described in that way.

Note for facilitators:

In the reflection at the end of the activity, the facilitator should try to highlight the complexity of stereotypes. Many are largely true, many are flattering (participants on the first evening will tend to say nice things about each other!). Many people believe they confirm to the stereotypes. The exercise will also tend to reveal how little we know about people in other European countries. Facilitators should also beware that some people might get upset by what they hear about their countries, but this is an opportunity to explore how we know what we know.

Useful for:

Physically and mentally warming up and getting to know each other. Ensuring that participants are present in the room, and engaging intellectually, emotionally, socially and physically.

Resources needed:

None

Room layout:

Large open space, with all tables and chair pushed out of the way. Plenty of room for participants to walk around.

What happens?

The facilitator asks participants to move around the space. Participants should make eye contact with each other as they move around the room acknowledging each other by nodding and smiling.

The facilitator then tells participants that when he or she says stop they should stop and when he or she says go they should start to move around the room again. This is tried a few times. Then the facilitator says that when he or she says ‘touch the floor’, they should stop, crouch down and touch the floor and when he or she says ‘reach for the sky’, they should stop and reach up as high as they can. This is tried a few times. The facilitator then says that when he or she says stop, go, touch the ground or reach for the sky, everyone should do the opposite, e.g. they stop when told to go and go when told to stop. This is tried a few times. The facilitator then says that when he or she says ‘group 3’, ‘group 4’ or ‘group 5’ they should form themselves quickly into groups of 3, 4 or 5 sharing their names first and then something about themselves. There should be 3 rounds and people should try to get into different groups at each round. They only have a few minutes each round so the pace of the exercise needs to be quick. Each time they get into a group together the facilitator gives them a specific theme to discuss. These three themes could be:

Round 1 – the thing you are most passionate about

Round 2 – one strength you would bring to the role of teacher, or artist in school

Round 3 – your earliest memory

After the three rounds everyone gets into one big circle. One by one, each participant must step into the middle and say their name but nothing more. Then the rest of the participants share what they learnt about the person from the group discussions. After a few things have been said about the person, they step back into the circle and the next person has a turn. This continues until everyone in the group has had a turn.

Note for facilitators:

The facilitator should ensure that the activity moves along at a good pace. However, during the small group discussions the facilitator should ensure that everyone has the chance to say something about themselves. When everyone is in the big circle, the facilitator should ensure that people in the circle do remember what they were told, and this usually means leaving some silence while people try to remember and get into the habit of speaking.

At the end the facilitator should lead a reflection: How did it feel to stand in the middle? How did it feel in the group? Was it hard at the end to remember what people said? Why?

The facilitator should highlight in the final reflection that the activity is designed to stimulate participants physically, socially, emotionally and intellectually, and that it is when participants (and pupils!) are physically, socially, emotionally and intellectually engaged that they are 100% present. This improves confidence, increases well-being and leads to high performance. The process of stepping into the circle and saying their name also encourages participants to commit to being present and engaged in the workshop. The presence of a pupil in your classroom is no guarantee that they have committed themselves to engaging with learning. Activities such as this one do get people to commit.

Useful for:

Getting people to think about and share their ambitions and hopes for the workshop. This helps build a shared sense of purpose among participants and allows the facilitator to ensure that he or she aligns the workshop to participant goals and vice versa.

Resources needed:

Four flip chart sheets pinned to the wall (or similar arrangement) with each sheet being in a different part of the room. Each sheet has written on it one of the four questions listed below. Also required are lots of different coloured post-it notes, pens for everyone.

Room layout:

Chairs for each participant. Tables arranged loosely around the room.

What happens?

Participants are asked to spend five to eight minutes writing down on post it notes answers to the following questions:

1. What I would like to happen during the workshop?
2. What I would not like to happen during the workshop?
3. What I hope to learn during the workshop?
4. What I hope to be able to do when I return to work after the workshop?

There should be one answer per post-it note. Participants have to come up with several answers to each question. Participants should then stick the post-it notes on the relevant flipcharts/pinboards.

Once all the post-it notes are up, the participants are divided into four groups. Each group is allocated to one of the flip charts. As a group they reflect on what they find, reorganising the post-it notes into groups or themes, in order to highlight they key ideas that participants have expressed.

One person from each group then presents their findings to the whole group. Finally, the whole group led by the facilitator reflects on all the comments made.

In the reflection, participants should be encouraged to share the feelings they experienced while doing this activity and what they enjoyed about the exercise. Follow with other questions:

• Was there anything that surprised you?
• Are there comments you would like to emphasise?
• Are there comments you disagree with?

Agree that you will all return to the sheets from time to time during the workshop.

Notes for facilitators:

The reflection discussion is an important time for you to align yourself with the aims of participants, and to ensure they are aligned with you. If there are specific needs participants have expressed which you will not address, now is the time to say so. At the same time, many of the hopes and ideas articulated by the participants will be addressed during the training and you can give some advance notice of this – without giving away too much detail. Remember to keep the sheets, preferably on display, until the end of the week.

Useful for

Exploring what people actually know about Europe, its geography and its people.

Resources needed:

3-4 rolls of masking tape, electricians’ tape in red, yellow, green, blue cut into short 2 cm strips. A small map of Europe.

Room layout:

Open clear space

What happens?

Participants are given masking tape and asked to create collaboratively a large map of Europe using the whole floor space, showing both the outlines of Europe and marking out all the individual countries.

Once the map has been created, the facilitator should lead a reflection.Asking questions such as:

• Was the exercise hard or easy?
• What made it hard?
• How much of the map were you able to contribute to?
• Where were your blind spots?
• As a European do you feel part of all of Europe or only some of it?
• Can you feel part of something that for you has so many blind spots?

Then each participant is given access to lots of strips of different coloured electricians tape. They are then asked to use the different colours to create an emotional map of Europe:

• If they think of a part of Europe to be exciting, forward looking, creative, dynamic, connected to hope they mark it with yellow
• If they feel a part of Europe is peaceful, safe, comfortable, beautiful etc. they mark with green.
• If they associate a particular part of Europe with danger, fear, conflict, crisis, threat, war etc. they mark it with red
• If they know nothing or little about it, they mark it with blue

The participants reflect on the picture of Europe that emerges. They can be asked:

• Why are particular countries positively represented while others are negatively represented?
• Where do they have their impressions/information from (visiting other countries, newspapers and TV, other social media, relations who have visited or lived in other countries)?
• Does the source of the information affect how bad or good the impression is?
• Did they feel that the view of the country is narrow or broad?
• How did they colour their own country?
• How has this activity affected their view of how they understand Europe?

Notes for facilitators

This is a team building activity and the facilitator should be invisible while participants are making the maps. He or she should not try to help them, make suggestions or correct what they are doing. Participants should however be encouraged to discuss everything with each other. It should be the activity where the deeper conversations between participants start.

Useful for

Focus and concentration, working in pairs, being disciplined and persistent, testing inhibitory control (one of the executive functions of the brain)

Resources needed

none

Room layout:

Open space with chairs and tables pushed back

What happens?

People work in pairs, standing up and facing each other.

Person A says the number 1
Person B says 2
Person A says 3

Person B says 1 etc, etc

And they repeat this over and over till they can do it fluently

Then replace the number 2 with a finger snap so:

Person A says 1
Person B snaps their fingers
Person A says 3

Person B says 1 etc, etc

and they repeat this over and over

Then they replace 3 with a stamp of their foot:

Person A says 1
Person B snaps their fingers
Person A stamps their foot

Person B says 1 etc etc

They repeat this over and over.

Finally they replace 1 with throwing their arms out and saying ‘Woo’.

Person A throws their arms out and says ‘Woo’ loudly
Person B snaps their fingers
Person A stamps their foot

Person B throws their arms out and says ‘Woo’ loudly etc.

Repeat over and over.

In the reflection, participants should be asked to consider:

• Why is this exercise so difficult? On your own it is easy to get into a rhythm of 1,2,3. So why is it so hard when you have to share the sequence with others?
• Was it more difficult when you were using just words, just movements, or a combination of both?
• Was it possible to get into a rhythm or is the activity naturally arrhythmic?

Note to Facilitators:

Additional details on the executive functions of the brain: The exercise is difficult because you have to stop yourself doing things. This requires inhibitory control, one of the three main types of executive function, the other two being working memory and flexibility of mind. Executive functions underpin your learning. Further information will be given in a presentation after the exercise.

The presentation gives a short insight into the executive functions of the brain.

Useful for:

Beginning to explore the relationship between culture and identity

Resources needed:

Magazines and newspapers with images (ideally in different languages- ask the participant to each bring one magazine to the course), large sheets of paper, coloured pens, sticky tape, glue, scissors

Room layout:

Tables with 4-5 chairs around each, resources on the tables

What happens?

The facilitator divides the participants into groups of around four people. When the groups have found a table and sat down, he or she asks the participants to close their eyes. He or she asks them to think about Europe – what sounds come to their minds? How does Europe make them feel? What images come to their mind? He or she asks them to open their eyes again and to begin to look through all the magazines and newspapers to find and cut out images which make them think of Europe.

Then in their groups they should start discussing how they imagine European culture. What is it? What does it look like? As their ideas begin to form they should collaboratively start to create a collage representing European Culture made up of images they can find in the newspapers and magazines. Together their collage should represent Europe’s culture, its people and cultural values, cultural images, and symbols. They can use any images they find in newspapers and magazines. They can stick these images onto the large sheets of paper, and add to it by drawing images or use other objects as they find them.

After 45 mins each collage is held up or pinned to the wall so that the group can presents their collage to all the other participants pointing out the most important aspects of their (art) work. This could be done like a guided tour

In the reflection, participants should consider:

• Was this an easy or hard activity?
• How were the multiple cultures and sub-cultures reflected in the collage?
• What assumptions about Europe lie beneath the collages?
• How male or female is Europe? How individualist or collective?
• Is Europe predominantly forward looking or backward looking?
• How important is family and is this reflected in the collages?
• Are there religious elements reflected in the cultural values and norms?
• What kind of people could fit well into these visions of Europe?
• What changes might some people have to make to be part of Europe?
• When does it become difficult to accommodate others?
• How do people adapt to a changing cultural landscape?

Useful for:

Invent alternative identities as a preparation for the following exercise

Resources needed:

Paper and pens for the participants to take notes

What happens?

Participants work in pairs. One participant asks questions and the other replies. The questioner seeks to discover everything he or she can about the other person in ten minutes. However, the person answering the questions must use their imagination to create another persona. It is not about answering the questions honestly as themselves, but allowing the questions to inspire their imagination to create another character, who could be entirely imaginary, or based on someone else they know. The person asking the questions keeps a written note of all the characteristics that have been revealed. After ten minutes the roles are reversed. The person who was interviewed in the first part of the activity becomes the interviewer and starts asking the questions. As before, the questions allow an alternative persona to be revealed. The interviewer writes down the key characteristics.

At the end each person keeps the written details of the person they created, in other words the person interviewed keeps the notes the interviewer made from their answers. Tell the participants to keep these notes as they will need them later not revealing that they will need it for the following exercise.

Useful for:

Exploring alternative identities, the fluidity of identity and the influence of identity on opinions

Resources needed:

Various items of clothing, wigs, hats – in other words a dressing up box. Paper and pens.

Room layout

Chairs distributed in groups (circles)

What Happens?

Participants are divided into groups of five or six. Each group represents a committee of elected city councillors who have been brought together to discuss and resolve a contentious proposal about which the city council has to take a decision. The groups should elect a chair and debate the issue. Participants should imagine that they themselves have been elected onto the city council, and the views they express are those they would have expressed if sitting on a city council. After about 25 minutes, they vote on whether they agree or disagree with the proposal. They can also come up with an alternative solution. They record the result of their vote.

Each group is allocated one issue to debate:

• Environmental threat caused by private business
  There is environmental threat caused by private business – a tank of toxic waste is leaking and threatening to cause an environmental disaster.
  Proposed solution: The city council pays for the repairs to the tank of toxic waste by moving money from the museums budget.
• Refugee camp
  There is a refugee camp next to our city. It’s full beyond capacity.
  Proposed solution: Open up houses owned by the municipality for the refugees to live in.
• Local newspaper
  The local newspaper, which the city council subsidises, is always criticises the council.
  Proposed solution: Cut the funding.

• Brain drain
  Well-educated young people are leaving the city.
  Proposed solution: Tax relief for new businesses started by young people in the city.

(The facilitator of course also can create his or her own scenarios.)

Then let the participants know that there has been the election and a new city council has been elected. They are again a committee of city council debating a contentious issue, but this time they will play the person they invented in the interview before the activity began. To help them get into character, they can go to the dressing up box to acquire props which help them keep in role. They should also use the notes that the interviewer made as they interviewed them.

Participants re-join their group. They begin by introducing themselves to each other in their new character and interact as if they were meeting for the first time after an election. Then they start to debate the same issue and again take a vote at the end.

Participants then reflect on the experience.

• What was different in the group/when your character changed?
• Were their feelings, behaviour and opinions significantly different in the second round?
• How were their opinions shaped by the identity of their characters?

Notes for facilitators:

Be prepared that some participants will feel very uncomfortable with role play and find it difficult to engage with the activity. Be prepared to work with them and support them. In the reflection try to help participants see the way in which opinions are nearly always shaped by identity. There is often no point trying to argue against opinions unless you simultaneously work on changes of identity. To change one’s mind often means changing who you are – and that is very hard to do and very threatening.

Working in country pairs, participants should reflect on their learning from the day. In particular, they should design an activity they could use in their work in their own country which is derived from elements of the days learning. In so doing they should be clear about the aim of the activity, the attributes of the students that would be developed, the knowledge gained, and the pedagogy used. They are asked to write their ideas on a sheet of paper. These sheets are then collected, and participants are told they will get them back on the final day of the workshop.

Every evening, participants are issued with a daily reflection sheet which has three sections. I liked, I noticed, I would suggest. They are asked to quickly complete each section, and these are collected before they go for dinner.

Facilitators should read all the reflection sheets before the next morning session starts and together decide which issues should be raised during the reflection round in the beginning of the following day.

An informal session allowing participants to show each other their work. Each pair attending the workshop is allowed 10 minutes to present their work and answer questions. This is followed by informal discussions. For these after dinner sessions we provided wine, beer, soft drinks and snacks to encourage a more relaxed and informal atmosphere.

Notes for facilitators:

Although participants were asked to indicate before the training whether they want to do such a presentation, they tend to spontaneously decide they also want to join. Make sure you plan these changes into the weeks’ schedule. Bear in mind that the days are already very intense so make sure the participants stick to the 10 minutes time frame. These sessions shall only be a support in getting an idea of each other’s practice which can be explored more throughout the week.

Useful for

Warming up participants at the start of the day, team building and helping the group to get into association/mind mapping mode

Resources needed

Two pin-boards or mounted flip charts placed back to back and with large sheets of papers on them with the same word in the middle of it (covered in the beginning), two marker pens

Room layout

Pin-boards/flip charts standing back to back with a clear area around them

What Happens?

Divide participants into two teams. Each group gets one marker pen. Each team stands a few meters away from the pinboard/flipchart. The word in the middle of each flipchart is the same word for each team. (We tended to use the work holiday.) When the rules of the warm up are explained and understood, reveal the word in the middle of the flipcharts. Then both teams try to write as many words as possible that they associate with the word in the middle or with what has been written by another team member on the flipchart. As each team only has one marker pen, participants on each team can only write words down one person at a time. Participants only have five minutes to write down as many words as they can. Each participant should only write one word each time. So what you see is a participant running up to the board, writing a word and then running back to their team and handing the marker to the next person. Team members should take it in turns so everyone is contributing. Because the pinboards/flipcharts are back to back, teams cannot see what the others are writing.

After five minutes the process stops and the pinboards are moved so everyone can see what was written on both pinboards/flipcharts. Then the number of words on each piece of paper is counted. Duplicates are disallowed in the counting. The team who came up with the most words is the winner.

Useful for:

Reinforcing the learning from the day before, answering questions, dealing with concerns as they arise

Resources needed:

The reflection sheets from the day before

Room layout:

Chairs in a circle with a chair for every participant and facilitator

What Happens?

Firstly, facilitators ask participants what reflections they have on the day before, what questions they might have, and whether they have concerns about the workshop. Facilitators should have read all the reflection sheets and before the morning session starts have decided what issues and observations are emerging. It is important to deal with these, by raising them in the discussion, although the facilitators should not indicate the source of the comment. However, if a participant is happy to acknowledge that the comment came from them, it is important to let them expand on what prompted then to write it.

Often participants are suggesting changes to the workshop programme and structure. Wherever possible, facilitators should allow the suggestions of participants to be incorporated. Suggestions which were made in previous workshops included:

• Having longer breaks.
• Stopping during the day to have 5 minutes complete silence from time to time for personal reflection.
• Having time for writing up some thoughts during the course of the day.
• Having the opportunity to visit the town or city in which the training is located.

Some of these ideas are already programmed to take place, but facilitators can allow participants to feel they originated these ideas. As the week progresses, participants should feel more and more as the co-creators of the workshop. These daily reflection sessions are part of the process of allowing this to happen.

Notes for facilitators:

Participants have varying levels of tolerance for reflection sessions. Some participants would be happy to talk all day about their thoughts and responses. Others are very anxious to get on with the next activity. It is important therefore to facilitate these reflection sessions carefully. There must be space to ensure that everyone has a chance to contribute, that all the key issues and concerns are identified and discussed. However, it is also important to ensure that these sessions are not too long and to avoid a situation in which a small group of more talkative participants are allowed to dominate. Also remember to leave time for general administrative announcements. In a week long workshop there are always lots of administrative issues to be addressed.

Useful for:

Quickly reinforcing the inherent diversity within everyone

Resources needed:

Identical packs of six Lego bricks designed to build a duck – one for each participant (we used the LEGO EDUCATION pack Item Nr.2000416), a timer/mobile phone to stop the time

Room layout:

One table, and chairs arranged in a circle with one chair for every participant.

What Happens?

The facilitator asks each person to open their pack of six Lego bricks and lay them out in front of them but without playing with them. The instructor then says that in a moment he or she will ask to create a particular object with the six bricks and they will have 45 secs to complete the task. The facilitator then says: ‘Make a duck’. After 45 seconds he or she tells everyone to stop and bring their creations up to the table and lay them out next to each other. Participants are asked what they notice. Usually what happens is that no two creations are the same.

In the reflection participants are asked to consider what this tells us about people and how they express themselves.

Notes for facilitators

Let the conversation flow informally as participants consider why this happens. We have done the exercise repeatedly, with groups as big as 50, and have never found to ducks the same. Participants are usually astonished at the outcome, but it takes some time for the full implications to sink in.

Useful for

Approaching the complexity of the many dimensions of diversity in small groups, drawing on individual experiences  

Resources needed:

Big sheets of paper, pens, words from the diversity mind map cut into pieces

Room layout:

Tables with four chairs per table, with enough chairs for every participant.

What Happens?

Divide the participants into groups of four. As we were working with country pairs, in this activity pairs worked together with another pair where possible from the same country. This is because the language of diversity is complex, and it allowed participants to translate the key concepts into their own language together. The participants are then asked to create a diversity mind map trying to identify and group the many different aspects of diversity on a single large sheet of paper.

After 25 minutes, the facilitators distribute additional phrases or sentences. Each table gets the same set of phrases or sentences. The participants should assess whether these additional sentences and phrases would fit into their mind map, and if so where. They then glue or write the words that fit onto their map. They are not told about the origin of these sentences.

The phrases/sentences we distributed to each table were:

• co-existing with people of diverse cultural backgrounds
• finding and understanding the differences and similarities among various inhabitants and countries
• creating culturally vibrant communities
• sharing a belief that diversity is a source for prosperity
• constructing a community of values
• minimising exclusion and intolerance
• revealing and challenging hierarchies
• giving voice to those oppressed
• challenging unequal/unjust „realities“
• resisting binary thinking
• resisting the labelling of disadvantaged people as victims
• using diversity-conscious pedagogical approach

After a break, the activity continues.

Participants return to their same tables and mind maps after a short break. They then receive another set of phrases and sentences and have a further 20 minutes to incorporate or reject them. The phrases/sentences we used in the second round were:

• raising awareness of different perspectives
• questioning presuppositions
• avoiding generalisations
• becoming aware of own prejudices
• avoiding tabooing
• recognising own beliefs, attitudes and behaviours in relation to other groups
• exploration of individual differences in safe and nurturing environment
• respecting and accepting individual differences
• celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity within each individual
• recognising the impact of nationality, religion, sexual orientation, social class, race, ethnicity, gender, disability age
• building the concept of me and us
• evaluating others as „us“ and „them“

The posters the groups have produced are then posted around the room, and each group briefly explains their mind map.

The presentation of the individual mind maps of the participants is followed by the explanation where the words came from which were given to them to integrate or dismiss: the diversity mind map.

The facilitator presents the diversity map from the literature review. He or she explains that this shall only give an overview about the complexity of the issues around the big topic so the participants themselves can position themselves in this framework.

Useful for:

Waking everyone’s brain up – particularly because the memorising of the names tests the working memory of the participants. Also the combination of introductions, getting to know names, physical contact and concentration, helps everyone become present in the room and builds a sense of a learning community.

Resources needed:

None

Room layout:

Clear open space big enough for all participants to move around easily.

What happens?

Everyone walks around in the room. Each participant should approach another participant and shake hands. As they shake hands, they should state their name and listen for the name of the other person. They then adopt the name of the other person and walk on until they meet another participant. They should then shake hands with them and state the name that the previous participant gave them and then listen for the name they are now being told. They then adopt the new name they have been given and walk on until they meet another participant.

If a participant shakes hands with someone who states THEIR actual name, they have to leave the game and stand against the wall. The goal for the group is to get everyone standing against the wall, because logically having entered their name into the game they should at some point receive it back again. If everyone does this right, this will happen automatically after a while.

However, something usually goes wrong and the process breaks down without reaching the intended resolution. In these cases, the whole group have to start again. If there is more than one person in the room with the same name, it doesn’t matter. It is just more likely that they will find their name quickly. If two people meet and now have the same name, and there is only one person with that name in the room, then the game has broken down and everyone has to start again.Otherwise, it will become obvious that the game has broken down if there are a group left who keep introducing themselves, but never meet their own name. In which case the game has to start again.

Try the game three or four times before moving on to the next exercise.

Notes for facilitators:

In the reflection get the participants to consider why the activity breaks down. One of the reasons is that it is a test of working memory – the short-term memory which is where you hold information in the short term in order to complete specific functions. Working memory is one of the executive functions of the brain, which underpin successful learning.

Useful for:

Getting to participants to reflect on the different aspects of diversity in their professional (co-operation) practice and start consider how they are already integrating them into their professional life

Resources needed

Marker pens in two colours (here: blue and pink)

Room layout:

Diversity maps of the exercise before lunch on the tables, chairs ready for plenary

What happens?

Participants are now put into different groups. One pair from each table should remain at the table and they should be joined by another pair. They shall now take different marker pens to mark the statements that each seems most important to them in their professional life working with children and young people. If you are working with artists/teacher pairs, it is a good idea to give one colour to teachers and another to artists and see whether there is a consistent difference between artists and teachers. They should also discuss how they currently incorporate these aspects of diversity in their current practice.

After they have done this, there should be a short whole group reflection exploring whether there are differences between teachers and artists as to which aspects of diversity are most important to address in the classroom.

Then, in the smaller table groups, they should select one (or more) of the aspects of diversity that they regard as important and together think of a performance/presentation/game to show the whole group. The aim of this presentation/game/performance should be that the others can guess the aspect the small group picked out of their diversity map.

Then taking turns, each table group should present their idea to everyone else and the others guess which aspects where covered.

Notes for facilitators:

The reflection at the end of this activity should consider all three ‘Exploring the many dimensions of diversity’ activities as well as the presentation. The point of the activities is to familiarise participants with the many different understandings of diversity that co-exist. This will enable them to focus on those aspects of diversity which are most relevant to their professional practice. It will also enable them to be clearer when they meet with others working in the field of diversity about where their practice is located in relation to others. One of the problems in this area is that people form partnerships to ‘address diversity in the classroom’ but the individual partners have quite different aims and agendas. Also in the reflection, it is important to address continuing worries about the language of diversity. It is complex and sometimes opaque, but it is important to understand it and work with it.

Useful for:

Exploring how we categorise and understand ourselves and others. What is useful categorisation? What is a counter-productive categorisation?

Resources needed:

Flip chart sheets (one for every participant), marker pens, post-it stripes in different colours

Room layout:

Participants will work individually with big sheets of flip chart paper. Some will want to work at tables, others to work on the floor. The room should be arranged so that all these options are available. Some participants might also want to leave the main training space to do this, and this should also be an option.

What Happens?

Participants write on the flipchart paper: I am ……

They then write 20 statements about themselves starting “I am”. The 20 statements, between them, should make up the 20 most important things about them. In explaining the activity to participants, it should be made clear that people will see what they have written, although we do not intend to get everyone to present themselves. It is hoped by this point in the training, trust has started to be built up between participants and that they will be prepared to be honest and make themselves vulnerable. Participants should spend 20 – 30 minutes completing this part of the activity.

Participants are then asked to divide their statements into four different categories. The categories are:

• Physical traits (blond, tall)
• Social roles (doctor, artist, member of a choir)
• Personal traits (impatient, collaborative)
• Abstract existential statements (nationality, human)

To differentiate the different statements, they should mark each category with a different colour. They can do this by using small pieces of different coloured post-it notes or four different coloured marker pens. The facilitator should put up a sheet indicating what colours should be used for which category, like so:

• Physical traits – Yellow
• Social Roles – Green
• Personal traits – Blue
• Abstract – Red

It is important to ensure that everyone is using the same colour categorisations.

Then working in pairs, they should look at each other’s sheets and consider the differences and similarities.

Once they have done this, there should be a whole group reflection. The questions they should consider are:

• What categories predominate in the statements? Why are these most important?
• Having looked at some else’s sheet are there changes that you would make?
• Would you have made the same statements 20 – 30 years ago?
• Do you think you will be making the same statements in 20 years’ time?
• Did your personal or professional life pre-dominate in your answers, or was it fairly holistic?
• How easy was it to come up with 20 statements?
• Are 20 statements enough to cover the most important aspects of your identity?
• How limiting of your identity is this activity?
• How do you know these statements are true about you?
• Are there important things you deliberately did not put down?
• Are you happy with what you have written?
• Did you use one category of answer more than others?
• Are you surprised to see the category you most used to describe yourself?

Notes for facilitators:

This can be a difficult activity for many participants. They find it very exposing and don’t like being made to feel vulnerable in this way. However, it is important to see it from the perspective of children and young people. Most people feel that 20 statements of this kind is a very limiting way of expressing or defining our identity and yet we know far less about the children and young people we work with, and are happy to think we know them based on very little information. We put labels on them quickly, which are limiting. There is also evidence that they grow into those labels and become reduced as a result. The work of Carol Dweck is extremely important here.

Make sure that the sheets with the statements are kept, you will need them for another exercise the next day.

Useful for:

Identifying who we are in relation to those who wield power in our society (reflection of social identities)

Resources needed

Printed Power Flower sheets (enough to give out each participant one sheet), pencils to colour the petals

Room layout:

As for the previous activity

What Happens?

The facilitator hands out another sheet of paper: “the Power Flower”. He or she explains that this exercise is about reflecting aspects of social identity (for example power and privileges of each participant as seen by the society). The facilitator should explain that the sheets will not be shared with the others.

The sheet shows a centre of a daisy-type flower which is divided into 12segments, each representing one facet or category of our social identity. This centre is surrounded by a double set of petals, one outer and one inner. The outer petals represent the dominant or more powerful identities in society. The inner petals represent the less powerful aspects of our identities. The object of the exercise is to discover how much power we derive from different aspects of our identity. Participants should look at each category – for instance sex. If they are a man, they should then consider whether men have more power in society and if so they should write ‘man’ in the outside petal, If they look social class and think they are working class, they should then consider whether they would be more likely or less likely to have power in society. If they decide less power, they should write this onto the inner petal. They should then colour in each petal they have written on. The more outer petals they have coloured in, the more social power that person possesses.

The facilitator goes through the different aspects of identity with the participants and to make sure the words are understood. The participants can also add aspects of social identity in the blank space of the flower.

In the reflection, participants should consider what it felt like to do the activity and what conclusion they draw from it about their own power/lack of power.

• Do you think that the profile that emerges is true about you?
• What other aspects of identity should be considered in the Power Flower?

Notes for facilitators:

It is important for participants to consider the question of power in the classroom. Children and young people are highly conscious of power, and their own powerlessness. Part of the process of working on diversity is to empower them, and this will require them to reflect on their identities and to start to consider them a source of power in society. Participants should consider how to manage a change in power relationships in the classroom.

Working in country pairs, participants should reflect on their learning from the day. In particular, they should design an activity they could use in their work in their own country which is derived from elements of the days learning. In so doing they should be clear about the aim of the activity, the attributes of the students that would be developed, the knowledge gained, and the pedagogy used. They are asked to write their ideas on a sheet of paper. These sheets are then collected, and participants are told they will get them back on the final day of the workshop.

Every evening, participants are issued with a daily reflection sheet which has three sections. I liked, I noticed, I would suggest. They are asked to quickly complete each section, and these are collected before they go for dinner.

An informal session allowing participants to show each other their work.

Useful for

Helping the group to tune into each other through eye contact, rhythm and focus.

Resources needed

none

Room layout:

There should be a clear space in the room which will comfortably hold all participants standing in a circle

What happens

The facilitator asks everyone to stand in a circle. The facilitator then turns to the person next to them, makes a clap, asking the other person to clap at exactly the same time. That person then turns to the next person and passes the clap. Each time the clap is passed, the two participants should clap at exactly the same time.

The clap is passed around the circle. The facilitator can then add additional claps so that more than one clap is going around the circle at the same time. A clap can also go in the opposite direction. As the claps are going around the circle, participants are able to make eye contact with another participant across the circle.  Without saying anything they then exchange places in the circle by running across the circle. However, they must do this without interrupting the passage of the claps around the circle.

If a clap stops or is lost the facilitator stops the exercise and discusses why it happened before restarting the exercise.

Note for facilitators:

Expect to have to restart the exercise a number of times. Make sure that the claps are moving quickly around the circle. When the exercise breaks down ask the group how they can be even more synchronised (Eye contact, staying in rhythm, anticipating the clap).

Useful for:

Reinforcing the learning from the day before, answering questions, dealing with concerns as they arise

Resources needed:

The reflection sheets from the day before

Room layout:

Chairs in a circle with a chair for every participant and facilitator

What Happens?

Firstly, facilitators ask participants what reflections they have on the day before, what questions they might have, and do they have concerns about the training. Facilitators should have read all the reflection sheets and before the morning session starts have decided what issues and observations are emerging. It is important to deal with these, by raising them in the discussion, although the facilitators should not indicate the source of the comment. However, if a participant is happy to acknowledge that the comment came from them, it is important to let them expand on what prompted then to write it.

Often participants are suggesting changes to the workshop programme and structure. Wherever possible, facilitators should allow the suggestions of participants to be incorporated. Suggestions which were made in previous workshops included:

• Having longer breaks.
• Stopping during the day to have five minutes complete silence from time to time for personal reflection.
• Having time for writing up some thoughts during the course of the day.
• Having the opportunity to visit the town or city in which the training is located.

Some of these ideas are already programmed to take place, but facilitators can allow participants to feel they originated these ideas. As the week progresses, participants should feel more and more as the co-creators of the workshop. These daily reflection sessions are part of the process of allowing this to happen.

Notes for facilitators:

Participants have varying levels of tolerance for reflection sessions. Some participants would be happy to talk all day about their thoughts and responses. Others are very anxious to get on with the next activity. It is important therefore to facilitate these reflection sessions carefully. There must be space to ensure that everyone has a chance to contribute, that all the key issues and concerns are identified and discussed. However, it is also important to ensure that these sessions are not too long and to avoid a situation in which a small group of more talkative participants are allowed to dominate. Also remember to leave time for general administrative announcements. In a week-long training there are always lots of administrative issues to be addressed.

The facilitator presents and explains the background of the working sheet “Spidergram- intercultural habits of mind”. He or she goes through the different sections quickly to make sure the words are understood.

Useful for:

Understanding the diversity and inter-culturality and assessing one’s own mental attitudes

Resources needed:

Intercultural spidergrams printed out. Pens or pencils.

Room layout:

Assuming that participants had been sitting theatre style in the presentation which preceded this activity can be done where they are sitting.

What happens?

Each participant is given a printed spidergram. Participants have to give themselves a score between 0 and 5 for each habit of mind. They should consider the centre of the spidergram as being a score of 0, and the outer edge of the spidergram being a score of 5, with 5 representing a real strength in the specified habit and 0 representing a serious weakness. However, participants are free to score themselves at any point between 0 and 5, even ½ points if they prefer. They put a point on one of radii to mark the score they have given themselves. They draw lines between the points the points with lines, giving themselves an ‘intercultural profile’.

Useful for:

Understanding the diversity and interculturality and assessing one’s own mental attitudes

Resources needed:

Masking tape, rolls of coloured tape – electricians’ tape works well.

Room layout:

Before the activity begins, for instance in the morning before the first session starts, facilitators lay out replica of the spidergram on the floor using the masking tape. They need to mark out the outside of the spidergram, and the five radii. These need to be marked with the scores. There should be enough spidergrams to provide one spidergram for a group of three to four people.

What happens?

Participants are divided into groups of three or four, and each group is allocated to a spidergram on the floor. Each participant in a group has a roll of electricians’ tape of a different colour. Then, each participant transposes the profile they created in the previous activity onto the spidergram on the floor, so that each spidergram will now contain three or four profiles.

Once each participant has completed their profile on the floor spidergram, they each then have to present their spidergram to the others in their group focussing on evidence/certain situations from their lives that show that their scoring of themselves was correct. This continues until everyone has had a turn. The facilitator invites people to look at each other’s spidergrams, discussing and asking questions informally. He or she then leads a general discussion. The questions that the participants should consider are:

• When you were preparing your profile were you thinking about your personal life, your professional life or both?
• Are you different in your personal life from your professional life?
• Has this profile changed over the years?
• Having listened to the others presenting their evidence, would you change the scores you gave yourself?
• Having created a diversity and interculturality profile, has it changed your view about how diversity informs your daily practice?

Useful for:

Warming up, building teams, focussing.

Resources needed:

One chair for each participant

Room layout:

Chairs should be scattered at random across the space. There should be space between all the chairs, and they should be facing in different directions.

What happens?

One participant is selected to start the game. Everyone else sits in a chair, which should leave one chair empty. This chair should be at the opposite end of the room from the person who will start the game.

The person starting the game begins by moving towards the empty chair. However, he or she can only walk very slowly, moving one foot in front of each other, keeping both feet in touch with the ground. This should look like a slow shuffle. The others have to make sure that this person does not get to sit in an empty chair. So, as he or she approaches it someone should leave their chair and run to fill the empty chair. This will leave a new empty chair and the ‘shuffler’ will then attempt to get to the newly vacated chair. However, one of the others should then run to fill this chair and so the game proceeds. Those trying to prevent the ‘shuffler’ from sitting cannot return to a chair once they have got up from it. Also they cannot physically block access to a chair by standing in front of the shuffler or encircling them.

Generally, the first round only lasts a few seconds until the ‘shuffler’ reaches an empty chair. At this point another person is selected to be the ‘shuffler’. The rest of the group then have two to three minutes to plan a co-ordinated strategy. Then the game resumes. Once the ‘shuffler’ has sat in a chair the process is repeated.

There are several rounds, with time for planning the strategy. After a few rounds, reflect on the experienced together.

Notes for facilitators:

At first sight, you think that the person who can only move very slowly will be at a huge disadvantage as the others can move from chair to chair at high speed. In reality, it is very hard for the others to keep the ‘shuffler’ out of an empty chair. It requires careful co-ordination.

For the big group to succeed they need to concentrate very hard and they need to work as a team. Generally, the big group is dismayed at how easily the ‘shuffler’ gets to a chair and how often they have to revise their strategy.

The reflection should focus on team working, focus and concentration. The concentration tends to increase as the game goes on. It might be worth stopping and pointing out to everyone how hard they are concentrating and watching each other and discussing: a) how this is a high-functioning learning environment; b) how good it feels to be participating in this way; and c) how this is the level of focus and concentration they should aim for in class.

Useful for:

Exploring how to convert the habits of mind into activities for children and young people.

Resources needed:

As many different resources as possible, pen, pencils, paints, crayons, paper of many colours, pipe cleaners, coloured electricians’ tape, scissors, glue, sticky tape, post-it notes, simple musical instruments, …

Room layout:

Tables and chairs pushed back against the wall to create a free open space, although participants can use tables and chairs if they want to.

What happens?

Participants are divided into four groups. They are asked to select one or more of the habits of mind and to devise an activity which would strengthen, develop or illustrate that habit of mind to a group of children or young people. They have 45 mins to design their activity and to prepare to share it with the whole group. Participants should be told before they begin the activity that in sharing the activity with the whole group they can actually make the participants do part or all of the activity. Each group will have 15 minutes to share or illustrate the activity they have devised.

Useful for:

Exploring how to represent one’s own diversity

Resources needed:

As many different resources as possible, pen, pencils, paints, crayons, paper of many colours, pipe cleaners, coloured electricians tape, scissors, glue, sticky tape, post-it notes, simple musical instruments, the big sheets of paper with the 20 statements of each participant, …

Room Layout:

Participants should have separate spaces they can work at. They might also want to leave the room to prepare.

What happens?

Participants have time to work on their own to create a self-portrait which represents the 20 statements about themselves they produced the day before. Participants can choose different media and use any of the materials provided. The works can be very abstract or very realistic, but they have to represent as many of the 20 statements as possible. They can create a short three to five minute performance, a piece of music or a short video they record on their phone. They have 30 minutes to prepare their self-portraits.

The artworks, posters and performances are then exhibited. The facilitator then leads a guided tour of all the exhibits or performances and each participant has the opportunity to say a few words about their creation.

There is no group reflection but if there are any question allow space for them to be asked and answered.

Working in country pairs, participants should reflect on their learning from the day. In particular, they should design an activity they could use in their work in their own country which is derived from elements of the days learning. In so doing they should be clear about the aim of the activity, the attributes of the students that would be developed, the knowledge gained, and the pedagogy used.

Every evening, participants are issued with a daily reflection sheet which has three sections. I liked, I noticed, I would suggest. They are asked to quickly complete each section, and these are collected before they go for dinner.

One evening in each training participants attended a cultural event after dinner. This was optional, but almost all participants joined in. Sometimes they saw a show, once they went on a guided tour of a city, once they had a special tour of a UNESCO world heritage site.

Useful for

Warm up exercise, getting to know each other, finding out things we have in common, introducing philosophical questions

Resources needed:

Chairs (one less than the number of people in the group)

Room layout:

Chairs are laid out to form a circle

What happens?

Everyone sits in a circle with one person in the middle acting as the initial facilitator. That person makes a statement which starts with ‘anyone who’. For example, they could say ‘anyone who ate breakfast this morning’, or ‘anyone who has a pet’. Everyone to whom the statement applies then has to get out of their seat and find a new seat.

The person left without at seat moves into the middle and asks another ANYONE WHO question.

The rules are that participants are not allowed to move in the chairs next to them or back into their own chair.

The exercise can be modified by giving the person in the middle one of the statements below (or others that the facilitator feels are important to discuss in the context of the work) to read out. Facilitator can also ‘freeze’ the exercise and allow for a discussion about the statement. If providing statements, write them on pieces of paper, crunch them up into a ball and leave in the centre of the circle for participants to pick.

Examples of possible statements could include ‘Anyone who…’:

• Thinks children learn more from TV than from school.
• Likes opera.
• Doesn’t vote in elections.
• Wants more children.
• Thinks gravity is a myth.
• Happy about themselves
• Believes there is a God.
• Believes all human beings have equal value.
• Believes their life will get better in the future.
• Believes in destiny.
• Wants to become a celebrity.
• Likes change.
• Thinks there is something evil in everyone.
• Knows what happens if you put a frog in the refrigerator.
• Believes grades at school are a good thing.
• Thinks life is hard.
• Believes they are normal.
• Thinks humans are more valuable than animals.
• Believes that history has a beginning and an end.
• Believes that we learn all our lives.

Useful for:

Reinforcing the learning from the day before, answering questions, dealing with concerns as they arise

Resources needed:

The reflection sheets from the day before

Room layout:

Chairs in a circle with a chair for every participant and facilitator

What Happens?

Firstly, facilitators ask participants what reflections they have on the day before, what questions they might have, and do they have concerns about the workshop. Facilitators should have read all the reflection sheets and before the morning session starts have decided what issues and observations are emerging. It is important to deal with these, by raising them in the discussion, although the facilitators should not indicate the source of the comment. However, if a participant is happy to acknowledge that the comment came from them, it is important to let them expand on what prompted then to write it.

Often participants are suggesting changes to the workshop programme and structure. Wherever possible, facilitators should allow the suggestions of participants to be incorporated. Suggestions which were made in previous workshops included:

• Having longer breaks.
• Stopping during the day to have five minutes complete silence from time to time for personal reflection.
• Having time for writing up some thoughts during the course of the day.
• Having the opportunity to visit the town or city in which the training is located.

Some of these ideas are already programmed to take place, but facilitators can allow participants to feel they originated these ideas. As the week progresses, participants should feel more and more as the co-creators of the workshop. These daily reflection sessions are part of the process of allowing this to happen.

Notes for facilitators:

Participants have varying levels of tolerance for reflection sessions. Some participants would be happy to talk all day about their thoughts and responses. Others are very anxious to get on with the next activity. It is important therefore to facilitate these reflection sessions carefully. There must be space to ensure that everyone has a chance to contribute, that all the key issues and concerns are identified and discussed. However, it is also important to ensure that these sessions are not too long and to avoid a situation in which a small group of more talkative participants are allowed to dominate. Also remember to leave time for general administrative announcements. In a week-long training there are always lots of administrative issues to be addressed.

The presentation looks at the ways in which international exchange programmes can be particularly powerful way of developing the understanding of young people in diversity and interculturalism.

A film presentation on diversity-based learning and creativity, from CCEs practice, allowing room for questions, reflections and short discussions from and between the participants.

Useful for:

Considering how cultural institutions communicate their values and articulate inclusivity.

Resources needed:

A list of suitable cultural experiences for the participants (chosen by the facilitators before the training begins); Participants should have paper and pens to note their thoughts

Room Layout:

Room setting suitable for the participants to listen to and understand the instructions (maybe presentation of the questions on screen)

What happens?

Participants are briefed about the following activity. They will go and visit one or more cultural institutions. They should work in small groups sharing their observations of the experience of visiting the institution. In particular, they should consider:

1. The messages conveyed about the institution as it is approached, the meanings contained in the architecture the surrounding area and the entrance.
2. The codes, protocols and behaviours which are implied or expected and how these are communicated.
3. What kind of materials and resources are available for the visitors? What messages are being communicated through these materials about who is welcome and who, perhaps, is not?
4. The institution from the perspective of a different member of the community such as a child, a refugee, a mother, a tourist, a local resident with good or low qualification, … How does the cultural institution relate to them, communicate with them, makes them feel? What does this tell us about the ethos and relevance of the cultural institution?

Participants are told that when they get back, each group will be expected to give a short presentation answering these questions.

The participants are then briefed about the institutions they will be visiting and given detailed instructions about how to get there and back.

To give the participants more time visiting the cultural institutions there is no lunch at the training venue. Each person gets a lunch pack.

Useful for:

Helping participants decode cultural institutions, seeking to identify the meta-messages that cultural institutions communicate and how these might impact on different members of the community.

Resources:

A list of suitable cultural experiences for the participants (chosen by the facilitators before the training begins); Participants should have paper and pens to note their thoughts

What happens?

During the course of the afternoon, the participants will visit a gallery, museum or a cultural centre. They will be divided into groups, and each group will visit a separate cultural institution.  At each cultural institution they should explore how the institution speaks to or connects with different individuals within the community.

Different members of the group could consider the institution from the perspective of a different member of the community such as a child, a refugee, a local resident with good educational qualifications, a mother, a tourist, …
How does the cultural institution relate to them, communicate with them, makes them feel? What does this tell us about the ethos and relevance of the cultural institution?

They should consider the approach and entrance to the cultural institution, the codes and protocols and behaviours which are implied or expected and how these are communicated. They should look at the materials and resources that are made available.

Room layout:

Chairs in a circle for reflection.

Each group presents their impressions of the visit answering the questions that were posed in the briefing

Every evening, participants are issued with a daily reflection sheet which has three sections. I liked, I noticed, I would suggest. They are asked to quickly complete each section, and these are collected before they go for dinner.

During the week participants have been asked how they would like to spend the final evening and one of their ideas is selected and enacted.

Useful for:

Warming up, engaging physically, socially, and intellectually, reconnecting.

Resources needed:

None

Room layout:

Clear open space

What happens?

Participants walk around the room filling all the spaces. As they walk around, they should choose two people in the room. They should not let the people they have selected know that they have been chosen. Each participant then, as they walk about, tries to ensure that they form a triangle of equal sides between themselves and the two other people they have selected. As the two other people will have made their own choices and will be moving around trying to form their own triangles of equal sides, everyone will find themselve constantly moving. Slowly a resolution is found and people slow down and stop. When everyone stops moving, stretch your hands towards the two persons so as to form the triangle.

Notes for facilitators:

Get participants to reflect on how easy or hard the exercise was, and what skills they needed to be successful at it.

Each time we delivered this training, one of the programme partners was asked to take photographs during the week. On the final evening, they chose a selection of photographs to represent the journey of the week and put them to music. In this final reflection session, participants watch the presentation in silence. Afterwards there is time for a short discussion and reflection.

Useful for:

Ideas generation, giving confidence that you can have lots of good ideas and that they can be refined and improved, giving and receiving feedback and getting commitment to take action beyond the training. Developing first ideas for transnational work.

Resources needed:

Big flip chart paper sheets, pens, pencils, etc. The sheets on which the participants wrote down the ideas for activities they had been developing during the week (when working in pairs)

Room layout

Tables with chairs grouped around them

What happens?

The facilitator puts the participants into groups of two pairs (from different countries) and explains the exercise.

Participants are told that they are going to develop and refine some of the activities and ideas they have developed in pairs during the week which will allow them to integrate intercultural learning into their normal work in school.

Working in their groups they have to go through the activities developed throughout the week, choose one and develop a joint idea. They have 20 minutes to do this.

Pairs then swop so as to make new groups of four. Each group then takes another idea and develop a different activity. They work on that idea for a further 20 mins. In coming up with the idea each group must think about:

• a theme, learning outcome or curriculum subject
• at least one intercultural habit of mind

They need to write this idea up on the flip chart paper they have been given.

All the ideas developed should be presented, with a different pair presenting each idea. Other participants should give feedback and ask questions, present their project ideas and get feedback from the participants and trainers.

Useful for:

Getting people to think back about their hopes and expectations for the training and whether they were realised

Resources needed:

the four flip chart sheets with the expectations of the participants from the beginning of the training, different coloured stickers (two colours)

Room layout:

the four flip chart sheets at different positions within the room

What happens?

The trainer asks the participants to go around the room and put stickers on the different post-it notes according to their opinion. They shall put

• Green where the statement on the post-it note came into effect
• Yellow where it did not come into effect

The whole group then visit each flip chart and discuss the extent to which the workshop met their aims and objectives.

Useful for:

Getting participants to reflect on what they have learned.

Resources needed:

Small wrapped presents, enough for each participant to have one. Participants should be asked, before they come to the workshop, to bring one small present each. It is these presents which are used.

Room Layout:

Clear space with the presents on the floor in the centre of the room. Chairs around in a circle

What happens?

Each person comes forward and selects one of the presents.

They then return to their place in the circle and opens their present. They then have to explain why this present is the perfect present for him or her by saying ‘this is the perfect present for me because…’

Useful for:

saying good bye positively

Resources needed

None

Room layout:

Empty space

What happens?

Everyone stands in a circle.

Then the facilitator turns to the person on their right and says: ‘I am glad that you were here because…’ and then they have to make a positive personal comment about the contribution of that person to the training. The person to whom the comment was addressed then has to say clearly and loudly: ‘That’s so true’. They then turn to the person their right and do the same. The activity is continued until everyone has had a positive comment and acknowledged it.

The facilitator then thanks everyone for their contribution and says: So give yourselves a big round of applause.

Note to facilitators

People tend to find it hard to acknowledge the positive feedback. Make sure the sentence ‘That’s so true’ is spoken out by everybody.

Useful for:

Building a strong bond within the group.

Resources needed:

Masking tape

Room layout:

Clear open space with two lines running in parallel dividing 30 cms apart.

What Happens:

Divide participants into two groups, lined up one behind the other on the end of the two lines (the ‘bridge’). The groups are facing each other. Tell participants their task is to switch places without falling off the bridge. They cannot step outside the lines. If someone steps outside the lines – falls off the bridge – they will have to line up and start again. Tell participants that they have five minutes to complete the task. The first team to get everyone across the bridge will be the winner. After five minutes, when they have not completed the task. Tell the participants to return to their side of the bridge and develop a strategy. After a few minutes, tell them to start again and let them try another few minutes.

Reflect on the experience with the whole group following questions like:

• How did the activity feel?
• Was it hard or difficult?
• Was it hard to balance the need for co-operation and the need for competition?

Useful for:

Exploring and learning communication skills and strategies, exploring collaboration, exploring alternative ways to create and interpret narrative; exploring how people learn

Resources needed:

Standard blank paper, postcards or magazine images, pencils, clipboards for half of the participants

Room layout:

as many chairs as participants (positioned in pairs back to back)

What happens?

Participants get into pairs and are seated back to back. The facilitator gives one person from each pair a postcard and they are asked to not share it with their partner but to study it for a few minutes. The other person gets a piece of paper and a pencil. The facilitator explains that as a pair they have ten minutes to ‘recreate’ the postcard using only verbal description, with one partner describing the scene to the other, without sharing the postcard.

After no more than 15 minutes, the facilitator stops the exercise and asks the describer and the drawer to hand in the

pictures and the drawings that were made of it without showing it to each other. The facilitator then gives the observer from the last round a clean piece of paper and a pencil, then the facilitator gives the drawer of the last round one of the pictures that has just been drawn (not one of the originals). In these sapped roles, the two shall now follow the same instructions like the round before (one tells the other what he or she sees on the picture so the other can draw accordingly on the new sheet of paper). The facilitator allows another 10 but no more than 15 minutes for the new picture to be described and drawn.

Meanwhile the facilitator puts out on some tables the original pictures. When the drawers and describers have finished they are then allowed to show the drawings to each other. They then go and forage for the original picture, placing their drawings alongside. Everyone is then able to see what everyone else has done. Then the facilitator should bring the group together in a circle and reflect on what they learned.

Reflect on the experience with the whole group following questions like:

• What did you find most helpful as the drawer?
• Least helpful?
• As the describer how did you convey the picture?

Did you change your strategy as you went along or continue as you began?