Teamworkbound top ten activities

Feedback

2010-06-19T22:53:00.000-07:00

As educators we will reference books, blogs, websites and learn from other facilitators. There will come a time you will start to experiment and try out the activities that you have learnt. I have done the same thing too in my practice as a facilitator and educator. As you start to experiment with different methodologies and approaches do get that valuable feedback you need.

Today being father's day, I got feedback from my kids. My 7 year old sent me a gift wrapped present, wishing me happy father's day as I worked on my computer today. Here's the gift she made for me or rather, pen wrote on a file that she had;

My 11 year old son, was a little more innovative, he found an artwork that he completed and realised that could double as a gift and left it beside me when I had a nap yesterday. Here's his artwork;

Feedback is the key that sounds out your interactions and impact, in this instance my relationship as a father to my children. However, in the realm of learning and facilitation getting genuine feedback from participants differentiates good facilitators from "Band aid trainers". This is the term I have coined to describe half baked trainers who talk out loud, whilst pursuing certifications and short cut degrees.

As of April this year, I have started to take on lecturing work at the Institute of Adult Learning. Here, I lecture one of the toughest module, also know as Cu 3 a, that teaches participants to Design and Develop WSQ training programs. Lecturing twice a week, I also incorporated activities in my delivery of this module, as my learners grapple with Instructional design and learning theories. My learners too provided feedback and this was the card that was given to me, when I finished their 5 weeks training program.

More succinctly, my learners also provided feedback to the administrators, on my lecturing approach and competency as a facilitator. These were their thoughts;

Facilitator 1: Ebnu	rating 1 - 5 max
Knowledgeable about the topic	4.9
Provided relevant examples	4.9
Used a range of activities	4.9
Engaged the learners	4.9
Professional	4.8

Here are their comments too:

- Good facilitator who puts in the effort to ensure that learners understand where he is coming from, using various farmative assessment methods. He helps keep us awake too!

- This module has a lot of theories that requires good understanding before it can be applied to the training material design. Mr Ebnu did well in making the learning very systematic and logical

- Ebnu is very knowledgeable and he shares a lot of his experience to enhance our understanding of this course in relation to actual curriculum developer.

- Mr Ebnu is approachable, knowledgeable, fun, energetic and very lively. He made us understood even better. Though I have attended other Cus but he is very well versed and always makes our lesson interesting. Keep it up Mr Ebnu and thanks.

-The facilitator was very approachable and friendly and he made clear all doubts on the assignment procedures. IAL, do maintain this standard

-The facilitator is a great motivator for this particularly tough CU. He provides guidance and has the patience and effort in attending to my queries. Mr Ebnu, keep up the great work.

This is the feedback I got from the evaluations. Does this happen by chance, not at all, it comes about because as a facilitator I have done my time, getting pass the stringent educational process that is institutional, without the trappings of finding a short cut. Its about cutting it deep, working as a practitioner, developing and delivering learning programs.

This is us, educators not your "Band aid trainers".

Experiential activity No. 1 - Key Punch

2010-05-04T19:09:00.000-07:00

Here is one activity that I have used frequently in many of my Leadership and Team dynamics training programs. The video clip that you see in this blog will also show you how this activity was conducted. The key punch activity is a great way to start your training program and it will appeal to your kinesthetic learners. For learning outcomes that involves getting learners to assimilate and remember organization's values and mission, this activity will be spot on.

I was able to capture a video of this activity in two different training programs that we delivered. Here's the clip;

Props required

You will need a set of alphabetical pads you can get from a toy shop. A 5 metres rope that you can purchase from a hardware shop.

Set up

Lay the rope on the ground such that it forms a close circle with the pads placed inside the circumference. The pads can be placed in two fashion as you can see from the clip
- My colleague prefers the pads to circumnavigate the rope
- My preference to have the pads placed randomly all over inside the circle

Objective
The group is required to key punch their value statement one at a time without tripping the rules

Rules.

1. Pads needs to be touched in sequence
2. Team is given only1 minute to finish their task

3. Any breaking of the rule will result in a restart
4. The string acts as a forcefield that radiate from the ground moving upwards

5. Only 1 participant can reach into the forcefield any one time

Debrief considerations
This activity is great for the following debriefs
a. Collective team goals

b. Communication
c. Participation without any passengers

Sometimes my clients, may lament that this is one activity that they have done before. When they share this perspective with us, we usually provide them with an overview of the variation version of key punch that we execute. More often then not, they come to a realization, that this activity can be conducted differently and it is the debriefs that impacts learning outcomes.

Here is one response we got from Manpower Inc, a fortune 500 company for whom we executed a Team building program that resonated their values and mission statement. This was their card to us for the great job we did for them.

Contact us at office@teamworkbound.com, if you would like us to present to you, our approach towards delivering a training program. This includes training programs that are centred on behavioural change (Customer services skills incorporating experiential learning methodology), team dynamics, leadership and facilitation skills.

If you prefer a detailed instruction sheet in Pdf on how to run this activity, do leave us a comment on this blog and we will send you the brief sheet on how to run this activity on your own :)

Key Concepts for Experiential Learning

2010-01-17T03:33:00.000-08:00

Having spent close to 13 years as an adult educator, driving organization and corporate performance through learning and development activities, experiential learning by far engages adult learners more then any other platform I have chosen in delivering training programs. You would realize by now, the powerpoint can easily bore your learners, likewise your talk will start to sound like a broken pipe resulting in you losing your learners who would rather spend time with the ZZZZ monsters with their eyes open.

Hence a good grasp of understanding key concepts in experiential learning will help you to augment your training program with activities that will get them out of their seats. Learners can do an activity that co-relates to the objectives of the lesson that you are facilitating. Its about engaging your participants constructively. With experiential activities,you will be able to engage your learner, provided you are able to link the activity with the concepts you want to bring across. Then again do not hide behind the experience and let the experience speak for itself. There is an inherent need on part of the facilitator to facilitate a discussion on key learning outcomes that came out of the session.

Challenge Rope's Course

For the past 1 year we have been contracted to conduct Panasonic's experiential learning programs, that includes the use of a ropes course and the low elements. This is one program, where some participants are reluctant to attend as it includes the use of strenuous activities and you will be in the outdoors for at least 60% of the day. Here's one remark that came about as a result of our approach taken in running experiential activities. Lester, on day's end remarked, "I would not have taken part in the activities and this was one program I wanted to put off for a long time, due to the use of the ropes course. Surprisingly, I took part in all the activities today, because of Ebnu's assurance that I had a choice in choosing to take up the tasks presented." Hence, here's rule number 1 and essentially one of the most important rule for the day when you start your session.

It has to be; "Challenge by Choice" and participants can choose to withdraw at anytime they choose and this decision must be respected by their peers.

Don't just say it, explain it as you facilitate this concept before you start the ropes course for the day.

Ebnu facilitating a debrief

Teamworkbound has organized experiential activities for adult participants, ensuring all aspects of the safety systems have been looked into. We hold current certifications to use Ministry of Education's Adventure centres as a cerified EFI. Do get in touch with us should you want to use a ropes' course with a team of experiential learning experts. We will be able to deliver debriefs that are spot on for adult participants.

Here is the link to get in touch with us

Best regards

Ebnu Etheris