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What's the right setting for delivering Experiential Learning content?
In the blog I wrote last month I tried to address some of the assumptions about experiential learning that seem to be getting in the way of people including elements of this approach in their programming. It seems that the most pervasive of these assumptions is about the physical spaces that are needed to deliver effective experiential content. To ...
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Are your assumptions about Experiential Learning getting in the way of a breakthrough in performance?
My friend and colleague Graham Cook is heading to Florida later this month where he'll be delivering a session at Training Magazine's 'Training 2024' conference and exhibition. His session is titled 'How to Design Behavioral Change Using Experiential Learning Activities'. I'm not going to be alongside him for this conference but that doesn't mean I...
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Continuous Professional Development for Focused Experiential Learning
Most good trainers and facilitators I meet tend to have a strongly developed intuition about the needs of others. It doesn't take long for them to get to understand what will help a student to learn, and how learning material needs to be presented to make it easier for that learning to take place. As these trainers and facilitators become more ...
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What's The Best Seasonal Gift You Could Give?
It’s a question I often read around this time of year, and it inevitably provokes responses from extremes of opinion. There are those who go full-on consumerist and suggest expensive cars, jewellery, homes etc, ideas that are balanced by those who reject these ideas and suggest good health, happiness, close family etc.
So, as I&rsquo...
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How do facilitators work with groups who have had an 'easy win'?
There were some interesting responses to last month’s blog which considered how to handle a session where your group are unsuccessful at completing the experiential task you have set them. For some people this was accepted as very sound advice, and it seems to have taken away some of the ‘fear of failure’ that was out there. ...
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Broken Squares
Learning Focus
- Collaboration
- Emotional Intelligence
- Feedback
- Icebreaker
- Strategic Thinking
- Team Building
Group Size
4 - 16
4 - 20
Duration
20-40 Minutes
$149.00
Broken Squares game success is dependent upon building relationships between team members, an awareness of what others need and a willingness to offer resources without any verbal communication. This makes it an ideal Emotional Intelligence training activity. This activity helps develop learners’ problem solving and team building skills, as well as improving general trust in professional relationships in interdependent groups.
To be successful there are two general group norms that each team (4 per team) must adhere to:
- Pay attention to what other team members need as much to what you need
- No one is finished until everyone is finished
Broken Squares is effectively an exercise based on ‘giving’ and the included training activity review focus can easily move to individuals and their feelings, actions and decisions. The message of ‘being aware of what others need’ can then be translated into their workplace.
There are sufficient physical materials to work with four groups with 4x participants in each group. Add observers where you can’t form groups of exactly 4, and therefore work with up to 20 x participants. Add multiple sets for larger group sizes.
Downloads
- To establish a clear and shared understanding of the objectives of the task at hand
- To recognise that participation & cooperation by all members of a team are essential to attain team & individual goals
- To understand the value of offering ‘input’ into a group without the expectation of reciprocal giving (one of the basic principles of effective negotiation)
- To be aware of the difficulties created when normal channels of communication are restricted
- To be open to an exploration of different solutions in problem-solving
- To practise behaviors associated with interdependent teamworking
RSVP Design’s version of Broken Squares is based on the Broken Squares game invented by Dr. Alex Bavelas (1973). This is a challenging task - perhaps because there is often a focus on individual contribution over team contribution in many workplaces? Or perhaps because it is so different from conventional group task behaviour yet so necessary for successful cooperative learning?
Participants need to use problem solving skills collaboratively without any verbal or written communication.
Spit into groups of exactly four participants (with additional observers if required) each participant is provided with some plastic pieces, and typically seated facing inwards on four sides of a square table.
Success in this task is achieved when each person finishes with a square of the same size in front of them, and all the pieces issued at the beginning of the task are used.
An additional rule is that no participant may take or request a piece, they can only pass a piece to another participant (and the piece must be unconditionally accepted).
This full Broken Squares activity materials pack is also bundled with Hollow Square in the discounted Learning Squared package.
- 4x Sets of Broken Square activity materials
(1x Red, 1x Blue, 1x Orange, 1x Green, each containing 21 x durable plastic foam pieces)
- Full Facilitation notes (including suggested review questions) & delegate briefing instructions
- Branded rucksack to hold all materials
Package Weight: 1kg
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Returns
We provide a 12 month unconditional guarantee. If you have any problems with our materials, we will replace any defective parts, or you can return the unopened/unused product for a full product refund.
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