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1.4
Understanding Your Identity in Collaboration
Submitted by Shannon Wheatley Hartman
There are different ways of thinking about identity ranging from personal to social or perceived to ascribed. This activity encourages participants to reflect on the type of person or identity they bring (or would like to bring) to a discussion.
Learning Goals
Recognize that all discussion participants bring and withhold parts of their identity.
Be more intentional about the identities we put forward (or hold back) in group discussion.
Instructions
Set Up: Prepare for the Activity
Organize the participants into pairs or small groups (5-6 ppl).
Begin by introducing the learning goals of this activity.
Step One: Individually Design Identity Capsules (10 min)
Share the following prompt with participants:
Imagine that you have the opportunity to live on another planet with an alien population. The interview process requires that you pack 5 items into a capsule that best represent you as a person. You decide which 5 aspects of your identity are most important and how you might represent them as objects in the capsule. Write down your answers, being mindful that you will share this information in pairs or small groups. Do not write down something that you are uncomfortable sharing.
Step Two: Share Capsules (20 min)
In pairs or small groups, invite participants to share their capsule items. Discuss these prompts:
Why did you include this item? What part of your identity does it represent?
How might this part of your identity show up (or not show up) in larger group discussions?
When are these identity traits most present and when are they invisible or held back in reserve
Step Three: Debrief as a Full Group (20 min)
Reconvene as a large group and ask participants to take inventory of their identity capsule contents. Prompts:
What sort of items were in your identity capsules? Any similarities? Anything that stood out? Anything in possible tension?
How do we know which parts of our identity we want to put forth in a collaborative discussion with others? Can we be intentional about this?
Which parts of our identity do we hold back? What is the cost of holding back parts of ourselves? Under what circumstances do we feel safe to put forth a more authentic or whole self?
TIME
50
min
MODULE
Introduction to Collaborative Discussion
This activity can be completed by any discussion group.
This activity can be used to build trust and interpersonal connection.
This activity is focused on developing or supporting listening skills. See Sample Listening Certificate Program Design to illustrate sample sequencing.
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0 Comments
YD
December 2, 2022 at 9:07:26 PM
Activity 5.2 introduces four categories of stakeholders and multiple prompts to help participants work together in small and large groups to create comprehensive list of stakeholders, including those who are marginalized or not as obvious, for a given issue.
YD
December 2, 2022 at 9:04:00 PM
Activity 5.1 uses gamification by having participants play the Civics Topics Sweet Sixteen Competition to identify their issues they are passionate about both as individuals and as a group.
YD
December 2, 2022 at 9:01:34 PM
Activity 4.9 uses both lighthearted and serious characters, topics, and dialogue to help participants practice viewing an issue from the perspective of multiple people/characters and explain their thought processes and rationale for the choices they think these people will make in a given situation.
YD
December 2, 2022 at 8:58:08 PM
Activity 4.8 provides useful phrases and techniques, as well as helps participants develop their own, to join in during discussions and express their views according to the goals they choose for themselves on what they want to offer to the discussion and how they want to be perceived.
YD
December 2, 2022 at 8:52:48 PM
Activity 4.7 uses a tactile and fun method, like a bag of beans, to have participants experience what it is like to have different amounts of power in a conversation. This activity also highlights how we base our ideas of how power is distributed on stereotypes.
YD
December 2, 2022 at 8:48:29 PM
Activity 4.6 employs useful tools like the Question Chart to help participants learn how to craft "good questions" that move beyond any assumptions they have about the views of others based on stereotypes or third party descriptions, and unearth their true views on the issue.
YD
December 2, 2022 at 8:45:08 PM
Activity 4.5 uses visual aids like the Emotion Wheel to push participants to move beyond just cognitive empathy and shows how to reflect back the emotions and understand their source through dialogue. It also helps participants differentiate between messages of intentional empathy and problem-solving.
YD
December 2, 2022 at 8:39:46 PM
Activity 4.4 uses both individual written reflection and discussion in small and large groups to explore the which aspects of a person's identity we use to determine if they should be included in the conversation on a particular issue. This activity also give participants to practice explaining and negotiating who is chosen.
YD
December 2, 2022 at 8:33:37 PM
Activity 4.3 uses physical movement and both lighthearted and serious topics to help participants see how positions on different topics lie on a continuum and how positions can change as one is exposed to new information or perspectives. Participants also flex their imaginative and creative muscle by arguing for the position opposite to theirs.
YD
December 2, 2022 at 8:28:28 PM
Activity 4.2 breaks down the individual aspects of active listening into separate rounds/steps to help participants consciously and methodically learn and practice this skill.