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1.5
The Role of Values in Collaborative Discussion
Submitted by Jack Byrd Jr.
This activity encourages participants to reflect upon and identify their personal values and to explore the role that values play in group discussions.
Learning Goals
Identify different kinds of values that are commonly embedded in a discussion.
Better understand how personal values can inform contributions in discussions.
Instructions
Set Up: Prepare for the Activity
Organize participants into small groups (5-6 ppl).
Begin by introducing the learning goals of this activity.
Step One: Craft Three Individual Value Statements (10 min)
Offer a few minutes for each participant to quietly craft their own value statements.
Share the following prompts:
What values are most important to you as a person? For example, maybe it is self-sufficiency, environmental sustainability, or justice. Write down your top values.
Take your top three values and craft value statements. For example, “I value personal responsibility. I believe that I, alone, am responsible for my actions.”
Step Two: Share Value Statements (10 min)
Within small groups, ask participants to share their value statements with at least one other person. Discussion partners can ask questions about value statements but they should not make comments or share judgments. For example, discussion partners might ask:
Where does this value come from? Was it taught to you or did you learn it some other way?
Can you share with me a time when you acted on this value?
Step Three: Practice Listening for Values in Discussions (30 min)
Craft a discussion prompt that is relevant for your group, or select one from the list of What IF… Scenarios.
In small groups, encourage participants to engage in honest discussion for about ten minutes. Allow enough time for everyone in the group to respond to the prompt.
Ask each group to pause the discussion and take a step back. Instruct participants to not worry about who was most convincing. Instead, as a group, ask them to identify which values informed their opinions. Prompts:
Which values informed the perspectives of people in your group?
How might someone else, not present in your group, respond to the prompt? What values would be informing their opinion?
Step Four: Debrief as a Full Group (10 min)
Discuss:
How does shifting the focus on values change the way you engage with others in discussion?
Which values seem most common and which seem to be outliers or less common? What does this tell us about our group?
TIME
60
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 can be used to support facilitation skills. See Sample Facilitation Certificate Program Design to illustrate sample sequencing.
This activity is suitable for professional or more formal learning environments.
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0 Comments
YD
November 29, 2022 at 1:57:35 AM
Activity 2.4 helps encourage bold, imaginative thinking and looking at the risks involved in both action and inaction.
YD
November 29, 2022 at 1:54:27 AM
Activity 2.3 uses mind mapping to flex your creativity in a fun and engaging way and apply it to developing innovative thoughts and solutions.
YD
November 29, 2022 at 1:50:37 AM
Activity 2.2 is another innovative and useful activity that helps us explore, engage, work with a topic that can be frustrating or difficult for many, i.e. contradictions in the world and ourselves.
YD
November 29, 2022 at 1:47:31 AM
Activity 2.1 provides useful information to develop and use curiosity not just in a discussion space, but also in your everyday life.
YD
November 29, 2022 at 1:44:34 AM
Activity 1.7 is provides a useful inventory of collaborative discussion skills. It can be used to bring awareness to your skill level as you begin and to keep track of your progress as you move through this toolkit of activities.
YD
November 29, 2022 at 1:41:05 AM
Activity 1.6 is very innovative. It helps demonstrate how the prioritization of different values we hold changes according to context.
YD
November 29, 2022 at 1:38:49 AM
Activity 1.5 helps look at discussions from a different lens, moving away from just right or wrong and taking a deeper look at the values that drive different perspectives and opinions.
YD
November 29, 2022 at 1:35:42 AM
Activity 1.4 is a fun activity that engages your imagination to explore your identity.
YD
November 29, 2022 at 1:34:01 AM
Activity 1.3 is a good activity that helps develop a sense of cohesion and psychological safety in the group.
YD
November 29, 2022 at 1:31:54 AM
Activity 1.2 is a fun and engaging activity making use of puzzle pieces to clearly demonstrate the importance of developing collaborative perspective.