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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.
Tell us what you think. Rate and review this activity:
Have any helpful suggestions or modifications for this activity?
Share them in the comments below!
0 Comments
Shannon Wheatley Hartman
December 7, 2022 at 7:01:33 PM
Another all time favorite. I really recommend this activity when you are trying to think about the complexity of a social topic and who/what is impacted by it. It pairs well with the Divergent Thinking/Surround the Topic activity. This activity also includes a really helpful worksheet for capturing types of stakeholders.
Shannon Wheatley Hartman
December 7, 2022 at 6:59:07 PM
I really like this activity. It is a fun way to figure out what matters most to us as a group. For example, if you need to figure out the theme for a discussion series or a topic for a group project, try out this activity. It helps participants to reflect on their own civic passion but also negotiate together the civic passions of the group. It could be paired with the value activities in Module One.
Shannon Wheatley Hartman
December 7, 2022 at 6:54:13 PM
I the process in this activity ("surround the topic") a lot. It is particularly useful as facilitation preparation. It also helps with generative thinking.
Shannon Wheatley Hartman
December 7, 2022 at 6:52:01 PM
This is an all time favorite. Use it as a warm-up activity or whenever you have a group that feels stuck and can't think of new ways of engaging a topic or problem.
Shannon Wheatley Hartman
December 7, 2022 at 6:49:22 PM
Similar to the previous activity (1.7 Taking Inventory of CD Skills), this activity includes a google survey that participants can complete at the beginning of a program or class. Instructors or facilitators can use this information to then tailor future activities to best fits the discussion needs of their group.
Shannon Wheatley Hartman
December 7, 2022 at 6:46:46 PM
Use this as pre-class or pre-workshop preparation! These self-evaluations will help teachers or facilitators to better understand the starting point of each participant and an aggregate view of the group. The survey results are shared only with the instructor/facilitator. This is a really helpful resource (and you can modify the survey to fit your needs).
Shannon Wheatley Hartman
December 7, 2022 at 6:43:42 PM
This activity and the previous (1.5 Understanding Values) are great for difficult conversations. I would use this as the prep work before diving into potentially tricky conversations. It helps participants to look for the values that inform opinions (and not just dismiss ideas that they don't like).
Shannon Wheatley Hartman
December 7, 2022 at 6:41:01 PM
This is also known as "Identity Pie." It's a great warm up and way for participants to get to know one another. I would use this early in a group setting to help build connection.
Shannon Wheatley Hartman
December 7, 2022 at 6:39:24 PM
I think we all know that creating guidelines is important. I introduce activity 1.1 What is Collaborative Learning? first and then use the positive and negative attributes that they generate to help form our group guidelines.
Shannon Wheatley Hartman
December 7, 2022 at 6:36:43 PM
I always recommend that folks start off with this activity and pair it with 1.3 Creating Guidelines. It is a great way to set the tone and emphasize the importance of collaborative discussion.