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1.7
Taking Inventory of Collaboration Skills
Submitted by Shannon Wheatley Hartman & Jack Byrd Jr.
This activity introduces key collaborative discussion skills and invites participants to reflect upon their own skill development. Participants have the option of working in small groups to support one another in skill development. The survey can also help facilitators support individual or group needs.
Learning Goals
Develop awareness of collaborative discussion skills.
Self-evaluate collaborative discussion skills.
Instructions
Set Up: Prepare for the Activity
Invite participants to evaluate their collaboration discussion skills using the Taking Inventory of Collaborative Discussion Skills Questionnaire.
Step One: Share Group Assessment of Collaborative Discussion Skills (10 min)
If participants completed the survey in advance, share the group’s assessment of their skills (do not share individual results). Share the major areas of strengths and areas for growth. Share this visually on the board or screen so that they can use it as a reference point for later. Then, move to Step Three.
If participants did not complete the digital survey in advance, then distribute hard copies of the Taking Inventory of Collaborative Discussion Skills Worksheet. Follow the directions. Participants will be asked to assess their skills. Describe each category:
F – Fulfillment: You are completely satisfied with your abilities.
C – Comfort: You feel confident in your abilities but wouldn’t mind working on refinement.
D – Developing: You recognize this is an area of growth and welcome the opportunity to improve.
L – Lacking: You recognize a deficiency, but you are not yet comfortable developing this skill and/or do not believe it to be valuable at this time.
Step Two: Develop a Composite View of Assessments (10 min)
In small groups (3-4 ppl), ask participants to review their worksheets together to get a sense of where the group feels like it has strengths (Fs and Cs) and where there is room for growth (Ds and Ls).
Step Three: Identify Areas for Growth and Support (20 min)
In small groups (3-4 ppl), invite individuals to identify 3-4 skills that they would like to improve. Explore how the group might help support growth in the respective growth areas. Save these support statements using the Collaborative Discussion Skills Growth Commitment Worksheet.
Step Four: Debrief as a Full Group (10 min)
Possible prompts:
As a group, which collaborative discussion skills do we seem to be the most comfortable expressing?
As a group, where do we see the most room for growth? Why do you think this is?
During our time together, how might we refer to our commitment worksheets?
TIME
50
min
MODULE
Introduction to Collaborative Discussion
This activity can be completed by any discussion group.
This activity can be easily modified for asynchronous learning. See Sample Asynchronous Certificate Program Design to illustrate sample sequencing.
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
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.