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2.4
Taking Risks
Submitted by Jack Byrd, Jr.
Often groups will default to safe choices. As a result, groups fail to identify possibilities that are bold, anticipatory, or break new ground. This activity demonstrates a process that encourages groups to take risks together.
Learning Goal
Become more aware of the role that risk plays in group imagination and decision-making.
Instructions
Set Up: Prepare for the Activity
Organize participants into pairs or small groups (3-5 ppl).
Begin by introducing the learning goals of this activity.
Step One: Take Inventory of Initial Reactions (5 min)
Share the following prompt or create a relevant prompt for your group:
Institutions of higher education need to reimagine their role in society. What do you think the future university should look like?
As a full group, take a few moments to generate responses to the question posed and record them on a board, flip chart or shared screen.
Step Two: Silently Reflect and Write Responses (10 min)
Invite everyone to think bolder by asking them to respond to one or two of the following questions. Share these questions on the board or screen:
Emphasis on Time. What would the university look like if it were forced to change in only two years?
Emphasis on Change. How would the university look different if it were required by law to be accessible to all people?
Emphasis on Structure. What if universities took on a corporate partner? How would this affect the role that it plays in society?
Emphasis on Technology. How might your vision of the future university change if all instruction became automated and offered via AI? Or, entirely online? Asynchronously?
Provide ten minutes for silent reflection and writing.
Step Three: Re-imagine the Future in Groups (20 min)
In small groups, ask participants to share some of the ideas that they wrote down. Invite them to re-imagine together what a future university looks like. Prompt:
Describe your future university in a series of bullet points.
Reconvene as a full group, and invite groups to share their visions of the future university. Discuss:
What are some common themes?
What are the outliers?
Can we agree on a future vision?
Step Four: Generate a List of Risks (15 min)
As a full group, imagine the risks that a university would encounter in moving toward this particular new model.
Generate a list of these risks. Then make a parallel list of risks that a university would be taking if it didn’t move to this new model when other universities moved in this bold new direction.
Decide as a group on the preferred course of action.
Step Five: Debrief as a Full Group (10 min)
Discuss:
Where did the boldest ideas come from? Individual reflection? Building on the ideas of others in discussion? Thinking about risks?
How, if at all, did our vision for the future university change by following this process?
How might you use this activity in your daily life?
TIME
60
min
MODULE
Creative Collaboration
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 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
YD
December 3, 2022 at 1:58:08 AM
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 3, 2022 at 1:52:48 AM
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 3, 2022 at 1:48:29 AM
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 3, 2022 at 1:45:08 AM
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 3, 2022 at 1:39:46 AM
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 3, 2022 at 1:33:37 AM
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 3, 2022 at 1:28:28 AM
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.
YD
December 3, 2022 at 1:25:28 AM
Activity 4.1digs deep into the many facets of social identity, by using drawing, as well as both written silent reflection and verbal discussion in small and large groups.
YD
November 29, 2022 at 6:26:51 AM
Activity 3.8 easily helps visualize the many dimensions of a topic by using the fishbone diagram.
YD
November 29, 2022 at 6:24:44 AM
Activity 3.7 provides useful mind tricks to help practice patience and giving people the benefit of the doubt, thus creating the sense of psychological safety required in collaborative efforts.