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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
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.