Following on from our last post which looked at what CL is, here's our 5 step process to design a great CL task.

1. What do you want the delegates to learn?

It’s key that you clearly know what you want delegates to get out of the activity/task. Without this, you aren’t guaranteed to develop an activity which focuses the discussions on that area.

2. What kind of thinking is required to explore the content/topic?

Remember the purpose of collaborative learning is to allow delegates to learn for themselves from each other through discussion and the sharing of ideas, views and opinions. The activity type that you set will focus and set the initial direction of the discussions between delegates, so it needs to be an activity which prompts the right kind of thinking. Thinking types might include:

Cause and effect (what will happen if….)
Evaluating (how successful was…)
Comparing (which option is more cost effective…)

3. How can the content be more contextualised?

Contextualisation allows the concept or theory that you want the delegates to grasp to become more relate-able for the delegates. It allows individuals to easily see how their current knowledge and skills can contribute to the discussion/activity.

For example, if you are working with a group of managers in the hospitality industry, you may wish to set any scenario or problem in this setting so it feels somewhat familiar to them. Alternatively, depending on the subject matter, you may wish to take them entirely out of their comfort area and set it in a totally different or fictional environment.

Keep in mind that you are trying to “level the playing field” as it were. In order for all delegates to feel engaged to participate they must feel that their views and opinions are valued. If you have a mixed group of managers, 5 of whom work in finance and 1 who works in office services, setting any scenario or problem in a financial setting may disengage your officer services manager.

4. What style of activity best fits with your session and audience type?

There are a variety of activity styles and some lend themselves better to certain topics or content than others. The most popular types (over and above the usual scenario based discussions) include:

- Information gaps – where a group/delegate has some information that another group/delegate needs and in turn requires information that other groups/delegates have got. Tasks like this require the information gap to be bridged through talking, questioning and listening.

- Information Organising – where a group has to organise information in a variety of ways to solve a problem or answer a question. This can be combined with an information gap task to make the activity more challenging.

- Game Based Activities – such as a board game based on the topic/content, where delegates are required to answer questions or discuss elements of the subject matter as they progress through the game. These are good for consolidating knowledge however they are can be time-consuming and resource heavy to create.

When selecting an activity, remember to keep in mind the three core principals of any collaborative learning exercise:

i. The task must not be able to be completed by one person alone.
ii. The task must require the input of all members of the group.
iii The task should have no one right answer.

5. What information sources are required to allow delegates to carry out the activity?

The requirement for handouts or supporting material will vary greatly depending on the type of thinking you are looking to inspire and the style of activity you have opted for.

For any collaborative activity to run well, you must think through the content of the handouts or activity material carefully to ensure it will lead to types of discussion (and the learning outcomes) that you are looking for and ultimately to be sure that the activity will actually work!

We'd love to hear how you've applied the 5 steps and how your CL exercises have gone - in the meantime, we hope this has helped make the design process just that little bit easier.

Fiona

www.thematerialbank.co.uk

www.zostera.co