Creating Inspiring Workshops and Courses in Transdisciplinarity: A Guide - Manual / Resource - Page 32
What other considerations are important when doing interactive activities?
Drawing on the work of The Surprising Power of Liberating Structures and other workshop designers, it is important to
consider:
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Introductions: How will you introduce the participants or invite them to introduce themselves?
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Requests: What is your request? Are you asking them to think together or on their own in particular activities?
What are you asking of them?
•
Space: How is the space arranged and what materials do you/participants need? The arrangement can support or
conflict with your goal. For example, trainees seated around a large table while listening to a lecture may then be
asked to engage in a deep listening exercise. However, the room setup does not lend itself to that kind of activity.
Consider accessing nearby break-out rooms to accommodate the exercise. Participants will need time to go to and
return from the nearby rooms.
•
Grouping: How will you group participants? Do you want random groups? Do you want as much diversity as
possible in each group, or have people interact according to some criteria or characteristic? How big should the
groupings be for different kinds of activities?
•
Timing: How much time is needed? Allow enough time for people to integrate the learning. Time is a scarce
resource, but if the goal is to be able to apply or implement, you will need to provide time for reflection, ask
questions, discuss with others, and simulate through activities that explore or further develop capacities. Also, the
clearer you are in your instructions, the less time is needed for trainees to orient to the task.
•
Interaction: What is the degree of desired interaction? How much time do you allocate for presentation, discussion,
“learning by doing” activities? When do you divide the group into pairs, triads, small groups?
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Psychological Safety: What is the degree of candor that you would like to foster? What will you do to promote
“psychological safety” or create a space that is “safe enough?” What activities can you do to allow conflicting ideas
to emerge, and how will you deal with/use the energy and tension that emerges?
Basics of training design
Agenda
