Icebreakers and Energizers:Make Your Meetings and

Workshops Active!

Washington Library Association ConferenceFriday, April 11, 200310am-NoonYakima Washington

Sponsored by WLA, WALT Interest GroupWashington Library Trainers

Presenters:Jess Chandler, Sno-Isle Regional LibraryKandy Turk, Sno-Isle Regional LibraryElizabeth Iaukea, Washington State LibraryKaren Miller, Kitsap Regional LibraryMary Ross, Seattle Public LibraryMary Stillwell, Independent Consultant/TrainerSusanne Woodford, King County Library System

Facilitated by: Tina Bixby, Whatcom County Library

CLOSED QUESTIONS

Yes/No response or a specific answer.

What does URL stand for?

OPEN QUESTIONS

No single answer. Require discussion and encourage sharing ofexperiences.

Why would you want to use the Internet?

RELAY AND RETURN QUESTIONS

Thrown back to the questioner or to the group. Encourage group tointeract and promote active learning. (Also good if you dont know the answer!)

Thats a good question, John. Does anyone have any experience withthat?

What do you think is the best way to find a book that is misfiled on theSLICK shelves?

LEADING QUESTIONS

Guide the learner in the right direction.

So, you would use CIV for?

NEXT-STEP QUESTIONS

After a concept has been explained, prompt the learner to the next step.

Then, what do we need to do next to put a patrons name back in the Holdqueue?

ASKING QUESTIONS ISMORE EFFECTIVE THAN

GIVING ANSWERS.

Choose your words carefully.

What do you think about?What is your experience with?

NOTWho knows the answer to?

First ask the question of the whole group, then to anindividual.

Give learners time to respond.

Dont always stop at the first response. What do othersthink?

Use questions to check understanding.Does that make sense?Is my explanation clear?

Find something positive about every answer.

Avoid saying that an answer is wrong. Guide learnersto the right answer.

Create an atmosphere that encourages participation.

Treat their questions equally.

Different and the Same IceBreaker

This is a diversity icebreaker to show that although we havedifferent cultures and languages, we are also united by oursimilarities that cross language barriers.

There is some advance preparation for this activity.

On a slip of paper, write the name of an animal that makes anobvious noise, a country, and the sound that animal makes in thelanguage of that country. Create at least two papers of eachanimal, but with different sounds/countries.

For example, if I have a group of 10, I could have:2 ducks (different countries and different sounds)2 horses (different countries and different sounds)2 birds (different countries and different sounds)2 monkey (different countries and different sounds)2 cows (different countries and different sounds)

(or I could have 5 ducks of different countries,and 5 monkeys of different countries)

There will be more fun if you have more animals!

Give each participant one of the slips of paper, but tell them tokeep their animal a secret. The participants are to find the restof their kind, but there is NO talking. So, how do they find theothers? They have to make the noise of the animal. Once two ofthe same kind have found each other, they stay together to findmore. Continue until all of the like animals have created one biggroup or the time is up.

This will definitely create some energy and fun for adults!

HeyWere a Lot Alike

Use as: Icebreaker or GameObjectives: Finding commonalities

Team-buildingDiversity

Activity:(1) Divide the class or meeting into small groups (2-4 each).(2) After dividing the group, designate a scribe for the group. This can be done byasking for each group to find out whose birthday is next, and then asking thatperson to select a scribe.(2) Tell participants that this is a competition among groups, to see who cancome up with the longest list. The topic of the list is: Things We All Have inCommon(3) Tell participants that when you ring the bell or chimes (or clap your hands),they can begin. At that time they need to come up with a list of everything theycan discover about one another that they have in common. Give them a coupleof examples: Brown eyes; like to read mysteries. Tell them theyll have fiveminutes, and to continue adding to the list until you ring the bell (or make thenoise) again.(4) Give them five minutes between chimes.(5) Now find out whos the winner. Ask first, who had five or more? Then, whohad eight or more? And so on until youve established the winning group. Give abag of candy to the winning group. (If you give each group a couple of opencontainers of candy, theyre likely to share with the others during the workshop.)

Time: About 15 minutes

Materials needed:Flipchart paper (one for each small group)Flipchart markers (one for each small group)Chimes, bell, or other noisemaker (Your own hands clapping works just fine, too.)Bag of candy

Useful when: A workshop or meeting is composed of people who eitherdont know one another, or who dont work closely together as part of the sameteam, or who work in very different jobs.

Source of activity unknown.

Mary Bucher RossTraining CoordinatorSeattle Public Librarymary.ross@spl.org

FOCUS ON LEARNERSTips for Technology Training

Do you provide technical training (Internet, library catalog,database) for library staff or users?

Here are some tips to make your training interactive, involving,and fun!

Attract the attention of the learners at the beginning by using a hook.This can be a question, a story, a joke, a personal experience or an unusualfact, connected to the learning objectives.

Chunk content into digestible units. Provide lots of practice time. For a60 minute class, plan for 30 minutes of content and 30 minutes of practice.

Use their names and their needs. Provide name tents (Trainers Warehousesells name tents that have an erasable whiteboard surface for re-usability).In the introductions, ask learners to give their names and one thing theywant to be able to do as a result of this training. Then use their needs indemonstrating Web or catalog searches.

Take a MindBreak. I use the brainteasers in Games Trainers Play (McGraw-Hill, 1980) for quick, fun exercises that give learners a break inconcentration and get them interacting with each other.

We learn what we do. Your role is to facilitate their learning, not to give alecture or a fancy slide presentation.

Give learners a sense of control over the entire learning process; offerchoices whenever possible. Do reality checks if you sense that a breakis needed, or to find out which activity they prefer to do next.

Use team and partnered learning activities. Ask them to work in pairs orsmall groups, searching the same question with a variety of approachesand comparing the results.

Constantly give immediate real-world applications for whatever you aredemonstrating. This is where their needs become important. (Here is agreat resource to help your children with their homework assignments.)

Never take control of the keyboard or mouse for your learners. Even whenits slower, they learn better when they do it themselves.

Asking questions is more effective than giving answers. Avoid ClosedQuestions that seek a specific answer. Instead use Open, Relay, Leadingand Next-Step Questions. Always create an environment that encouragesquestions and comments.

Use open, welcoming body language and walk away from the podium to thegroup. Indicate that you welcome their comments and questions with armin L-shape, open hand, palm up.

A little trick to get more participation from a reluctant groupask a closedquestion (Who has used Google?) to the group, look for hands or nods,then follow up with an open question to an individual. (John, tell us aboutwhat you use Google for.)

Use analogies to build mental bridges between what learners already knowand what is new to them.

Check for understanding. Did I explain that clearly? Does this makesense?

Walk around the room while learners are working on practice exercises.Observe their progress, reinforce and coach one-to-one. Many people willnot ask a question in front of the whole group for fear of appearing stupid.

RESOURCES

Bruners, Daina A. How to Deliver Dynamic Training: 77 Sensational Tipsfor Computer Instructors. Dynamite Press International, 1997.

Clothier, Paul. The Complete Computer Trainer. Computing McGraw-Hill, 1996.

Masie, Elliott. The Computer Training Handbook: Strategies for Helping Peopleto Learn Technology. Lakewood Publications, 1998.

Newstrom, John W. Games Trainers Play. McGraw-Hill, 1980.

Sugar, Steve. Games That Teach: Experiential Activities for Reinforcing Training.Jossey-Bass, 1998.

WALKING BILLBOARDS A Get-Acquainted Activity Objectives: To provide an active way for participants in the training to get acquainted and share interests with each other. To take the first step in creating a community of learners.

Supplies needed: Easel with pad of paper, colored marker pens, masking tape.

Procedure: Tell the group that they have an opportunity to design their own get-acquainted session. Ask them to list the things that they would like to discover about the other participants in the training. List these on the pad of paper.

Examples:

1. talents or hobbies

2. a person they admire

3. best book recently read

4. all-time favorite movie

5. ideal vacation

Ask for a quick vote on the three top preferences from the items listed. Using a rough tabulation, select the five or six items receiving the greatest support, and identify those for the group. Provide every participant with a sheet of flip chart paper and markers. Ask them to place their name at the top, list the five or six categories down the left side, and answer each for themselves. Now (and this will produce some laughter) use masking tape to attach the sheet to the persons shoulders (they will look like walking billboards). Then invite them to walk around the room and discover what others wrote. Time Required: 20 minutes Source: Still More Games Trainers Play Anytime, Anywhere Answers http://wlo.statelib.wa.gov/services/vrs/training.cfm Page 1 of 1

6544 54th Avenue NESeattle, WA 98115

206-524-0429

SAFETYICEBREAKERS, ENERGIZERS & CLOSURESCompiled by Susanne Woodford, King County Library System, susannew@kcls.org

Vulnerability Analysis IcebreakerUse this activity to help participants focus on probable emergencysituations or disasters that could happen.

Pass out the Vulnerability Analysis Chart to the group.Choose the first column probability and ask them to indicatefrom 1 to 5 (5 definitely it could happen to 1 no it is not likely)Give them 5 minutes and then poll the group for similar ratings foreach disaster. This chart allows in depth analysis on emergencydisasters likely to happen at the workplace with follow updiscussion by manager with staff.

101 Ways to Use a Diaper EnergizerUse this activity to help participants generate new

ideas relating to emergency situation or disaster.

I have used this energizer following a discussion onearthquake preparedness. Show a disposable to the group.Ask them to work in pairs and list five ways you can use adiaper in an emergency situation. Review the lists with thewhole group. Takes 5 minutes.

Communication Methods EnergizerList 5 alternate ways to communicate in an emergencyother than using the telephone.

Using the same activity scenario as above.