Connect Service to Life
Posted on Sunday, July 19th, 2009
Processing the experience is a core component of an effective service learning experience. You can process in a group or have group members create journals or portfolios. The questions here can be used for any [...]
continue readingProcess in Concentric Circles
Posted on Sunday, July 19th, 2009
Concentric Circles works great both for processing and for getting your group to get to know each other. I’ve used it many times to create “teachable moments.” As a processing technique, it’s a good illustration [...]
continue readingWrite a Six-Word Memoir
Posted on Sunday, July 19th, 2009
Last winter, my daughter, one of her friends and I wrote six-word memoirs to sum up our days. This exercise was based on the very popular book called “Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word [...]
continue readingBackward Planning
Posted on Sunday, July 19th, 2009
Here is another group process for committees or small groups to use once they’ve decided on an activity. They start with the final activity, event or outcome and work backwards to define the steps toward [...]
continue readingPlan with Post-Its
Posted on Sunday, July 19th, 2009
Once your group has decided on an activity to do, this process helps the group move toward making it happen. It could be done with the whole group, but it might be more effective in [...]
continue readingHave Fun Generating Ideas
Posted on Saturday, July 18th, 2009
Here is a site that gives a clear description of brainstorming, with a process for narrowing ideas after the initial discussion.
These eight rules provide some background for refining your brainstorming techniques for the best results [...]
Create Meaningful Advisory Structures
Posted on Friday, July 17th, 2009
Providing opportunities for making choices and speaking out are critical components of positive youth development programs. But it’s challenging to do this with a large group of kids who may want to go in 30 [...]
continue readingDiscussion Topics
Posted on Friday, July 17th, 2009
Okay, I put it out there–What are some good discussion topics for middle school girls? Here is the first response I got on Facebook–
–music, clothes, dance, friendship and who’s cute-circa 1970′s
–music, clothes, dance, friendship and [...]
Fishbowl Discussion
Posted on Friday, July 17th, 2009
A fishbowl discussion allows everyone in a large group to participate in a series of small group discussions. In a group larger than four or five it’s hard for everyone to have a chance to speak. [...]
continue readingPleasure Meter
Posted on Wednesday, July 15th, 2009
The Pleasure Meter is a good activity to start discussion early in a program, but not right at the beginning. It acquaints participants with each other, indicates preferences and lets us find out about the [...]
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