Sometimes ‘small and quick’ exercises can create learning moments of lasting impact. Try this short exercise when you next want to demonstrate the difficulty of causing people to change their habits or routines.
Explain to the learners that this is a short exercise for exploring aspects of change in a practical way.
Ask everyone to stretch out their arms in front of them, and then bring their hands together, clasp their hands and wait for your next instruction.
Now say “In a moment I am going to give you an instruction, and you must follow it as quickly as you can.”
Pause for a moment then say –
“Raise your arms in the air, and now – quickly bring your hands down and clasp them again – with the other thumb on top.”
Give no other information. Wait for a moment watching their hands come together. After a few seconds ask
“Has everyone got their ‘other thumb’ on top?”
Most will agree, and you can now ask them how they know it is the ‘other thumb’?
You will get replies like –
“It feels strange/unfamiliar/ awkward?” “I had to check when I clasped my hands which one was on top, and then I changed them.”
There may be other responses, including “I realised I didn’t know which thumb had been on top so I had to go to the start position and then change.”
Invite comment about the sequential moments of action, and then draw attention to the topic of ‘change’ and how this simple motion of ‘changing thumbs’ has brought to mind the likely problems that they may face in bringing change into focus in their own contexts.
The next post will use this activity to work through the normal sequence of actions to successfully apply such an exercise in a learning context.
Playing With Knowledge 