Category: Chiji Cards

Bright - Blurry - Blind (An Information Awareness Activity Using Image Cards Shared by Mike Cardus)

4/27/2023

(About a 12-minute read)

I was on a 'links-adventure' (a.k.a., rabbit hole) and wound up at an activity from Mike Cardus (an Organizational Development consultant who focuses on a group "progress-focussed process" to help his clients find solutions to their most pressing challenges). Mike is an experiential educator and innovative creator. Over the years I've collected some of Mike's activities to meet the needs of my own groups. Mike - BIG Thank You! for what you do! (Check out Mike's Resources page.)

Bright - Blurry - Blind is what I call an 'Information Awareness' activity. It involves Image Cards, prompting questions, reflection and discovery.

QUICK NOTES:

Mike's description includes the example of facilitating within a corporate setting with specific 'departments' working through this process. After the description I include some commentary about using this one with other types of groups.
Why use Image Cards? Why not just discuss, document and share what's Bright, Blurry and Blind? The brain fires up for some people when they see things. Visuals remind us. We also get to focus on the 'card' when bringing up a thought - "the card reminds me of..." is a reflection away from self which can be more comfortable for some. It's like asking, "Find a useful quote." without providing context versus "Find a useful quote about friendship." Visual images give us some context.

Here is Mike's most recent approach:

Bright - Blurry - Blind
An initiative that highlights the value of cooperation rather than competition.

Group Size:
5 - 500; participants are asked to work in their existing work teams, i.e., Accounting is together on one team, Human Resources is together on another team, Sales, and so on.

Time Required:
60-120 minutes, depending on group size and the momentum of the discussions.

Materials:

Flip chart paper - at least two sheets per functional work group
A variety of magic markers
Metaphor Cards; cards with images on them with no ultimate meaning. These cards allow participants to discuss and determine the team BRIGHT - BLURRY - BLIND areas.

Goals:

Providing an opportunity for the work teams and participants to think and speak about concerns and give accolades to each other creates a powerful learning environment.
By illuminating topics within departments and the organization, work teams can brainstorm and strengthen their connection with each other.
Facilitating an overall "one team" atmosphere and empowering the participants to share successful information and techniques that may have never been shared in an open forum.

Briefing: (A sample script)
We all know a number of our work teams' and organization's ideas and issues seem obvious to us, not anyone else. Together, it is important to create a culture of transparent and open communication of needs and requirements for our teams and individuals to be their most effective. I ask that one representative from each team come and gather a small stack of metaphor cards, two pieces of flip chart paper, and some markers, then return to their team.

The metaphor cards are general images that will aid your team in clarifying the areas that will be discussed. Metaphor cards have no right or wrong, good or bad, positive or negative meaning. Their meaning will be what you and your team attach to them.

I will ask each work team to choose three metaphor cards with various meanings. Each team must agree on the three cards to use and what each card will symbolize for them. Here's what you'll be looking for in the cards:

One Card will represent BRIGHT - Bright is an issue or topic out in the open, clearly evident to the team about the organization. Bright is common knowledge; everyone knows this is an area of concern for the work team and the organization.

The second card representing BLURRY - Blurry is known and not spoken about enough, a subject that should become Brighter. Blurry is the undercurrent water cooler talk, the area the work team feels insecure about, and its status within the organization. Blurry is a topic or issue; if made brighter, much of the "Gossip" would cease, and questions would be answered.

The third card represents what they feel is BLIND - Blind is not known, missing from the system, or that the work team feels kept from them. Blind issues or topics are ones that the team feels they are the only ones who struggle with, and no other work teams are aware of. When the Blind problems and questions became Brighter, the organization would become transparent and create a paradigm shift towards trust and excellence.

The work teams are then asked to go ahead and choose the three metaphor cards (one for BRIGHT, one for BLURRY, and one for BLIND), write these on flip chart paper and then present the BRIGHT - BLURRY - BLIND to the entire organization and work teams that are present for the activity. [Note from Chris: I'm thinking, I'll have each group stick their cards on the flip chart paper with (light-stick) painters tape and then write out (next to the card), what it represents. It adds a colorful visual to the presentation.]

Processing:
BRIGHT - BLURRY - BLIND is an initiative that can stir up powerful emotions and discussions. Use this process with a group that is willing to explore and grow - tell them up front what's about to take place to see if they want to go down this road. Be open and prepared for criticizing and touching on topics that create conflict. This initiative's ending can make some real growth and increase trust within the organization.

After each team has had the chance to present their BRIGHT - BLURRY - BLIND charts, ask them to hang them on the walls. Give participants approximately 15-30 minutes (more time if necessary) to walk around and view the other teams flip chart papers; allow time for some disorderly speaking and questions and answers sessions.

Following the unstructured viewing, call the participants back into their work teams. Ask them to gather their flip chart papers so they can reference them during the discussion.

Some possible processing questions:
• How were the metaphor cards chosen for the BRIGHT, the BLURRY, and the BLIND?
• How effective was the group's communication process?
• In what ways were disagreements settled?
• What was the easy part? What made it easy?
• What was the challenging part? What challenges were faced?
• Are there any common themes that we noticed amongst all the departments?
• What BLURRY topics can we discuss right now to make BRIGHT?
• Any surprises that were found amongst teams with the BLIND areas?
• Are the areas BRIGHT to one team BRIGHT to all or other teams?
• What are the causes of BRIGHT BLURRY BLIND topics within organizations?
• How can we as a team minimize the BLIND areas?
• What are you going to do with this information?

Follow Through
End the day by creating a team of individuals responsible for addressing and developing a system to enhance organizational transparency and communication. The team can use the information gathered as starting points.

DO NOT LET THIS INFORMATION GO UNUSED! Lead this team-building activity and do nothing. You will create a more hostile and subversive environment than before you began.

Variations:

Try the activity without the metaphor cards; use plastic animals (sharks, camels, pigs, donkeys), Fruit (real or plastic), or no props ask the questions.
Have the participants paint the BRIGHT BLURRY BLIND on canvases using acrylic or latex paints. Then hang the artwork in the lobby, classroom, or office space.

Other Kinds of Groups (from Chris)
After reading this activity I made the assumption that the best scenario would be dividing into 'work teams' that have at least two people in them - everyone will have some support when presenting information. (In other words, I would not facilitate this activity without organizing small teams of some sort.)

My thinking deviates a bit from Mike's intention on the 'Blind' step since it represents an "issue or topic" that only the specific team struggles with. But I think, overall, we can still keep the spirit of the activity. Here is one way I would set it up:

(Climer Cards - my Chiji and Climer Cards are always with me.)

Many organizations, especially non-profit ones, include people who wear multiple hats - they are part of many different 'departments'. Let's say there are nine full time employees who oversee programs populated by seasonal staff (e.g., camps). I would divide the full timers into three groups of three and give them each a set of image cards. (I would make every effort to create small groups that felt comfortable working together during this activity. This effort may involve speaking to the top admin person to find out what groupings could work.)

I'd set up the activity just like Mike describes (above) with one adjustment to the 'Blind' information. I would simply ask each small group to choose an image that represents something they think their administration team is blind to - something they are not looking at or are hesitant to address. Then the groups would work through the process.

For example, one group comes up with the three cards above. They attach these cards (with light painters tape) to a piece of flip chart paper. Next to the cards they write:

We have too many 'open' projects going on in our organization without enough time or resources to get them done. People are counting on these projects to get done - if they don't get it effects our programming and in turn, our clients.
The 'communication' across our organization is not always clear. This creates stress across staff lines. Missed or misunderstood information effects our programming and clients.
There are some things we do together that work out very well (the center area of the Ven). However, many of us are in siloed 'bubbles' which limits the resources we can share with each other (which goes back to communication). How can we make the center of the Ven bigger?

These flip charts get posted around the room and the process continues (as described above).

Within the spirit of Mike's activity there is the underlying realization that not everything can be addressed at one time. However, using this Bright - Blurry - Blind process can provide data for a list concerns that can be translated into goals for teams to work on and work through together.

Keep doing the good work out there! It's not always easy, but together we can get it done.

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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Quadistinctions (with Playing Cards & Chiji Cards)

6/18/2021

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In one of my recent FUNdoing Fridays emails I shared a link to a Free Experiential Learning Manual from RSVP Designs (free as in, give them your email free - but I like this group, fantastic tools for team building). I recommend the manual as a useful tool for training new team building staff.

As I often do during my activity searches, I took an image capture of an activity shared in the manual in order to explore the idea at a different time. They call it, Making Novel Connections - an exercise in creative thinking (I'm calling it Quadistinctions). When I went back to explore, playing cards and Chiji (Image) Cards jumped to the front of the line. Here are the first several pieces of information for the activity from RSVP:

Take a pack of assorted picture cards that is divisible by 4 - we suggest a pack of 32 to 48 cards.
Lay the cards out on the table and ask the learners to sort them into sets of 4. Each set of 4 must have something that connects all the cards (e.g., animals)
The task is easy to begin with but becomes more difficult as fewer cards remain. It may be necessary to break up existing sets in order to fit existing images into sets.
Insist that the group's members 'force' all cards into sets of 4.
You can share that finding novel connections is a key skill when it comes to creative thinking.

NOTE: There are some other educational points shared in the manual if you want to dive in deeper.

Okay. I love the simplicity of the exercise. It's a good one for small groups (and larger groups divided into smaller groups - How will the different groups approach the problem and will answers be the same or different, or both?). It's nice for quiet cognitive engagement and can certainly be considered problem solving.

Now, since a deck of Chiji Cards has 48 images, I was ready to try it out (my 'out'come is below). However, since more team builders have access to playing cards I thought I'd try them first. Here's my thinking/idea right now (help me sort it out):

Quadistinctions with Playing Cards
NOTE: This is a different approach to the challenge suggested by RSVP Designs.

Give each group (of 3 to 5 learners) a set of playing cards that include the Aces through the eights (put aside the nines through Kings).
Challenge the group to discover the 12 different 'distinct' groupings (all cards organized into sets of 4 cards meeting the distinction) on the Master List (below).
The distinctions for the groupings must be 'arguable' - groupings that are clear and obvious (you, as the facilitator may need to explain your expectations when necessary).
After forming the sets of 4 to make the distinction, groups may not use these formed sets as another distinction - may not name the formed sets more than one thing.
If a clear and obvious distinction is discovered by a group, one that is not on the list, it can be written onto the list and categorized as a 'creative discovery' - but will not count towards completing the challenge.
Be sure to set a time limit for the challenge (e.g., 20 minutes) or end it when one group finds all 12 distinctions.

As with any Beta testing, let me know how this works for you. And let me know if you have any questions about the distinctions I've come up with (some might not make sense or could be the same as another distinction). Here's the Master List (so far):

quadistinctions_playingcards.pdf
File Size:	29 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

Quadistinctions with Chiji Cards
Well, I gave myself 30 minutes for my first attempt with Chiji Cards following the RSVP Directions for Image Cards. I almost made it...I'll be making another attempt soon. Here's what I came up with creating 11 out of the possible 12 sets of 4...

I would be super-excited to find out about your success - with whatever deck of image cards you have available. (The next deck I'm going to try is Climer Cards.) Send your discovery to [email protected] Thank you in advance!!

Have fun out there my friend!

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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Image Perspectives (a Chiji Cards Activity)

5/6/2021

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Image cards are truly one of the most versatile team building prop (in my opinion). My two favorite decks of images are Chiji Cards (above) and Climer Cards (both physical and virtual decks). And, one of my favorite projects to do with long-term groups (e.g., school-based classes that meet regularly), is to make our own set of image cards (digital resources and magazine cut-outs, laminated).

Recently, I was searching for resources for a curriculum development project. One of the curriculum's themes is 'Diversity' so, naturally, I picked up my copy of Diversity in Action: Using Adventure Activities to Explore Issues of Diversity with Middle School and High School Age Youth by Chappelle, Bigman & Hillyer (an amazing book!). Digging through the book I came across the activity, Human Camera (Rohnke, Silver Bullets). In the Diversity Skills section of the activity the authors state, "This activity lends itself well to discussions about how each of us perceives the world differently."

Based on the environmental context where the curriculum was going to be delivered (the school's indoor and outdoor spaces), I knew Human Camera was not going to be as 'rich' as it needed to be. How could I do something similar to make the point about perceiving the world differently? Image cards came to mind. Here's what I'm thinking (another Beta Test my friend!):

Image Perspectives

Set Up: Scatter out your set(s) of image cards, images up, on the floor or a few tables. When working with six or more participants, form small groups of three or four in a group. (This is a good activity for small groups of six or less.)

Frontload: (Using some of the language from Diversity in Action) "This activity lends itself well to discussions about how each of us perceives the world differently. People who look at the same 'image' often see it differently. Let's try out this idea."

Directions:

Sit together with your small group around in the program area. Give yourself a little space away from other groups so you can carry on a discussion without interrupting each other.
One person from your small group is invited to find an image from the pool of cards that is the backdrop for a story that happened in the person's life.
The image/card chooser returns to her/his group and shows the image.
First, each of the choosers group members is invited to share a story this image brings up for them - something from their lives. [In most cases, I'm guessing, something will come up for everyone. If someone needs to "Pass" it's okay.]
The person who choose the image/card will then tell the story about what the image means to her/him.
After this sharing, each small group is given the opportunity to discuss the similarities and differences between their stories. Their perspectives of the same image.
Then, someone else from the small group is invited to choose an image/card from the pool that tells a story for him/her.
The process continues for each participant within each small group. (If others are still working through their first turn, the groups done with their first turn can invite someone from their group to take another turn - pick a new image/card that tells another story.)

Group Processing (These two question are what I would like to explore with the whole group. Inspired by the Human Camera activity in Diversity in Action):

How do our different perspectives, or stories, about the things we see influence how we react to the world around us?
Please share some first hand examples of this idea?

Let me know if you try this one. How did it go? What did you change?

All the best,

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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Consensus Building with Chiji Cards

8/14/2019

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Recently, at a training for some amazing educators, I had another opportunity to work with my Chiji Cards. For me, they are a 'grounding' prop, one that I have been using in impactful ways for over 20 years (they were the first image cards on the scene way-back-when). Now, there are a wide variety of 'image cards' that can be used to build community in all-kindsa ways. (My second favorite set of image cards: Climer Cards.) And, I've seen some homemade image cards that are amazing - just cut out and laminate pictures from magazines and catalogs. (I'm actually working on a print-n-play set of my own - drawing the images on my iPad.)

After this recent training I was looking through my Chiji Guidebook materials and found this great story from Jennifer Stanchfield of Experiential Tools - Jennifer is an amazing educator, trainer and author working with people all over the world. Here's one of her Chiji stories:

My favorite ways to use the cards are
group consensus methods.
Jennifer Stanchfield

My favorite ways to use the cards are group consensus methods. This came out of one of those accidental inventions of facilitation that occur when you are confronted with having to adapt your favorite activities to new parameters. I made a major switch in my facilitation approaches when I moved from working with small groups in the therapeutic setting to larger classroom groups in public schools.

I first came across the cards early on in my training career when I was searching out tools and ideas that would help the recreational therapy students I was teaching in my program at the university hospital. I wanted to show them how to become more comfortable with processing.

The Chiji Cards were introduced in an experiential education magazine as a tool for novice facilitators and Steve Simpson and I connected around that article. [Steve is one of the creators of the cards and the co-author, with me, on, The Chiji Guidebook: A Collection of Experiential Activities and Ideas for Using Chiji Cards]

When I started using the cards with my own groups I found that that they weren’t just a “tool for beginners." As a seasoned facilitator I appreciated the depth of conversation and insight that came out of participant’s connection to the metaphoric images.

I used the cards successfully in my small groups of adolescents and family groups at the hospital. Because they had become one of my favorite tools I of course carried them with me to my classroom settings as well. When I moved to these larger groups I couldn’t use them in the same way I had at the hospital, as it was impractical, due to time constraints, for 24 students to pick individual cards and share in a class session. So one day after a group challenge in the physical education classroom I tried spreading out the whole deck of cards on the gym floor and asked the whole group of students to come to agreement on one that represented what they achieved together.

I became hooked on this method after seeing the group drawn in by the cards and treating processing as an engaging group problem rather than “that boring thing you do after the fun activity”, not to mention the rich dialogue that occurred as the students discussed coming to consensus on one card. The student’s shared profound insights about the cards and their connection to the activity/learning as they came to consensus. It was if they were unaware that they were processing.

Since that time this has become my method of choice when using the cards. After an activity/important moment/ end of session, I just ask the group to come to consensus on one card/object that best represent their experience as a group, the strengths of the group, or something they have achieved together.

Thanks Jennifer for sharing your story. How about you? Do you have a favorite activity using image cards? What are your favorite image cards? Leave us a Comment so we can learn together.

All the best,

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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Relationships Too: Chiji Cards

9/11/2017

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In The Chiji Guidebook: A Collection of Experiential Activities and Ideas for Using Chiji Cards (I co-authored with Steve Simpson), there is an object lesson activity called Relationships. In this activity you spread the deck of image cards out on the floor or table and ask your participants to scan the cards and look for "relationships" between two or three cards. When they find cards that relate they call out "RELATIONSHIP" and then pull out the two or three cards and share what relationship they see. After the share, the cards are placed back into the mix and more relationships are called.

For example, looking at the cards above, I see an eagle and an ostrich. They are both birds. (I cannot say they both fly since the ostrich is a flightless bird.) Or, I could pick out the lamp and the fire - the lamp can hold a flame, or they both provide light.

The facilitated objective behind the Relationships activity is to open up a conversation with participants about relationships. After you "play the game" for a while you can present questions like: What is important to you in a relationship? What do you bring to a relationship? What strains a relationship? What sorts of relationships are there? How can we fix relationships when they seem broken? An so on.

Recently I came up with Relationships Too. I wanted the interaction with the cards to be more random, a bit more challenging. I wanted to force more creative thinking sooner in the activity process (since, when I used this activity for the first time with a small group of corporate adults, I had little time to reach the "innovative thinking" objective I was asked to cover).

Here's the idea. Shuffle the deck of Chiji Cards and set the deck on the table. Then, place two cards (drawn from the top of the deck) to one side of the deck (see pictures above). Ask the group, "What relationships can you make between the two cards showing?" After an answer I ask, "Is there another relationship?" And again, "Is there another relationship?" I go on with this question until someone (or more than someone) tells me there are no more relationships they can see (Note: There is often some frustration that surfaces in the first round or two over my "incessant" question - good stuff to talk about!). After determining there are no more relationships between the two cars, someone in the group can flip over another card and place it on top of either of the two cards showing. Then, play continues. "What relationships can you make between the two cards showing?" "Is there another relationship?"

In both versions of Relationships (for me), the "easy" connections are identified right away. Then, over time, more complex relationships emerge. How many relationships can you make between the Farm card and the Rainbow card? How about the Farm and the Rabbit cards? (Is it only a Rabbit?) Again, both versions allow me to explore the complexities of relationships AND they help me emphasize that after we get past the "easy" answers, more complex and innovative ideas can emerge.

Resource Notes:
Find your copy of The Chiji Guidebook and Cards HERE.
Change up Relationships with Climer Cards. Find them HERE.
Go to Wood 'N' Barnes Publishing for a FREE Chiji Card Processing Activity HERE.

Have FUN out there my friends. Keep me posted.

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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Consensus Line Ups (Chiji Cards)

6/22/2017

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Needs: One suit of standard playing cards, one set of Chiji cards (13 to 18) that are easier to identify (we’ll call these the “general” cards), and one set of Chiji cards (13 to 18) that are a bit more abstract (we’ll call these the “abstract” cards). The pictures provided are examples of the three sets - feel free to choose the cards you want to use with your groups.

NOTE 1: If you only choose 13 Chiji cards for the general and abstract sets this might lead the group to a solution where each of the Chiji cards represents one of the cards from a standard playing card suit – since the first line up is with the standard playing cards.

NOTE 2: The more Chiji cards you use in each of these two sets the more challenging the process becomes.

NOTE 3: If you don't have Chiji cards (yet), use another set of image cards that you can divide into general and abstract sets.

Numbers: This one plays a little better with smaller groups of four to six participants. However, you could have multiple groups playing at the same time if you have more than one deck of Chiji cards.

Time: 15 to 20 minutes

Process: Have all your card sets ready – again, the Chiji sets pictures provided in this write up are examples. You can pick your own cards for each set.

Consensus Line Ups is played in three rounds. Each round is played with a different set of cards. First the playing cards, then the general set of Chiji cards and finally the abstract set of Chiji cards.

Gather your group around a table or a comfortable place on the floor. Set down the suit of playing cards face up so all the cards can be seen. Give your group the following directions:

Line up the cards in order.
You may only touch the cards after you have reached a consensus as to how you are going to line them up.

You might spend some time talking about what consensus is all about and how groups might come to consensus. This activity (for me) is all about the process a group will go through to reach a decision.

After the group has successfully lined up the playing cards, spend some time on the relevant discussion questions below. Then, move into the next round of card line ups. If the group has already created some helpful norms around their decision-making process, the Chiji card rounds should move along smoothly. If the group is still working on their decision-making process this activity can help.

Discussion Questions:

Describe what you remember about how your group came up with line up ideas. Did you like the process of generating ideas or could it have been better? How could it have been better?
List all the line up ideas you remember hearing. Now that you picked a line up and completed the task, are there other line up ideas you overlooked? What are other possible ways to line up the cards?
Out of all the line up ideas that were suggested, how did you, as a group, decide on the idea to use?
What influenced your decision to agree with the line up idea that was used?
What influenced your decision to disagree with the line up suggested?
What does it take for a group to reach consensus on something?
What happens within a group when consensus is not reached on a decision? How does a group move forward?
What ideas do you have around reaching consensus together in the future?

This activity idea came to me while thinking about working with a small group of leaders (small group programming is much different for me than programming for the typical 12 to 24 participant groups). After using Consensus Line Ups for the first time I really liked it - maybe it was just the right group at the right time or maybe it's just (going to be) a good one for small group interactions. As noted above, these line ups provided a journey - the outcome itself was only the end of one journey (as noted by one of the leaders in the group), so that another journey could begin.

Other Chiji Cards Resources:
Living Cards (blog post)
Story Line Processing (blog post)
That Person Over There: Stories (blog post)

The Chiji Guidebook: A Collection of Experiential Activities and Ideas for Using Chiji Cards

Have FUN out there my friends! Keep me posted.

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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Story Line Processing with Chiji Cards

3/2/2017

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As many of you know I'm a fan of Chiji Cards. I love their versatility. They started out as a "picture processing" tool. Now, they can be used in a variety of activities. (See The Chiji Guidebook HERE.)

One of my favorite activities is using the cards to prompt "Personal Stories" that participants share with each other at different times throughout a program. I will use "happy moment" stories at the beginning of a program. I will use "challenging moment" stories after the group has some time to get to know each other. And, I will use "learning stories" at the end of a program to discuss important moments. In each case, participants pick a Chiji image card that prompts a story for them related to the theme.

In an earlier FUNdoing Blogpost, I shared about how I've been using Dixit cards to tell stories and create story lines (find it HERE). You can also create story lines using Chiji Cards (or your favorite image cards). Recently I found that the Dixit cards are a bit too complex for some of my younger groups (decoding the Dixit images takes more cognitive time), so I've gone back to using the simpler image Chiji Cards with them.

Story Line Processing with Chiji Cards

At the end of a program scatter all the Chiji Cards, image side up, on the floor/ground/table. Then ask your group to choose images that highlight different moment in times from their program. The timeline story can begin from before they even arrived at the program site to the point they are now, or even beyond - what will it be like once they leave the program site?

As the facilitator, use probing questions related to their overall program objectives to remind them of certain experiences within the sequence of the day. For example:

Before you arrived today, what were some of the feelings you were having? Find an image or images that represent those feelings.
Once you arrived and we started the program, what images represent how your group was interacting with each other?
During the Whale Watch (for example) what image best represents the way you were communicating with each other? Come to a consensus on just one image.
After the Team Wall, what image(s) best represent how you were doing as a "team"?
Looking back on the day, what image(s) best represent how you are feeling right now as a group?
Looking ahead, after you leave here today, what image(s) will best represent the things you want to remember to do when you go through the challenges ahead?

As the group chooses specific images, place them down in sequence to represent their timeline of work together. As they move down the timeline there will be fewer images to choose from. I like this consequence because it forces a little more creative thinking and image interpretation. After the timeline has been created, provide a brief summary of events for the group so they can hear "their program story" one more time before they go.

Be sure to get a picture of the timeline you can send them (e.g., multiple shots that can be cobbled together or a panorama) so they can print and post it as a reminder of their experience and learning.

Do you have a fun way to use Chiji Cards (or other image cards)? Leave us a comment below.

All the best,

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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That Person Over There: Stories

4/25/2016

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That Person Over There made it's debut as a no-prop activity in, The Empty Bag (Hammond & Cavert, 2003 - Find it Here). I added Chiji Processing Cards (shown above) to the next version for the activity in The Chiji Guidebook. In this first Chiji version of That Person Over There, everyone picks a card that represents a characteristic of themselves (e.g., for me I could pick the Turtle card and say I'm self sufficient). As the cards are exchanged, people are sharing the characteristic of the person that belongs to the card they are holding. Sharing one characteristic with others is fairly (but not always) easy to remember - so a pretty easy challenge.. In the newest variation I ask my participants to share a bit more about themselves in order to take the learning a little deeper.

That Person Over There: Stories I ask my participants to choose a Chiji image card (all the cards are spread out on a table or on the floor) that reminds them of an uplifting/happy story in their lives - a story they would be willing to share with someone else. When everyone has a card (with a story in mind) I ask them to find another person in the room and share their story (if they need someone to share with just tell them to raise a hand up and look for someone else doing the same thing - get together and share).

After each person shares their story with their partner the two switch cards. Each one then goes off to find someone else to talk with. When they meet up with a different person they will be sharing the story of the card they are holding and pointing out the person the card (story) belongs to. For example, if I have Katie's card I say, "This card belongs to Katie, she's over there (I point to Katie), the one in the blue shirt. She chose this card with a present on it because she loved Christmas time as a child - and still does." Then. my partner would do the same - point out the person who belongs to her card and then share the story. After we both share we exchange cards and go off to share the new story we are holding.

As I'm sure you can surmise, this activity is like the game Telephone. Messages have a tendency to change the more they are passed along. So, after about three minutes of exchanging stories I ask everyone to stop. Then, go find the person that is connected to the card in their possession. Have them tell the story they know about the card and find out how accurate it ends up. If there are some inaccuracies the true story can be shared between pairs. Everyone is asked to circle up after they get their card/story, back.

Powerful Lesson I'm sure it's obvious to you what major lesson can be drawn from information that changes as it's passed from person-to-person (e.g., gossip) - basically, you might not be able to believe all that you hear because of this dynamic. For me, there is a more powerful lesson from this direct experience. I end up asking the question, "Did anyone check with the person that told the original story about a card you received?" Everyone was milling around in close proximity to each other. It would be easy to check with anyone in the group. So, why didn't we do this? (And, why don't we do this in our everyday lives?) I've had some great conversations around this question in the recent past. It seems to boil down to, "We don't think about asking the person." Why is that? And, what do we want to do about this situation?

Note: Many of you know I'm partial to Chiji Cards, but any image cards can work, even pictures cut out of magazines. My next favorite sets of images are on the Climer Cards.

Let me know how this one goes for you!

All the best,

Chris Cavert

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