Bring closure to each experience and build a bridge to participants’ next step in an intentional way:
- Make connections to one’s own work. Demonstrate appreciation for one another.
- Highlight individual and/or shared understanding of the content and purpose of this time together.
- Reflect on the impact of the shared experience and how it leads to a clear next step.
An intentional close can be:
- A routine that supports individual reflection on understanding.
- An activity for group summarizing or collective processing.
- A ritual that signals the end of the engagement and transition to something new.
- An opportunity for appreciation for one another, the shared learning, and experience.
Examples
Write a letter to your “future self” about what you learned from this session and what you’d like to take away. It may be appropriate to encourage participants to offer “sage advice and heartfelt appreciations” to remind themselves of their goals and aspirations of today.
Read moreParticipants form a human bar graph by standing in a row that best represents their response to a prompt.
Read moreAt the end of an engagement, participants are asked to reflect on something that they are curious about as a result of the presentation/meeting/lesson. They will then share their reflection with a partner or with their table group.
Read moreClose the engagement or class by inviting participants to make a commitment to take immediate action based on the topic and their experience in the session.
Read moreThe facilitator invites a moment of reflection on the current experience, then sets a timer for one minute to allow the group to contribute toward seeing how many voices can be added to the room during that time.
Read moreParticipants are asked to consider and name a take away—an idea, strategy, tool, action step—that they want to try out.
Read moreThis activity is a quick and easy way of starting out or closing a session. The facilitator asks a question or provides a prompt and participants think before going around and providing a one-word answer. As always, reinforce everyone’s right to pass if they wish.
Read moreParticipants review social and emotional skills that they used or saw others use during the engagement and select one to share with the group.
Read moreParticipants reflect on and then share takeaways from the experience using playing card suits as a novel way to categorize a focus area for their response.
Read moreParticipants form a standing circle, join hands, and are surprised when the connection of their hands allows the UFO/Energy Ball to light up. When they stop touching hands the ball is silenced.
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