Pass It On

Engaging Strategy
An engaging strategy guides participants to explain or apply ideas, elaborate on their thought processes, listen to each other and build upon the ideas of others, and reflect on and process what they are learning.
Description

Participants individually reflect on a prompt, and then silently write and silently share their ideas with one another. Each person reads and reflects on several responses from other participants before a group discussion.

When and Why

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This activity enables participants to share ideas with each other in a quiet, focused way. Individual reflection that is done silently encourages a wide range of original thinking before sharing in the larger group and being influenced by others. It is particularly useful after a round of active engagement, and is especially appreciated by more introverted people.

How to Facilitate

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  1. Reflect on the current context, the demographics of participants, and the purpose of this engagement. 
  2. Provide a sheet of paper to each participant and instruct them to fold it so that the creases form six boxes and put their name in the upper-left box.
  3. Ask participants to think of an important idea they have learned or that has recently been reinforced during this engagement. 
  4. Give participants 1 to 3 minutes to write it down in Box 1 (the box they wrote their name in).
  5. Instruct participants to pass their sheet to another participant (e.g., the person next to them at the table), who will silently read what was written in the first box. 
  6. That person will add an idea in Box 2 (upper-right box). Explain that participants should not repeat ideas that are already listed, but rather should generate new ideas. 
  7. Ask participants to continue passing the papers and adding ideas until all of the boxes are filled with ideas. 
  8. When the papers are filled in, instruct participants to return the sheets to their original owners.
  9. Debrief by asking, “What did you learn from reading your paper when it was filled in? Did anyone have similar ideas? Or ideas that pushed your own thinking?”

Modification

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  • Fold the papers into quarters if time is short. Invite participants to share one new idea on their completed paper that they particularly interested in or agree with. This can be also done as a partner activity, trading papers back-and-forth with one other person. You may wish to give conversation time after the writing sections to discuss areas of disagreement and to clarify for accuracy and meaning.
  • In a virtual environment, create a shared slide deck to serve as the folded paper. Participants begin on their assigned slide and progress through each slide, adding an idea to each. The person using the last slide will move to slide 1.

How does Pass It On support SEL?

Self-Awareness/Identity:
Participants have an opportunity to understand their own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior across contexts. Facilitators consider their own and participants’ identities in the design of the practice.

Responsible Decision-Making/Curiosity:
Participants have an opportunity to make caring and constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions across diverse situations. Facilitators design an activity that leads to the pursuit of knowledge and different perspectives and contributes to attention, engagement, and learning.
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