Questions

From Peacebuilding

Content Processing Activity – Questions

Contents 1 Aims: 2 Time: 3 Participants: 4 Materials: 5 Procedure: 6 Note:

Aims:

• To encourage participants to investigate the content introduced

• To help participants transform the content introduced “into their own words”

Time:

At least 20 minutes

Participants:

Any number

Materials:

• Flip chart paper

• Markers

• Visual aids illustrating the specific content being introduced

• Blank index cards and pencils for participants

Procedure:

I) Before the training course, prepare a presentation of the content you’d like to introduce to participants. Prepare visual aids to help participants follow you during the presentation. Try to keep your presentation down to less than 10 minutes, or break it down into sections if it gets longer.

II) Divide the plenary into groups of three and get the group members to sit close to one another.

III) After your presentation, ask the groups to prepare a list of questions related to the content introduced and further explore it. Tell them to prepare as many questions as possible. Allow sufficient time.

IV) Now ask the groups to select what they consider to be the five most relevant questions.

V) Get each group to pair up with another group. Get them to ask and answer their respective questions.

Note:

Alternatives to this procedure include:

• You can have larger groups, with 5-6 people.

• You can facilitate it as an individual task. After the presentation, ask each participant to prepare a list of questions and write them down on an index card. Then put them into pairs and get them asking and answering each other’s questions.

• Also as an individual task, you can ask participants to pass the question cards around and have each one individually reflect on the questions. Let the cards circulate several times.