What is the basic information that should be included in the instructions for the activities?
How to execute: Provide clear instructions to the user on how to deliver the activity
Time frames: Provide time frames for each component of the activity so you can ensure the pace
Potential troubles: Anticipate challenges. Include use cases where the activity might encounter issues and offer easy-to-apply solutions.
💡 Tip: Make the instructions easy to read and concise. Avoid lengthy, exhaustive texts.
How do we suggest you write instructions for the activities?
💡Quick Guide
👉🏻Activity objectives and mechanisms*
What are the rules (mechanisms) and the objectives of this activity?
👉🏻 Learning objectives
Define the goals. Where should the instructor guide the class towards?
👉🏻 Main soft skill
Identify the primary soft skill practiced through the activity's objectives/mechanisms.
👉🏻 How to (instructions for the instructor):
Execution: Detail the steps for carrying out the activity.
Reflection questions: How can we assign meaning to what we just experienced? Was the soft skill important? Is there a certain strategy that works for us?
Time Frames: Provide specific durations for each part of the activity.
Potential Troubles: Address possible challenges and provide solutions.
What are the objectives and mechanisms of an activity?
💡 Activities should have a clear frame defined by their mechanisms and objectives.
Clear Rules (Mechanisms): Establish the ways to engage with the activity.
Objectives for Motivation: Set goals to increase motivation, or opt for open-ended (sandbox) activities where learners set their own objectives.
💡 There should be clear ways for learners to become the hero of the activity (or game). For example, in Monopoly, you are the hero if you know what to buy and what to build and do not go to jail often. 😊
Popular games can offer inspiration for Activity Mechanisms:
Game mechanisms taken from popular games can be adapted to incorporate the soft skill of interest. Find some inspiration here.
The adapted game mechanisms should be appropriate for the age group and cultural sensitivities of your learners
💡 Activities should invite learners to adopt a role
Activities should invite learners to adopt a role, encouraging them to become someone within the “Activity world”
By adopting a role, learners can practice behaviors through embodiment, creating a safe environment for failure and repeated practice until mastery