Hi Adam,
Hope your semester is off to a great start as well! Here's a fun new one for Zoom that you could incorporate throughout the semester or use as a one-off exercise.
Meme Monday:
The way I set it up is to have each student post a meme each Friday (in a Blackboard discussion forum for credit and on a shared Google Drive for future viewing) that best represents the course content from the week in a clever/humorous (yet appropriate) manner. Then, each Monday we'll have Meme Monday discussions in breakout rooms where students will nominate the best meme from a group of memes that they're assigned to discuss. In addition to being funny, they need to use content from the class to provide rationale for their selections. This reinforces the material in a fun way. As a one-off exercise, you could have students BYOM (bring your own meme) to class for a specific topic and use the memes to fuel discussion in breakout rooms. So far, the memes have been creative, hilarious, and fun to discuss! The students seem to be engaged, too.
Zoom on Zoom:
Another activity that I'm eager to try on Zoom (have done it many times face-to-face) is Zoom (the picture book). This is a great communication activity for roughly 30 students at a time (it can be adapted for less...if you have more, you would have to use breakout rooms). Students only see one picture (or two if you have fewer students), so they have to describe the picture to each other to figure out the sequence of the "story". Beyond communication, the debrief discussion allows you to highlight the importance of various aspects of an organization. In brief, each picture in the story is necessary for the organization to function. When all you have is the most zoomed-out picture, it may be tough to see the fine detail of the first picture (i.e., CEO). When all you have is the most zoomed-in picture (i.e., front-line employees), it's tough to think about the big picture. Of course, there are several in the middle. The point is that the story would be incomplete if any of the pictures were missing. This can be easily coupled with Katz's Three Skills Model, if you discuss that. The logistics of getting the pictures to the students would have to be worked out, but "Zoom on Zoom" seems like it's meant to be!
Let me know if you have any questions about either of these activities. Looking forward to seeing what others recommend.
Best,
Jason
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Jason Marshall
Clifford D. Clark Diversity Fellow | PhD Candidate
Binghamton University
jmarsha7@binghamton.edu ------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 08-29-2020 08:13
From: Adam Stoverink
Subject: In Search of In-class Exercises
Hello!
I hope the fall semester is off to a great start for everyone!
I'm seeking new in-class exercises. Anything that falls under the OB or Leadership umbrellas would be appreciated. Does anyone have an exercise that you love? Bonus points if it can be run via Zoom.
Thank you for considering!
All the best,
Adam
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Adam Stoverink
Associate Professor
University of Arkansas
astoverink@walton.uark.edu
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