TEFL 3

AFFINITY GROUP

  

By

Eko Mulyono

SRN 09340771

MUHAMMADIYAH UNIVERSITY OF METRO TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION FACULTY ENGLISH EDUCATION PROGRAM

2012/2013

AFFINITY GROUPING NARRATIVE

Describe the affinity grouping focus question, process, and working assumptions.

Start your affinity grouping exercise by supplying a focus question. “What do we want to do in the future?” avoids naming a specific time frame. If your peer conference is about a topic on which action is limited by time or other considerations, you may want to make your question more specific. Write the focus question on a flip chart sheet or whiteboard so everyone can see it.

Next, briefly describe the affinity grouping process, saying something like this:

“Here’s an outline of how affinity grouping works. First, we’ll brainstorm responses to the focus question individually, and write them onto cards. Next we’ll work in small groups to share our ideas with others. Then we’ll share our work with the entire group, putting our idea cards up on the wall, and consensually categorizing them. Finally we’ll reflect on what we’ve created and discuss next steps and implementation. Any questions?”

Answer questions, and then go over the working assumptions for the session:

“There are three working assumptions I’d like us all to keep in mind for this exercise. One: There are no wrong answers. Two: We all have something to contribute. Three: Everyone will have the opportunity to hear and be heard.”

Have attendees brainstorm ideas individually.

Give each attendee a few 5x8 or similar sized cards, and say:

“Please take a few minutes to write down your responses to the focus question. Aim for between five and ten responses. Concentrate on capturing your ideas; don’t worry about getting them expressed precisely.”

Give a minute’s warning when most people have finished writing. Then, ask them to add a star to their three best ideas, however they define “best.”

Form attendees into groups.

At this point, divide attendees into random, diverse groups. My suggestions for group number and size are given in the table. Ask participants from the same organization to join different groups, and have each group sit separately, so its members can talk without disturbing other groups. If you create groups of 8 or more people, consider choosing a facilitator for each group.

Affinity Grouping Suggested Number and Size of Groups, and Ideas Per Group

Number of attendees	Number of groups	Size of each group	Ideas (cards) per group
20	6	3–4	4–6
40	7	5–6	5–7
60	8	7–8	5–7
80	8	10	5–7
100	8	12–13	6–8

Discuss ideas in groups and put distinct ideas on cards.

Once the groups are settled, hand out 10 cards or large sticky notes to each group and say:

“For the next 15 minutes or so, I’d like your group to discuss all the ideas you’ve come up with. Go around the group in turn, sharing one idea at a time. Start with your starred ideas, and use the rest as needed. We’d like to get [number from table] distinct ideas from each group. As you decide on each idea, express it in a short, specific phrase of three to six words and write it in large, clear, bold letters on a new card. When we’ve finished, your ideas will be shared with the entire group.”

Monitor the groups as they discuss their ideas, checking that everyone is participating and that groups don’t get stuck discussing one idea. Periodically remind them how much time they have left. Then do the following:

Post clearest ideas on wall for entire group to view.

When the discussions subside, ask each group to select two or three of their “clearest” ideas. Give the groups a minute or two to make their selection. Have the groups congregate around the wall or whiteboard that will be used to display and categorize the ideas chosen. Ask for the “clearest” cards, shuffle them, read them aloud, and place them randomly on the wall.

When the cards have been posted, give the entire group an opportunity to ask questions that clarify what a card’s contents mean. If needed, have the card writer explain the idea on the card. Avoid discussion on the merit of any idea.

Post different ideas on wall for entire group to view.

Now ask each group to briefly discuss and select one or two of their cards that contain an idea that is different from those that have been posted. Shuffle the cards, read them out, and add them to the wall. Again, give attendees a chance to ask questions to clarify the ideas on these cards.

Sort ideas into clusters.

To start the process of clustering the displayed ideas into categories, say:

“Now it’s time to group these ideas into categories. We’ll do this by first looking for pairs of ideas that have something in common. If you don’t agree with this pairing, say so and we’ll talk about it.

Who wants to pick a pair?”

As each pair is chosen, place the named cards next to each other and draw a common symbol (square, circle, triangle, cross, check mark, star, etc.) on both cards. Ask for more pairs, group the chosen cards together, and add a unique symbol to each new cluster. In what follows, encourage people to refer to a set by its symbol, rather than by an idea in the cluster. This helps to prevent the premature naming of idea clusters.

After several sets of ideas have been paired, say:

“If you see other cards that can be added to the existing clusters, feel free to suggest them from now on.”

Continue to create idea clusters with the cards on the wall, until each of the cards is in a set. If an idea is significantly different from the rest, put it in its own cluster.

Once all the cards on the wall are in sets, ask the groups to give you their remaining cards that don’t fit the existing clusters. Read these cards out, one at a time, discuss them and either create a new cluster or add it to an existing one. Usually, at this point, you’ll have between six and a dozen clusters identified.

Finally, ask the groups to mark their remaining cards with the symbol of the cluster they should be in. Add these cards to the appropriate sets on the wall.

Rearrange the clusters into adjacent columns, one column for each cluster.

Create names for clusters.

Don’t be in a hurry to name each set of idea cards. You’re looking for a group consensus that captures what the cluster is about, with the cluster name providing, in three to six words, a direction or answer to the focus question.

Start with the largest cluster, and read out aloud all of its cards. Ask attendees to pick key words to describe the cluster. Then, ask for name suggestions. Cluster names are typically a few words, for example, “develop website” or “plan follow-up conference.” Look and ask for group agreement. When you’ve got it, write the cluster name on a card placed at the top of the cluster column.

Repeat this procedure for all clusters. If you have many or time is short, you can assign the job of naming a cluster to each of your original groups. When a group finishes, give them another one to name until all the clusters have names. If you use this small group approach, when all clusters have been named, check each name for clarity with the entire group of attendees. If you don’t find overall consensus for a cluster’s name, repeat the process for the cluster with everyone’s involvement.

Once all the clusters are named, document your work. A clear photograph of the completed, named clusters is the fastest way to do this. If a camera isn’t available, have a volunteer scribe the columns of ideas. Make copies, and distribute them to attendees as quickly as possible, and definitely before the spective is over.

Discuss next steps and implementation.

When is the best time to discuss action on the ideas that have flowered during this session? Now! The ideas are fresh, and the attendees are maximally invested in what they have co-created. It’s time to discuss next steps, and to build and staff a framework for action. Have a scribe available to document the ideas and commitments generated during this final step.

You might say something like this:

“We’ve done some great work here! There’s one more vital step. Let’s discuss possible next steps and implementation of these ideas. First, I’m going to read them all out.”

Read out all the cluster names, with a pause between each idea. Next, say:

“Now, let’s have a discussion that concentrates on three aspects of these ideas:

§  Priorities: Which ideas are most and least important?

§  Ease of implementation: What kind of effort is needed for implementation?

§  Next steps: What next steps could we take?”

Facilitate a short discussion on these topics. Besides helping to make attendees’ opinions explicit, this discussion will also provide information on the energy available for work on the ideas expressed as well as specific attendees who may be willing to work on next steps.

As direction and energy on particular ideas emerge from the discussion, look for a consensus on what should be done next, and ask for volunteers to staff a small committee that will work on the next steps. Agree on what will be accomplished, and a basic timeframe for the work. Don’t overrecruit volunteers—it’s likely that one or more ideas may reflect longer term goals that attendees are either unwilling or unable to work on at this time.