Page 252 - The Creative Training Idea Book Inspired Tips and Techniques for Engaging and Effective Learning

lucas chap 07 11/20/02 12:29 PM Page 241
Engaging and Energizing Learners 241
participant’s body to the other side. To have learners
participate in and benefit from such activities,
have them stand behind their chairs and follow
your instructions as you lead them through a
series of slow movements. In doing these ac-
tivities, muscles and bones are being acti-
vated along with both brain hemispheres
through nerve endings that control various
senses (e.g., sight, hearing, and touch).
Here are some possibilities.
Have participants walk in place by rais-
ing the left knee, touching it with either the
right elbow or hand, then alternating with
the left hand or elbow to the right knee. Have
them do five to ten of these together.
Reach across the front of the body with the
left hand and gently pat the right shoulder, then
alternate a number of times.
Raise the left foot behind the right knee and pat the
sole of that foot with the right hand, then alternate. If nec-
essary, have participants hold onto the back of their chairs for balance while perform-
ing the task.
While standing up on tiptoes, reach as high up in the air as possible with the right
hand while at the same time reaching as low as possible down to the side toward the
ground with the left hand. Relax back to feet flat on the floor and hands hanging to
the side, then alternate and stretch again.
Have participants pat their heads with their left hands and at the same time rub their
stomachs with their right hands. Alternate.
Reach behind the head with the left hand, grasp the top of the right ear, and gently
pull up. Alternate.
Have participants do some air swimming movements. Just as if swimming in water,
have them extend the right arm and hand up and out, then down in a swimming mo-
tion while the left arm goes down, back, then up in a circular motion.
Rest the side of the face on either the left or right shoulder, extend the arm of that
shoulder straight out, and point the index finger straight ahead. Then starting in the cen-
ter of the body, draw imaginary lazy 8s. Do this by slowly making the form of the num-
ber 8 by rotating the arm up and circling to the right and down, crossing the midpoint
of the body and then up and circling down to the left, then back to midpoint. Repeat
the figure 8 several times, then alternate by putting the face on the opposite shoulder
and using that arm and hand to draw the imaginary figure 8s in the opposite direction.
A note of caution should be given to learner prior to starting the activity. Give each
person a choice of opting out of the exercise or participating to their own level of com-
fort and capability.