Hey all,
I lead (past tense and present tense!) the Hands Off Teaching workshops at Bike!Bike!
Someone always asks me for my workshop notes and they are not super coherent unless you are me, so I'm reluctant to post them here, but will happily email them if anyone wants to check them out.
In regards to the Fruit Activity, here's the deal:
This activity was originally done with mangoes and knives at Bike!Bike! 2010! but I can't always find mangoes, and this year I couldn't travel with a dozen steak knives in my bag ;) In the past we have also used apples, oranges and bananas.
The purpose of the activity is to have folks split up and attempt to engage in Hands Off Teaching where one participant is instructing and the other participant is trying to complete an action (peeling/slicing a fruit) only by following the directions they have been given. An added instruction is that they person with the fruit doesn't know what it is and hasn't interacted with it before (like a front derailleur, haha).
Because there are so many people in the workshop we usually have other folks observing each group as well.
What are the goals?
To reflect upon the concepts and challenges of teaching in a DIY space which we have already discussed during the workshop which include:
keeping Hands Off while assisting and instructing
Clear, understandable instruction including describing tasks and possible outcomes
Collaborative teamwork including asking questions (from both sides) and positive feedback
successful completion of goal, through whatever path you collectively determine to be achievable
After giving folks 5-10 minutes to do the activity we come back together to share feedback on the experience. The *pretend you've never seen a banana before* part is always the most difficult and funniest part of the challenge.
Hope that helps!
ainsley.