MOVE - Moderation and Visualization for Group ... - INSPIRATION

Before we go into the details of the four
competences at work, it may be useful to take a
closer look at one of the procedures that you will
use very often - collecting and structuring ideas
on cards:
■ As the moderator, you read the visualized
question out aloud and ask whether it is
understood.
■ Each participant is given a number of cards.
You may limit the number of cards per
individual or per group if time constraints or
board space are a concern for later
presentations.
■ Each participant, or several participants as a
buzz group, writes down his or her answers or
ideas: One idea - one card.
■ You collect the cards after everybody has
finished writing. You may mix the cards in
order to avoid individual sequences and
preserve anonymity.
■ You read the cards to the group by holding
them up, then pin them randomly. Remember
that about 30 cards fit on a standard board
with enough space between them, so that you
can cluster them together later.
■ In a second step, cluster the cards together
according to the suggestions or structure
proposed by the participants. Cards that
belong to several clusters should be doubled.
■ The different clusters of cards should be
surrounded by a line, like a ‘cloud.’ This
constitutes a ‘map’ or ‘poster’ of the group’s
opinion.
■ Headings for these clusters should be
formulated by or with the group. It may be
meaningful for the group to put the ‘clouds’ in
a sequential or priority order, or to decide
which headings should be dealt with in
greater detail.
■ To identify gaps, you may ask „What is
missing?.“
■ The group finally discusses and analyzes the
conclusions, adding further cards, if
necessary.
■ By the end of the day, you should attach a
number code in the lower right corner of each
‘poster’ for documentation purposes or a
photo report. In addition to a consecutive
number for each poster, you may indicate the
date and the number of the session during the
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day. This will keep track of the many posters
with group or plenary results generated
throughout an event.
This way of collecting and structuring ideas on
cards has proven to be the ‘bread and butter’ tool
for brainstorming, or ‘brainwriting’ as this tool is
sometimes refered to. It tends to be so closely
identified with MOVE that it often becomes
overused. But there are other tools and there is
more than brainstorming to moderation and
visualization methods. The methods and
instruments depend on the function and purpose
of a given event (see Will 2001): form follows
function. Here are some potential functions of
an event and the suitable methods and tools that
go along with it: