The line

In practice, the line consists of e.g. of a wall in the room. The students hear a statement, e.g. I'd rather drink soda than water with my food. After a moment's reflection, the students are allowed to stand according to their opinion (the soda supporters on the far left of the line and the water supporters on the far right of the line). Students who think that the answer depends on different factors place themselves somewhere between the two extremes. The students can discuss the statement with the student who is closest and come up with one (or more) statements that justify why they have chosen the place. Afterwards, the students gather as a whole group and together with the teacher, they list justifications for soft drinks/water. Are there any of the students who feel that they have now changed their original position?

If the line tool is completely new to the students, it may be good to start with a quick introduction session with an easier statement such as I like dogs more than cats.

Four corners

This activity goes like the line activity, but now the students need to decide on four different alternative answers. Each answer is illustrated by the student standing in one of the four corners of the room. Group discussions and justifications as above.

"Exit-tickets" - to collect and focus thoughts after a work shift

Exit tickets are above all the student's tool for self-evaluation, but at the same time the results provide a lot of information for the teacher in view of the further work.

The thoughts can be recorded

• in writing (on postit notes, or digitally using e.g. Padlet, Google forms)

• using pictures. The images can also be collected digitally using e.g. Book Creator and possibly supplemented with text

• as audio files (easier for some of the students but listening requires more time for the teacher)

The hot chair

This method is an assessment exercise where the participants sit in a circle on chairs. The leader has prepared a number of statements about the theme in question and reads out one statement at a time. The person who agrees with the statement stands up, crosses the floor and switches seats with someone else who has also stood up.

Venn diagram as a tool for reflection and discussion about e.g. gender stereotypes

With the help of a Venn diagram, the students can fairly easily compile and visualize the entire group's thoughts around a specific question. An example: Many (all?) people of different ages carry different conscious and unconscious stereotypes about what is appropriate for/typical of girls/boys/men/women.

Within RISK (Great Britain) support material has been created where a venn diagram is used for the students' reflection and discussion about gender equality and various stereotypes. For the younger students there is a material that deals with different toys and for the slightly older students there is a similar material that deals with different professions. By listening in on the students' discussions during and after the work, the teacher provides valuable information about the students' thoughts.

Example: Why are there so many hungry children in the world?

Claims to rank:

"Rich people don't donate enough money to poor countries"

"People can't grow food because of war"

"People can't afford to buy food"

"There are too many people"

"The food is not shared fairly"

"There isn't enough food"

"Poor farmers must not sell their products to rich countries"

"The best farmland is used to produce food for other countries"

"The farmers do not use modern cultivation methods"

"During basic education, students must think about the connection between the past, the present and the future as well as different future options." (FNBE, 2014, p. 24). The above text also rhymes well with competency 3.1 within Green Comp (EU). The tool in the picture above can support the student's or student group's reflection and discussion around different visions of the future.

Description:

The students get to listen to different statements. For each statement, the student first takes an individual position as to where in the graph the student would place the statement's answer. The students then discuss the statement in pairs and finally the student pairs' positions and justifications are presented and discussed in the whole class. Examples of statements to take a stand on:

There will be no garbage in the future, only valuable raw materials

In the future, adults will work less as they value leisure more than money

In the cities, parking lots will in the future be replaced by parks and meadows.

Adapted from material by Otto Tähkäpää, SITRA Foundation, Finland