Metronome

1. Spread gym-spots randomly throughout an area, with approx three to four large steps between each spot.
2. Lay the hula-hoop in the middle of the playing area.
3. Describe what a metronome is, and that you will shortly start a consistent beat approx every three to four seconds.
4. Challenge your group that all members must be on a spot or in the hoop at the sound of every beat.
5. Only one person can be on a spot or hoop at a time, and movement can only occur between the beats.
6. When one of these rules is infringed, the beat stops, and the time is recorded.
7. Play several rounds, allowing your group a few minutes to plan their next strategy.
8. Aim to record the longest time.

This is pretty new to me, so I’m still having fun working with it.

In advance, spread a set of gym-spots – rubber spots about 30cm (1′) diameter – randomly throughout an area, with approx three or four large steps between them. Lay the hula-hoop in the middle of the playing area.

Describe to your group what a metronome is, you know, that strange ticking device that sounds a precise beat over and over without stopping, often used to keep time in music.

Unless you can find a real metronome, the clapping of your hands, beating a drum, etc will suffice for this activity.

Explain that the challenge is for all members of the group to either be on a spot or in the hoop at the sound of every beat, for as long as possible. Aim for a beat every three to four seconds initially.

Start by asking every person to stand on a spot. There can only be one person on a spot or inside the hoop at a time, and movement between spots can only be done between the beats of the metronome.

If anyone is caught off a spot as the metronome sounds, or more than one person is discovered on a spot (or hoop,) the action stops, and the time is recorded.

Play several rounds, allowing your group a few minutes to plan their next strategy.

Encourage your group to continuously improve so that they record their best time, in say, 15 minutes.

I use my stopwatch to guide the precision of my beats, otherwise, I may invite accusations from the group that I am speeding up.

In you can access a smart phone or tablet, open any number of free apps which will provide you with a precise series of beats, mimicking a metronome.

Note, the provision of 1.5 gym-spots per person is a fancy way of saying if you have 20 people in your group, you need 30 spots.

Don’t have any gym-spots? Try carpet tiles, chalk-circles or simply more hula-hoops. Paper sheets are not a good idea because they may slip under a person’s foot when they jump onto them.

Without giving too much away, the essence of this exercise is about creating reproducible systems. The sooner your group recognises this principle, the sooner they will taste success. Once established, the system can be quite mesmerising. Talk about the benefits of approaching [enter topic related to work, family, life, sport, school, project, etc] like this, and the possible downsides.

You could integrate Metronome as part of a well-designed SEL program to promote and maintain healthy and supportive relationships and to effectively navigate settings with diverse people.

Specifically, this activity offers ample opportunities to explore and practice the following social & interpersonal skills:

Self-Awareness

• Identifying Personal, Cultural & Linguistic Assets
• Recognising Strengths, Prejudices & Biases
• Demonstrating Self-Confidence, Honesty & Integrity
• Experiencing Self-Efficacy
• Having A Growth Mindset

Self-Management

• Demonstrating Self-Discipline & Self-Motivation
• Setting Personal & Group Goals
• Taking Initiative
• Use Planning & Organisational Skills

Social Awareness

• Taking Other’s Perspectives
• Demonstrating Empathy & Compassion
• Respecting Others

Relationship Skills

• Communicate & Listen Effectively
• Seeking and/or Offering Support
• Build Positive Relationships
• Work Collaboratively
• Showing Leadership
• Resolving Conflict Constructively

Responsible Decision-Making

• Demonstrating Curiosity & Open-Mindedness
• Identifying Problems
• Making Reasoned Judgements
• Identifying Solutions
• Anticipating & Evaluating the Consequences of One’s Actions
• Promoting Personal & Collective Well-Being

You can learn more about SEL and how it can support character education here.

Behavioural Norms

The complexities of this fun group initiative invite group members to interact and engage with each other in a manner that would necessarily speak to the benefits of having developed a set of supportive and healthy behavioural norms in advance. Or, if not, you could focus on any less-than-desired interactions or outcomes to explore what sorts of behaviours your group would prefer to see and commit to in the future.

For example, in addition to those described in the Reflection Tips tab, you could invite your group to reflect on the following questions to explore a variety of full value behaviours such as:

• How did the group demonstrate its ability to care for self and others?
• Generally speaking, how did the group make decisions? How were all members involved?
• Describe your group’s goal-setting process?
• Was everyone fully aware of the group’s goal? If not, why not?
• What types of leadership were demonstrated during the exercise? Were they effective?
• Was adaptability a key component of the group’s success? How?
• Were there moments of accountability that concerned you? Why?

• Hoop Pass: Challenge your group to ensure that every person passes through the hula-hoop at some point during a particular round.
• Accelerating Pace: Explain that the metronome will beat at an ever-so-slightly faster pace with each round. For example, if the group started with a beat every four seconds, move to a beat every three seconds.
• Lesser Challenge: Designate the hoop as a resting point, where up to three people can stand for up to five beats (or whatever seems reasonable.)
• Greater Challenge: Gradually remove the excess gym spots. That is, eliminate the number of spots that are unoccupied, say from five to two, between successive rounds.
• Travelling Metronome: Start with the hoop at the farthest end of the playing area (which has spots spread throughout.) Your group starts at the opposite end, and aims to move everyone through the hoop as quickly as possible – but only by moving people between beats, one person on a spot at a time, etc.
• Continuous Improvement: Take a look at Turnstyles, The Clock and Frantic to explore three more fun and very active problem-solving exercises that focus on continuous improvement.

Not until you begin to understand the process of something, can you create a system that will generate the most efficient and cost-effective way of managing the process. For example, when you first learned to drive a motor vehicle, you may recall thinking that you’d never be able to coordinate your arms and legs to control the pedals and the steering wheel all at the same time. But, at some point, something clicks, and it all comes together. You created a system. I would like you to consider this process in creating a system with this next exercise…

Some of the most successful people in the world – be they, athletes, business people, artists, etc – report that the inspiration for their excellence is found at those times when they are in the zone, or in the flow. Have you had this experience? [allow time for sharing] While this experience can be quite difficult to describe, it is often suggested as a letting go, a going with the flow, where something else within you takes over. Today, in a very small way, we are going to experiment with this principle…

It is often said that to be successful, you should model yourself on other successful people in your field. Believe what they believe, think what they think and do what they do and you’ll be successful. Now, while this may, at one level, appear quite simplistic – success is naturally a lot more complex than this – there is truth in the fact that most success can be boiled down to a system…

Coupled with one or more reflection strategies, here are some sample questions you could use to process your group’s experience after playing this highly active group initiative:

• What did you notice in your first attempts to record a time?
• At what point did your effectiveness start to improve significantly? Why?
• When you recorded your best time, how did you feel?
• Is aiming for continuous improvement fun? Why or why not?
• In what areas of our group’s life could we realistically aim for continuous improvement?