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SmackDown
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PURPOSE

Tocreatea"weakestlink"situationinwhichyourapidlyreviewyourtopicina
timed,fastpacedquestionandanswerformat.

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fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

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GAMEOBJECTIVE

Tobetheteamwiththelasticon"standing."
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PLAYERS

Sixtotwentyfive.
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TIME

Twentyfivetofortyfiveminutes.
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SUPPLIES

Onesetoftwentyfiveormore"direct"questionsforeachroundofplay,
preparedinadvancebythefacilitator.Directquestionspromptplayersto
identifyafactorconceptinashortresponseofonetofivewords.
ThreesetsofteamdesignatorsignsA,B,C.

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Page294
Threesetsofmatchingiconsforinstructor'stable.
Anoverheadprojector(ifusingtransparencies)oranewsprintflipchartand
felttippedmarkers.
Noisemaker(optional).
Stopwatchortimer(optional).

Copyright 2005. Pfeiffer All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except
fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

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GAMEPLAY

1.Dividethegroupintotwoorthreeteams.
2.Placethreeiconsforeachteam,suchasatentfoldcardwiththeteam's
designator(A,B,orC),ontheinstructor'stable.Forthreeteamsthiswould
requireatotalofnineiconsthreeA,threeB,andthreeCicons.
3.Informplayersthatthisgameisa"lightninground,"consistingofarapidflow
ofquestionsandanswerswithinathreetofiveminuteperiod.
4.Haveeachteamselectthreerepresentativeswhowillrespondtolightning
roundquestions.
5.GiveeachrepresentativeateamsignA,B,orC.(Forthreeteamsthis
wouldrequireatotalofninesigns.)
Rounds
1.Thefirstquestionisread.
2.After10secondstheTeamAplayergiveshisorherresponse.
Acorrectresponsekeepsiconsintact.
Anincorrectornoresponserequiresoneoftheteam'siconstoberemoved
fromtheinstructor'stable.
3.PlayisthesameforTeamsBandC,exceptthatthefacilitatorusesanew
questioneachtime.
4.Playisthesameforallrounds.
5.Declaretheteamwiththelasticonremainingthewinner.

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Page295
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POSTGAMEDEBRIEFING

SmackDownisagoodgametodistinguishbetweenknowledgethatneedsto
beatone'sfingertips(readilyremembered)andthoseworkplacesituationsthat
involvejudgmentcalls,decisionmaking,andproblemsolving.Tohighlightthese
issues,considerthefollowingquestions:

Copyright 2005. Pfeiffer All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except
fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Theabilitytoquicklyrecallcorrectanswerswasthekeytosuccesstoday.
Whataresomeotherissuesintheworkplacewhereitisimportanttohavethe
rightanswerreadilyathand?
Howdowemosteffectivelylearnthe"right"answer?
Howfrequentlydoweneedtoapplyknowledgebeforeitbeginstoslipaway?
Whataresomeoftheperformancesupporttoolsorjobaidsyouusetohelp
yourecallimportantfactsorprocedures?
Whataresomeofthesituationsonthejobthatcallmoreforjudgmentthan
recall?
Howlongdoesittypicallytakebeforeanewpersononthejobcanrelyon
judgmentratherthanprocedure?
Howcanwehelppeopletransitionfromrotememorytojudgmentand
decisionmaking?
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GENERALCOMMENTS

Atfirstglancethisgameappearstobecomplicated.Butitisonlyathreestep
processof(1)presentingthequestion,(2)fieldingtheresponse,and(3)
removingtheicon(asrequired).Onceplayedthisgamewillquicklybecomea
favoritebecauseofhowquicklythegameflowsandthedynamicsofthe
scoring,combinedwiththebenefitsofafactualrecalldrill.
Usetheendofeachroundtoreinforceyourinstructionalgoaloflearningand
retentionbygoingoverALLresponses.Thisisthe"momentoflearning"when
theparticipantsareopentothecorrectresponsesandtherationaleofthe
elaboration.
Writemostofthequestions(80percent)atalowlevelofdifficulty.Usethese
questionsinthebeginningtogetyourplayersusedtotheflowofthegame.

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SmackDownislessthreateningthanthehighlycompetitivechallenges
featuredontelevision.Gameplayencouragesrisktakingandpromoteslearning
andteamspirit.
Tofurtherenhancelearningandretentionmakethequestionsvisibletoplayers
byplacingthemoncharts,overheads,orPowerPointpresentations.

Copyright 2005. Pfeiffer All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except
fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Haveparticipantscontributequestionsforgameplay.Usingparticipant
questionsgivesyouanideaoftheirperspectiveonthetopicaswellashelping
youreduceyourquestionpreparationtime.
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SAMPLEPLAY

1.GroupisdividedintotwoteamsAandB.
2.Eachteamselectsthreeplayerrepresentatives,eachofwhomreceiveateam
designatorcardAorB.
3.Facilitatorsetsupthreeteamiconsforeachteamonatable.
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Round1:FirstPlayersforEachTeam
1.Thefirstquestionispresented.
2.TheTeamAplayerrespondscorrectlywithin10seconds.
3.Theteamiconremainsstanding.
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4.Thesecondquestionispresented.
5.TheTeamBplayerrespondsincorrectlywithin10seconds.
6.OneTeamBiconisremoved.
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Page297
Round2:SecondPlayersforEachTeam
1.Thethirdquestionispresented.
2.TheTeamAplayergivesnoresponsewithin10seconds.Thisisscoredthe
sameasanincorrectresponse,andaTeamAiconisremoved.
Image

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fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

3.Thefourthquestionispresented.
4.TheTeamBplayerrespondscorrectlywithin10seconds.
5.Theteamiconremainsstanding.
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RestofGame
1.Playcontinuesasabove.
2.Thelastteamwithastandingiconwinsthegame.
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CUSTOMIZINGSMACKDOWN

SizeofGroup
Forsmallgroupsofsixtoten,formtwoteamsofthreetofiveplayerseach
andthenhavetheteamsselectthreeplayerstorepresentthemduringthe
questionandanswersession.
Forlargergroups,formthreeteamsandthenhaveteamsselecttheplayersto
representthem.
TimeofPlay
Expandthetimeoftheroundtoallowforlongerresponsetimes(15seconds
ormore)oradditionalquestions.

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MethodofPlay
Usethebeamoflightcreatedbyaflashlightorlaserlighttoselectplayersfor
eachround.Thefacilitatornormallywouldholdthelightsource,butthiscould
bedelegatedtoteamleadersorplayersfromopposingteams.
Scoring

Copyright 2005. Pfeiffer All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except
fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Establishpointvaluequestionsof10,20,and30points.Scoringcanbea
combinationofpointsANDbonuspointsforstandingicons.

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Page299
PLAYERINSTRUCTIONSFOR
SmackDown
Groupdividesintotwoorthreeteams.
Eachteamselectsthreeplayerrepresentatives.
Facilitatorsetsupthreeiconsforeachteam.

Copyright 2005. Pfeiffer All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except
fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Facilitatorreadsaquestion.
Firstplayerhas10secondstoreply.
Scoring:Iftheresponseis...
Correct,endofturn.
Incorrect,removeoneteamicon.
Secondandthirdplayerseachgetaturn.
Theteamwiththelasticonstandingwins.

EBSCO Publishing - NetLibrary; printed on 10/18/2010 10:06:18 AM via Fairfax County Public Library
eISBN:9780787971359; Sugar, Steve.; Willett, Carol. : Games That Boost Performance
Account: -244965024