Inside-Outside Circles

Activity: Inside / Outside Circles Activity

Adapted from an exercise developed by Katz, 2003

Activity

1. As a group, count off by twos. Ones should form an inner circle, facing out. Twos form a circle around the Ones, facing in. Each person will have a partner facing him or her.
2. Participants are provided with a series of questions or statements, one at a time. After each question, the partners will have approximately 1 minute each to respond to each other. The facilitator will keep time, telling partners when 1 minute and then 2 minutes are up.
3. After the two partners have responded to one statement, the outer circle moves one person to the right, so everyone has a new partner.
4. The facilitator uses any combination of the following questions. Allow approximately 15 to 20 minutes for this portion of the exercise.

• Share your name and what it means to you.
• Share what your favorite holiday is and why.
• Share one “message” you learned when you were growing up about what you were supposed to be like because of race, ethnicity, or gender.
• Share the first thoughts that come to you when you think of racism.
• Share one experience you had when you feel you were discriminated against.
• Share one feeling you have about dealing with racism.
• What is one thing you wish people would never again say, do, or think about a cultural group with which you identify.
• Share your strengths as an educator/trainer in facilitating dialogue and working toward valuing diversity.
• Describe one time when you heard a prejudicial statement, joke, or slur and what your reaction was.
• Share something about what you specifically want to work on as an educator/trainer to build your skills in teaching about valuing diversity.

Debriefing

After the questioning period, participants take their seats again and debrief the exercise. The facilitator uses questions such as the following to guide this discussion:

1. What did you think about this exercise?
2. What questions were you comfortable in answering? Uncomfortable? Why?
3. What did you learn about yourself from this exercise?