Scavenger Hunt – Training from the back of the room

Can you remember the childhood adventure of a scavenger hunt?

I remember a field trip we took in school. We were tasked to find different types of wildlife in our local park. It was a fun way to learn.

You might be surprised that scavenger hunts can be a great way for adults to learn too.

Last week I facilitated a scavenger hunt during an “Introduction to agile” workshop. Each group was tasked to find a set of agile items around the office and then prepare a presentation to the other groups on their observations. The scavenger hunt items were:

1. Kanban Board

2. Definition of Ready/Done

3. Agile Manifesto

4. Story Map

5. Impact Map

6. Team Agreement

7. Kudos Card

Many of our teams visualise their work so these items were already scattered around the office. To give the teams a little extra help I put colourful signs near each of the items and arranged for colleagues nearby to be on hand to answer questions. The groups were given an observation sheet to help capture their notes and to help prepare their presentations back to the workshop audience.

As soon as I finished explaining the Scavenger Hunt everyone literally ran out of the room to find their items. When they returned to present their findings it was amazing to see how much they had learned in a short period of time.

Scavenger hunts are a great demonstration of “Training from the back of the room” which is an approach to accelerated learning. A scavenger hunt is a fun way to let the learners teach each other by sharing their observations. It also helps bring energy to workshops and get the learners moving. There are plenty of other techniques in Sharon’s book to help you step aside and let others learn.

Learning Maps are another Training from the back of the room technique i have used in the past too.

So what are you waiting for? Get the scavenger hunt planned!