This tip looks at all of the benefits that pipe cleaners offer to participants, particularly those haptic or kinesthetic learners.
I was recently looking through a magazine that offers various tactile objects for trainers to buy for their participants. There were objects of many different of shapes and colors that I’m sure would be appealing and engaging. I even have some of them: glitter wands, Koosh balls, star-shaped squeezable balls and large dice.
But, by far, the very best tactile object that trainers can provide on their participants’ tables is the simple pipe cleaner.
Benefits of Pipe Cleaners
Colorful and Pliable
Pipe cleaners are colorful, coming in all of the colors of the rainbow.
Pliable, they can be twisted into an infinite number of shapes, limited only by the participants’ imagination and creativity.
Light Weight and Portable
They weigh almost nothing. This makes them wonderfully portable.
They are soft and compress easily into the spaces between the ribs of carry ons and suitcases.
Appealing and Inexpensive
They are appealing. It is difficult to sit next to a pile of pipe cleaners and not grab at least one to play with.
They are very inexpensive, so they are a negligible budget item.
Meet Participants’ Needs
They give the haptic and kinesthetic learners something to do with their hands so their brains can be fully engaged in the learning process.
However, they also delight and spark creativity in participants regardless of their learning preference, age, ethnicity, gender, religion, position, culture or geographic location.
It is simply amazing how these colorful bendable sticks evoke such joy and transform a group of participants into a warm and loving learning community
Initiate Conversations
During breaks, conversations are struck up between participants:
- designing at their tables
- strolling around to see others’ originality and/or
- “shopping” for the pipe cleaner colors they need to complete their own creations.
It doesn’t seem to matter how many packages of pipe cleaners I bring into a training room. (We’re talking about packages of 1000 pipe cleaners, 100 of each of 10 different colors!) I still tend to leave with empty bags.
Awesome Artistry
The artistry is absolutely awesome:
- from simple to complex and many-layered flowers;
- three-dimensional people, animals, insects, houses, and vehicles;
- jewelry, from leis to earrings to bracelets and tiaras; and
- intricate woven baskets.
No matter how often I see these creations, I always see:
- new,
- different,
- more complicated,
- more delicate, and
- more original designs.
Last but definitely not least, the pipe cleaner designs can help to prompt memory and reinforce retention.
I take photos of the pipe cleaner creativity and send them to the participants after the training is over. This is along with photos of flip chart work completed by the groups during the sessions. Both the photos and the actual creations they take home with them after the training serve as colorful reminders of what they were learning while they designed them.
If you would like to learn how to design and facilitate an experiential skill-building training, please book a call to discuss a tailored train-the-trainer program. https://laurelandassociates.com/contact/
May your learning be sweet.
Deborah
