United We TransformCreate teamsGrade your agenda
Exercises/Reflection and Learning/Smart Rats or…Not?
Team Reflection · Reflection and Learning

Smart Rats or…Not?

Smart Rats or…Not? is a team reflection exercise for reflection and learning: it helps participants reflect on experience and turn observations into learning.

5 to 15 minutesTIME
Medium group (9-25)GROUP SIZE
ActiveENERGY
In personSETTING
Low cognitive loadCOGNITIVE LOAD
Strengthens Learning Transfer This reflection and learning exercise strengthens Learning Transfer, one of the eight Gathering Effectiveness pillars.

How to run it

  1. In the experiment, all the students in a class were given a standard IQ test
  2. Once again, the student experimenters seemed to create the effects they expected
  3. Using this knowledge/effect, often known as the Pygmalian effect, you can improve the output of your participants Before participants arrive, or as they arrive, use a People Science analysis to separate half the
  4. Use any criteria to divide the group in half
  5. Choose by birthdate, hobby, anything that isn"t performance related!
  6. As participants enter the room, look up their name on a piece of paper have it on a clipboard to make it
  7. look more official 356 Tell one team that based on research, they are "50% more likely to have the direct answer or solution
  8. Inform them to make note throughout the day the specific instances where they made even a little difference to the groups they were working with
  9. Tell the other team nothing pretend it is simply an attendance chart Depending on the type of gathering, announcing that this 'experiment" was performed can be
Live facilitator

Run this exercise live

The facilitator console stays in this browser. Its QR handoff is a short-lived participant snapshot containing only public exercise instructions, phase, prompt, and timer state.

Prompts to use +

In the experiment, all the students in a class were given a standard IQ test

Once again, the student experimenters seemed to create the effects they expected

Using this knowledge/effect, often known as the Pygmalian effect, you can improve the output of your participants Before participants arrive, or as they arrive, use a People Science analysis to separate half the

Use any criteria to divide the group in half

Choose by birthdate, hobby, anything that isn"t performance related!

As participants enter the room, look up their name on a piece of paper have it on a clipboard to make it

Run this with your AI assistant +

Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Adapt this exercise for my exact room. Exercise: Smart Rats or…Not?. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: In the experiment, all the students in a class were given a standard IQ test; Once again, the student experimenters seemed to create the effects they expected; Using this knowledge/effect, often known as the Pygmalian effect, you can improve the output of your participants Before participants arrive, or as they arrive, use a People Science analysis to separate half the; Use any criteria to divide the group in half. Return a concise facilitator script with timing, wording, safety notes, and remote/in-person adjustments.

Origin unverified

  • Where we observed it: The strongest current observations come from Relationship Makers Handbook; aggregators are listed as additional observations, not origin proof. (1 source observed, including Relationship Makers Handbook.)
  • What that means: we track where an exercise has been observed in public sources. We do not claim to know who created it, or how popular it is.
  • No efficacy claims: appearing in this library is not a claim that the exercise is proven effective. Facilitator judgment and context decide whether it works for a given room.
  • Corrections: if you have evidence of an earlier or more accurate source, read our methodology and trust boundary and tell us.

Pairs well with