# Stumpers

Teams study a shared text, write five difficult questions, and test rival teams in rapid-fire quiz rounds from memory.

**Time:** 55 minutes. Extended from the 45-minute source window to 55 minutes to allow reading, question writing, 2 full cycles of challenges, and debrief.
**People:** 6 to 24. 3 to 6 teams of 2 to 4 people each (teams of 5 permitted if group count is uneven)

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Reinforce recall of factual written material through peer-generated quiz rounds without lecture slides.
**Use it when:** Dense technical guidelines, policy updates, product specifications, or compliance standards where groups need active retention.
**Skip it when:** Open-ended behavioral simulations, personal self-disclosure topics, or exploratory themes with no factual answers.

## Materials and tools

- One printed study text or reference packet per person (or accessible digital file provided in advance)
- One Question and Answer Worksheet per team
- Scratch paper or index cards for answering rounds
- Pens or pencils for all participants
- One whiteboard with dry-erase markers or a flipchart tally sheet for public scoring
- One countdown timer
- Laptops or tablets for hybrid or remote groups

## Before participants arrive

1. Select a 2 to 4 page reference text rich in verifiable facts, procedures, or numbers.
2. Set up 3 to 6 distinct team tables.
3. Place one worksheet, scratch paper, and pens at each table.
4. Draw a scoreboard on the whiteboard listing team names across columns.

## Say this to open

Welcome. We are running Stumpers. Your team will study this reference document for 10 minutes, compose five tough factual questions, and try to stump the other tables. During the quiz, all reference materials are put away and teams answer strictly from memory. Let us start reading.

## How to run it

### 1. Study the text (10 minutes)

Deliver the opening script and distribute the reference text. Teams read silently and discuss critical details. Members note key facts, figures, definitions, and operational steps. Teams may take notes during this window only.

### 2. Draft challenge questions (5 minutes)

Each team drafts five difficult factual questions with answers on the Stumpers Question and Answer Worksheet. Questions must tie directly to facts in the text. Teams designate a primary reader and agree on a scribe rotation order for upcoming rounds.

### 3. Run the quiz rounds (32 minutes)

Teams store all texts and notes away. Run 2 full rounds where every team asks one question per round (total 6 to 12 questions). Team 1 reads its question aloud. Facilitator starts the 45-second timer. Each team's rotating scribe writes one consensus answer on paper. On time, all tables hold up their papers. Team 1 judges answers against its worksheet, awarding one point per correct response. Facilitator logs points. Rotation passes clockwise to the next asking team until 2 complete cycles finish.

### 4. Debrief and correct misconceptions (8 minutes)

Facilitator totals points on the board to identify top teams. Facilitator poses 2 chosen debrief questions to the room, taking 3 to 4 quick comments. Use the remaining minutes to clarify factual errors, resolve contested questions, and confirm critical takeaways from the reference text.


## Debrief questions

- Which facts proved hardest to remember under pressure, and why?
- What made a question genuinely difficult versus poorly phrased or tricky?
- How did writing questions change the way you read the reference text?

**Finished output:** A completed challenge worksheet per team and a public scoreboard verifying text recall.

## Remote

Distribute text in advance. Send teams to breakout rooms for 15 minutes to study and write 5 questions in a private team doc. Return to the main room. Create a shared collaborative spreadsheet with columns for each team. The asking team types their question into the main chat and reads it aloud. Facilitator starts a 45-second timer while teams confer in team chat and type answers into their assigned, hidden row or cell. When time expires, facilitator unhides or reveals answers simultaneously. The asking team evaluates them and awards points.

## Hybrid

In-person tables and remote breakout groups operate simultaneously. Each in-person table uses one tablet or laptop logged into the shared answer sheet alongside remote teams. The asking team reads their question aloud over room audio while pasting it into chat. Facilitator starts the 45-second timer. Every answering team (in-person and remote) submits one written answer into the shared sheet before time expires. Facilitator displays the sheet on the main screen, and the asking team verifies answers and awards points.

## Access and participation choices

- Provide digital reference text 24 hours in advance formatted for screen readers and magnification.
- Team members may opt for non-speaking roles such as scribe, timekeeper, or researcher without public explanation.

## If the session gets stuck

**A question is ambiguous and teams dispute the phrasing or answer.**

The facilitator acts as final referee. If the source text supports multiple interpretations, award points to all plausible answers and move on promptly.

**One dominant participant attempts to answer every question for their table.**

Enforce the rotating scribe rule: each round, a different team member must hold the pen and write the table's final answer.


## Terms used here

- Textra: A learning activity built around participant interaction with written text rather than lecture slides.

## Participant material: Stumpers Question and Answer Worksheet

TEAM NAME: ____________________

Draft five difficult questions based strictly on the assigned text. Write the exact correct answer below each question.

1. Question:
   Answer:

2. Question:
   Answer:

3. Question:
   Answer:

4. Question:
   Answer:

5. Question:
   Answer:

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Thiagi GameLetter (January 2008), published by The Thiagi Group, Inc., in the article 'Rapid Instructional Design: Textravaganza'.

Retains the core Stumpers game mechanic from Thiagi GameLetter (January 2008): teams review text, write 5 questions, challenge peers, and judge peer answers. UWT paced the quiz phase to 2 complete cycles of questions across teams to ensure reliable completion within 32 minutes, added a rotating scribe mechanic, and specified synchronized digital reveal mechanisms for hybrid and remote groups.

[The Thiagi Group](https://thiagi.net/archive/www/pfp/IE4H/january2008.html)

[The Thiagi Group](http://thiagi.net/archive/www/pfp/IE4H/january2008.html)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/tgl-january-2008/