Reflecting on DE&I, Jeopardy!, Qussions, Role-Playing, Post-It Parade

On April 4, 2022, we met as a class in person to discuss diversity, inclusion, and equity (DE&I) within our lives and the workplace. I gave my presentation on Jeopardy! and three of my peers gave their presentations on Qussions, role-playing, and Post-It Parade.

First, we discussed the meaning of diversity. We were asked to define our own individual definitions of diversity using the survey tool Mentimeter. According to the Center for Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Houston, the definition of diversity is "...anything that sets one individual apart from another, including the full spectrum of human demographic differences as well as the different ideas, backgrounds, and opinions people bring. Psychological, physical, and social differences that occur among any individuals; including, but not limited to race, color, ethnicity, nationality, religion, socioeconomic status, veteran status, education, marital status, language, age, gender, gender expression, gender identity, sexual orientation, mental or physical ability, genetic information, and learning styles." Then, the conversation moved to the diversity iceberg being that there are identities beyond the surface that we cannot physically see.

Moreover, we moved into intersectionality by Kimberlee Crenshaw. Intersectionality is the different identities that make up a person which would make that person systematically oppressed. An example of this would be a black woman with a disability. All three of those identities intersect when it comes to oppression because being black, she is treated differently. Being a woman, she is treated differently, and being a person with a disability, she is treated differently compared to the majority.

The reason why diversity is important is that the country is growing. According to the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, by 2030, 1 in 5 Americans will be over the Also, by 2040, more than half of Americans would belong to a minority group other than non-Hispanic White. In addition, companies are hiring diverse candidates because they are looking for qualified employees. Ultimately, diversity is going to continue to impact us because it is everywhere.

Furthermore, I have been taking the DE&I workshops with the Center of Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Houston. It was an impactful experience because I got to learn about other people's experiences and go beyond the surface of what I can physically see. Also, you learn new information which is important because the world is evolving, and you want to make sure that you are remaining inclusive when it comes to the identities that people have. One of the many tips I learned was to never assume someone's identity based on physical appearance. It is always best to ask questions to get to know someone better, but do not ask probing or offensive questions.

We moved on to presenting our learning tool or method to the class. I went first and I presented on the game show Jeopardy! I presented on the history of Jeopardy! I moved on to discussing how to play Jeopardy! Then, I discussed how Jeopardy! is related to adult learning. To conclude, I had to break up the class into 4 teams of 3 where they played a simulated version of Jeopardy! on topics within human resource development. The team that won was team 3.

The next presentation was on Qussion. Qussion is similar to a discussion. However, instead of asking a question and having people respond to the question with statements, people are asked a question and respond with questions and continue until there is a conclusion to the main question. For example, the class had to create questions surrounding the question of whether should companies hire someone or not based on the candidate's social media.

Next, the presentation was on role-playing. Role-playing involves people acting out certain roles to either train someone on a new skill or come up with a solution to a given issue. For example, we had broken into teams to decide on if a company should hire externally for someone to replace the leader engineer or hire someone internally for the position. However, the internal candidate struggles with some soft skills such as communication and teamwork but has 15 years of experience as an engineer and understands the company's product. My team decided to hire the internal candidate because we can train that person on the gap in soft skills by using role-playing as one of the training methods.

Lastly, the last presentation was on the method Post-it parade. Post-it parade is a tool where a group use Post-its to answer questions and the goal is to find a common answer among group members. For example, we broke into groups and were asked the question to list tools that can be used to eliminate stress. The groups had to categorize their group members' answers into common themes. The theme that came up the most was listening to calm music.