The Educathon Agenda – Step By Step

Photo of a people in communication before a laptop

In the past years, Educathons have been held in many different contexts, by many different people, and based on different literature and principles.
The agenda proposed here may therefore differ from other Educathons you have seen or even taken part in elsewhere.

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Hosts are advised to use the PowerPoint Template (PPT) provided by teff to ensure that the participants can also follow the agenda easily and can understand its structure.
The PPT also provides suggestions for time limits.
Download the PPT (see p. 11 “Templates & Material”) and click through the slides before reading the following pages.

The teff Educathon Agenda is structured along the three phases

  • “WHY? Explore”
  • “HOW? Ideate”
  • “WHAT? Pitch”
  • each phase starts with a “checkpoint” at which the whole group gets together and the host explains each phase and the respective activity for the team work
  • the group then splits up into teams (that have been formed at the very beginning of the Educathon and stay the same throughout the event) to work on designated phase activities (team work)
  • after the team work, the group reunites for the next “checkpoint”
  • the last phase also includes the presentation of the pitches
  • the end of the Educathon should be used for a group reflection of not only the pitches they have just heard, but also the learning experience they have shared during the event
  • it is also advised to collect feedback on the event at the very end of the Educathon

What happens in phase „WHY? Explore“?

This phase provides room for the participants to explore the “area of concern” and find out more about the the challenge/main topic/underlying „problem“ of the topic.
This exploration phase enables the learners to develop the best possible understanding of the topic, set aside (or re-work) their own assumptions, understand what the topics means for/to others and different groups/countries (e.g. students, teachers, pupils).

Icon Hinweis   What do host(s) & facilitators need to consider here?
  • For the Think-Pair-Share activity in this phase, some learners may need additional input (see p.8 “Input”). This should be presented/worked on at the very beginning of this phase or combined with the Think/Pair steps. For the Share step, all learners should have obtained more or less the same level of knowledge about the topic.
  • During the Share part, facilitators & host further need to make sure that all teams
    • have identified 3 challenges together on their Placemat shee
    • have decided on one question they are going to concentrate on at the very end of this phase. This question should be highlighted somehow on the Placemat sheet
    • choose their question for the right reasons: Stress that it is something they want to work on and that is close to their reality. The question should not be chosen because of an already existing product/pitch idea – this is not the time to think of the final pitch yet
    • take a 5 minute break after this phase – the high working pace during this phase often sets the tone for the whole Educathon and is one of the more demanding parts of it!
  • If different teams choose the same question for the rest of the Educathon, that’s okay! In the end, their results will be very different for sure.

What happens in phase „HOW? Ideate“?

This phase provides room for the participants to generate as many ideas as possible using ideation / brainstorming techniques.
Starting the phase with the quotes in the PPT stresses that in the Educathon, it is not the most feasible or realistic ideas that count – it’s about innovativity!

Icon Hinweis   What do host(s) & facilitators need to consider here?
  • Before the ideation/brainstorming activity, it is very important to present the rules for brainstorming (“Please don’t… ⟶ Instead, …”), especially since learners may have very different ideas of and experience with brainstorming.
    Feel free to change or add rules based on your learners’ needs or customs.
  • During the ideation/brainstorming activity, facilitators & host further need to make sure that all teams
    • write down the question they chose at the end of the Placemat activity in the Why? phase onto their brainstorming sheet
    • are following the brainstorming rules
    • are trying (or at least: discussing to try) more than one brainstorming technique
    • write down their ideas somewhere
    • choose one idea to work on for the rest of the Educathon (not the „easy“ idea – but the most innovative one!).
    • describe their idea in as much detail as possible & write down bullet points
    • involve every member in the barinstorming. In the extreme case that someone does not agree with the group’s idea at all, you can offer them to choose their own idea and write their own pitch (check with the host first).

What happens in phase „WHAT? Pitch“?

During this phase, participants will write and, eventually, present their pitches. The material provided for this phase helps them to structure their pitch.

Icon Hinweis   What do host(s) & facilitators need to consider here?
  • In this phase, be aware that some groups may not know what exactly a pitch is – for this, some links to YouTube videos are provided so learners can watch some examples. Many groups will also be familiar with the show “Lion’s Den”/ “Shark Tank” which has gained international popularity.
  • Sufficient time should be given to write the pitch. Nevertheless, experience has shown that pitches can also be created in a very short time and that, on the other hand, having too much time available can lead teams to doubting their chosen idea and getting too caught up in details.
  • During the pitch-writing, facilitators & host further need to make sure that all teams
    • are aware that they are not supposed to exceed the 90 second time limit in order to guarantee a fair “competion”
    • need to choose someone who is going to present the pitch (this can be the whole group or just 1-2 people)
    • are motivated to try and make their pitch entertaining as well – for example by acting out a conversation between two people or re-enacting a common situation that would lead to the “solution” presented in the pitch
  • For the presentation of the pitches,
    • a “stage” should be set up; each team should be called to the stage using their team name
    • someone (e.g. the host) should watch the time and give some sort of a “warning sign” (e.g. a flashing light) after 80 seconds
    • the 90 second time limit should be taken seriously with regard to fairness
    • You can allow the audience to ask 2-3 questions after each pitch (optional)
  • When inviting a jury (see p. 4 “Roles & Responsibilities”), the time during which they decide upon a winner can be used by the learners to give feedback on the Educathon.
  • When presenting a winner, you can even consider giving out small prizes.
  • You can also create Educathon participation certificates to hand out at the end of your Educathon.
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Dagmar M. Benincasa
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Impressum | Datenschutzvereinbarungen
Wir, Universität zu Köln (Firmensitz: Deutschland), verarbeiten zum Betrieb dieser Website personenbezogene Daten nur im technisch unbedingt notwendigen Umfang. Alle Details dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.