Prioritizing Action Ideas Activity

(90 minutes)
Purpose of activity:
To prioritize action ideas that surfaced during dialogues and select which to move forward on.
This activity is recommended to be used in small groups and is particularly useful when action
ideas cannot be combined.

Materials needed:

Flip chart or whiteboard

Markers

Large sticky notes

Instructions for facilitator:

1. On a flip chart or whiteboard, draw the chart from the next page.
2. Write the action ideas identified by the group on the sticky notes one idea per note.
3. With input from the group, place each action idea on the chart according to feasibility and
importance. Think about whether any of the ideas overlap and if any could be combined.
4. After all the action ideas are placed on the chart, review the list and discuss the following
questions:

Do we want to work on more than one idea at a time?

Decide on the idea(s) to concentrate on first; discuss how each aligns with the goal(s) of
our dialogues.

5. Once group has agreed on action ideas to work on as a group, discuss these questions:

How will this action idea contribute to our overall goal?

What results or changes do we expect as a result of this effort?

Refer to the assets identified during the dialogues to see if there are any resources that
could help move the effort forward.

Prioritizing Action Ideas Chart

Place each action idea on a sticky note. Then, place it in the appropriate quadrant,
based on importance and feasibility.

Easy

Feasibility
(What is the
likelihood
that we can
make this
happen?)

Hard

Low

High

Importance
(What will be the impact of this action? What difference will it make?)

Prioritizing Action Ideas Example

Easy

Feasibility

Hard

1
6
Low

High
Importance

Action ideas for increasing involvement of non-English speaking parents:

1.

Organize ESL classes for parents.

2.

Translate school documents into other languages.

3.

Provide translators for parent conferences.

4.

Hold Family Night for families (e.g. pizza, bingo, resources, translators)

5.

Survey parents on their needs.

6.

Provide free English language learning videos to families.