LEARNING PLAN: Part one

Getting Started: The Stanfield Way Documents

• Here are some documents that you will find helpful as you prepare for your delivery of The Stanfield Way.
• Just click on the buttons to download.

1. Introductions and Agenda

8:30 - 8:45

1.1 Participant and Facilitator Introductions (10 minutes)

• Invite participants to introduce themselves to the large group by sharing their name, organization and title.
• Also invite them to pick one of the following questions to share with the group:
  1. An interesting fact about their organization that others might not know
  2. An interesting thing they've experienced or seen at the airport
  3. An aspect of working at the airport that they really enjoy 
• Introduce yourself to the group by sharing a brief bio and your background

1.2 Objectives and Agenda Review (5 minutes)

• Share the workshop objectives and agenda for The Stanfield Way (sample Objectives and Agenda flip charts below)

2. THE STANFIELD WAY AND WHY IT MATTERS

8:45 - 9:20

2.1 INTRODUCTION TO TOPIC (5 minutes)

• Airports are unique working environments that are very different than other working environments such as shopping malls or office towers. Airport personnel encounter more people in the run of a day than most employees (15,000 people a day pass through HSIA) and wider range of human behaviours (happy, sad, tired, cranky, fearful). This exposure to so many people, many of whom are experiencing a heightened degree of stress, creates something called ‘spill over’ stress, stress experienced as a result of encountering others who are stressed.

2.2 INTRODUCTION TO TASK (5 minutes)

• Airports are emotional places. There is something about the airport environment itself that can create stress for travelers. Airports are large, complex spaces fraught with rules, line ups, directory maps, announcements and people. Airports, themselves, contribute to people’s stress levels.
• People's reasons for flying which can contribute to people’s stress levels. Not everyone travels for pleasure. And, even those traveling for pleasure may find that the early morning (or late night) chartered flight throws one off their game.
• Many travellers are nervous flyers. They may worry about turbulence (or even crashing), about being in a confined space, about crashing or terrorist threats. Just thinking about getting on a plane can make people start to sweat.
• We are now going to look at how each of these variables - the nature of airports, reasons for traveling, and airplanes themselves - can contribute to people's anxiety.

2.3 SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION GROUPINGS (2 minutes)

Divide the large group into 3 groups by having participants number off from 1 to 3. 

• Ask the number 1’s to gather at the ‘Airports’ station (posted in one corner of the training room).
• Ask the number 2’s to gather at the ‘Reasons for Traveling’ station (posted in another corner of the training room).
• Ask the number 3’s to gather at the ‘Airplanes/Flying’ station (posted in another corner of the training room).

2.4 SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION TASK (8 minutes)

• Ask each group to select a note taker (someone who will record their group’s commentary on the flip chart page).
• Ask the groups to discuss what specific aspects of their variable might cause people anxiety. For example, what reasons for travelling might add to the stresses of people moving through an airport?
• Ask note takers to record their group's responses directly on the flip chart page.
• Tell groups that they only have 2 - 3 minutes at this station.
• When their time is up, invite each group to rotate one station clockwise. Each group can consider the new variable and add to the list of stressors that the previous group has identified.
• Ensure that each group has a chance to visit each of the three stations. When the lists are complete, bring the flip charts to the front of the room and ask individuals to quickly view the things that create stress for travellers.

2.5 LARGE GROUP DISCUSSION (5 minutes)

• Ask individuals to think about how these stressors might affect people’s behaviour. What behaviours might you see here that you wouldn’t see elsewhere?
• Record their responses on flip chart.

2.6 LECTURE: What Makes our community unique (5 minutes)

• Review page 3 of The Stanfield Way Workbook: "What Makes Our Community Unique".
• Airline travellers experience more anxiety than they do when they're not flying. As a result, many travellers exhibit more aggressive, emotional, and 'unacceptable' behaviours than they would in normal conditions. There are more 'bad' behaviours in an airport than there are in most other workplaces.
• The Stanfield Way is designed to help airport employees understand that the most effective way to ensure a safe airport environment and to reduce their own stress levels is to reduce stress for anxious travellers. This workshop is designed to give employees the means to do that.

2.7 LECTURE: The Stanfield Way's Five virtues (5 MINUTES)

• Review page 4 of The Stanfield Way Workbook: "The Stanfield Way's Five Virtues":

1. Happy: Happiness is a great state of mind. Happy people live longer, are more productive and experience less stress, and they have more fun.
2. Helpful: Reaching out and helping someone, even with a small thing, is a very rewarding experience. Helping others not only makes their lives better, it lifts you up and brings you happiness and joy. Choose to make a difference in someone else’s life and you will make a wonderful difference in your own.
3. Courteous / Caring: A big part of caring for others is treating them with respect and courtesy. It’s important that you treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you - not because they are nice, but because you are.  Respect for others mirrors the respect you have for yourself.
4. Kind: Whenever you can, try to go out of our way to treat others kindly. It means going the extra mile to lighten someone else’s load. Be kind to everyone, as you never know what burdens they may be carrying.

3. WHAT WE OBSERVE

9:20 - 9:35

3.1 AN INTERESTING EXPERIMENT (10 minutes)

• Divide the class into two groups: Group 1 and Group 2.
• Invite Group 1 to wait outside the meeting room for 5 minutes. Make sure the door is closed and that people don't listen at the door.
• Play the Monkey Business Illusion video (see below) for Group 2. Don't mention that a large monkey will be making a surprise appearance in the film. Simply ask them to count the number of passes that people wearing the white shirts make to other people wearing white shirts.
• Ask them to take part in this experiment silently: no laughing, counting out loud, etc. This task requires a high degree of concentration so it is important that the room be silent.
• Once Group 2 has watched the clip, ask them to write down what they saw and to leave the room without speaking to Group 1.
• Invite Group 1 to return and ask them to perform the same task. This time ask them to note when the large monkey walks across the stage.
• Once Group 1 has watched the clip, ask them to write down what they saw. 
• Finally, invite Group 2 to return to the room. Ask individuals from Group1 to find a partner from Group 2 and to share their observations. 

3.2 LECTURE: HOW WE PERCEIVE (5 minutes)

• People see what they expect to see. This is why Group 1 saw the Gorilla and Group 2, even though they watched the same clip, did not.
• There is much in our environment that we don't notice. Observing is a skill and a choice.
• We must make a conscious effort to notice what is going on in our environment. If we don't we might not see someone standing at a Directory Map looking frazzled, or a parent struggling with a stroller and baggage cart.
• Unlike our guests, we probably come to work here several times a week, most weeks of the year. Because we are so familiar with this environment, we may ‘zone out’. We don’t notice a lot of what’s happening around us anymore. Research in the field of visual psychology proves that humans are not very observant... (The Invisible Gorrilla, Simons and Chabris).
• We see what we expect to see and often miss the unexpected.
• This has implications for us. It means that we need to actively observe what is going on in our environment. If we don’t, we may miss out on opportunities to help.

4. OBSERVATIONS AND INFERENCES

9:35 - 10:20

4.1 ANOTHER INTERESTING EXPERIMENT (3 MINUTES)

• Ask learners to watch this video clip: "All Fired Up". Inform them that they are about to see a challenging traveller. Ask learners to note the observations they make of the woman in the clip.

"All Fired Up"

4.2 SMALL GROUP TASK (5 MINUTES)

• Divide participants into 4 groups and ask them to go to one of the assigned flip chart stations in the room.
• Ask each group to select a note taker.
• Ask participants to describe the woman  they just saw in the video. Have the note takers record their group's responses directly on the flip chart page.
• People usually describe her as: "rude", "entitled", "arrogant", "stressed", "demanding".
• Once groups have produced a list describing the traveller, invite them to create a second list on the same page. Ask them to brainstorm a list of those types of people, generally, that get on their nerves.
• Once they have finished this brainstorm list, invite them to return to their seats.

4.3 LECTURE (7 MINUTES)

• Observations: Observations are accurate, factual descriptions of something we have seen or experienced. Observations are statements that are free of interpretation or judgment.
• “Joe was 5 minutes late for work today” is an observation.
• Observations are objective and they are difficult to dispute. Joe may argue that he was only 4 minutes late, but he probably could not claim that he was ‘on time’.
• Inferences: We sometimes create our own explanations for situations when we don’t have all the information we need to accurately assess what is going on. We draw conclusions about things we don’t fully understand. This is called an inference. Inferences may or may not be accurate.
• “Joe is lazy” is an inference.
• Inferences are subjective and easy for others to dispute. Joe could easily argue that he isn’t lazy. He could even blame you by making an inference that you are too uptight, or that you are picking on him. 
• The problem with inferences is that they may be inaccurate. They also limit our ability to see things thoroughly and objectively - like gorillas.
• Inferences don't describe what we see, they describe what we think. 
• Refer participants to page 5 of the The Stanfield Way Workbook.

4.4 PRACTICE ROUND #1 (5 minutes)

• Have a flip chart set with two columns written on it (see sample below): "Observations" and "Inferences".
• Invite participants to consider each of the following words that have been recorded on Post It Notes (see flip chart samples below): rude, wearing a baseball cap, chewing gum, demanding, arrogant, unfriendly, nose piercings, wearing a suit.
• Ask people to think about each item in the list. Then have them tell you in which column to place each word or phrase.
• Here are the observations: wearing a baseball cap, chewing gum, nose piercings, wearing a suit.
• Here are the inferences: rude, demanding, arrogant, unfriendly.

4.5 PRACTICE ROUND #2 (5 minutes)

• Ask participants to return to their list of words on the flip chart and label each word as either O for observation or I for inference.
• When they are finished, ask people whether their list consisted of: mostly observations or mostly inferences.
• If they are like most groups, their lists will predominantly contain inferences.
• We don't usually notice our observations; We convert them almost instantly to inferences means we almost immediately stop observing details what is actually happening.

5. BREAK

10:20 - 10:35