Step Into My Sessions: OODA Loop + SocialScales = Visible Insight, Less Guesswork

Less guessing, more understanding - foundations of social success.

Last week, I introduced the concept of the OODA Loop, and talked about how I begin these conversations with my students. This week, I have an example from a group, during which I had to find a bit of flexibility of my own, and go with THEIR flow! 🔄️🤔

OODA Loop in Action

The concept of the OODA Loop was pretty much understood by this group of middle school students. 🍎✏️

They were working on integrating OODA Looping into our sessions, and practicing this important concept in the moment – recognizing when what they were doing was “working” and making adjustments when their observations suggested that maybe a slight change was in order. 🧠🕛

Just like I love using animated videos, I love using ​SocialScales!​ So, I pulled one up, and the students worked on the wording. This is what they came up with:

They were quite shocked that I: (1) wrote that OODA looping is boring, and (2) that I typed their thoughts, without making edits of my own or asking for any changes.😲 We were in a groove moving forward, and I noted that they were all paying great attention – they were all OODA looping. Nice! 😁

To visually indicate how great they were doing, I quickly inserted arrows with each of their initials, asking, “So where do you think you are right now?” Here was their report:

Within a few seconds, LR sat up a bit straighter and leaned forward attentively. 👀

I matched his change in behavior by moving his arrow to be closer to the others (although, to me, anything in yellow, green or blue is great for this group.) He smiled and said, “Great, live standings!!” The others agreed. 🙂‍↕️

Integrating Live Standings

We moved to another activity – a tabletop game. As they got ready, one of them asked, “Aren’t you going to do live standings while we play?” Quickly, I assessed in my head whether that would be a good move for this group. 🧐

Could they tolerate being “judged” in front of others? Would my corrections be seen as criticism and therefore nonproductive? I decided that, since this group has been together for quite a few years, and they know, accept, and like each other, that I would give it a careful try.

Well, they were ROCK STARS during the game! 🤩🙌🏼

They watched each other a bit more closely. They adjusted their comments to keep the feelings positive.

One student who tends toward sarcasm toned it down. Another student who tends toward making fun of people while they play made no hurtful “jokes.” All the students stayed regulated. WOW! 😲❣️

When the game was finished, we made a list summarizing why group had gone so well. They all left with a sense of accomplishment and a new understanding of the benefits of OODA looping.

If you are experimenting with OODA looping, I’d love to hear how it’s going! 💬