CDT Training & Facilitation Techniques 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which instructional strategy is MOST effective for building empathy in diversity training?
- Presenting demographic statistics on disparities
- Perspective-taking exercises and personal storytelling (Correct answer)
- Mandatory reading assignments before the session
- Administering implicit bias tests without debrief
Correct answer: Perspective-taking exercises and personal storytelling
Perspective-taking and storytelling create emotional resonance that statistics alone cannot achieve, building genuine empathy.
Question 2: What is the purpose of establishing 'community agreements' at the start of a diversity training?
- To prevent participants from raising controversial topics
- To create shared norms that guide respectful engagement throughout the session (Correct answer)
- To assign participants to roles and responsibilities
- To satisfy legal compliance requirements
Correct answer: To create shared norms that guide respectful engagement throughout the session
Community agreements (also called group norms or ground rules) set shared expectations for respectful, productive dialogue.
Question 3: A participant says, 'I don't see color — I treat everyone the same.' How should a CDT facilitator respond?
- Agree to avoid conflict and move on
- Dismiss the comment and redirect to the agenda
- Acknowledge the intention, then explore how colorblindness can inadvertently erase individual experiences (Correct answer)
- Ask other participants to correct the speaker
Correct answer: Acknowledge the intention, then explore how colorblindness can inadvertently erase individual experiences
Facilitators should honor positive intent while guiding participants to examine how colorblind ideology can minimize systemic inequities.
Question 4: Which of the following BEST describes the 'affinity group' facilitation technique?
- Grouping participants randomly to maximize diversity within groups
- Separating participants by shared identities to discuss shared experiences before rejoining the larger group (Correct answer)
- Pairing a dominant group member with a marginalized group member
- Using online polls to group participants by opinion
Correct answer: Separating participants by shared identities to discuss shared experiences before rejoining the larger group
Affinity groups allow people with shared identities to process experiences together, which can increase safety and depth of dialogue before whole-group sharing.
Question 5: When facilitating diversity training, what is the risk of relying solely on a single 'diverse spokesperson' within the group to speak for their community?
- It saves time by consolidating perspectives
- It can place an unfair burden on that individual and reinforce stereotypes about group homogeneity (Correct answer)
- It ensures accuracy because lived experience is primary
- It prevents other participants from speaking over minority voices
Correct answer: It can place an unfair burden on that individual and reinforce stereotypes about group homogeneity
Expecting one person to represent their entire group is tokenizing and erases the diversity of experience within any identity group.
Question 6: A CDT trainer is designing a microlearning diversity module. What is the ideal length for each microlearning unit?
- 60–90 minutes to cover topics thoroughly
- 3–10 minutes focused on a single concept or behavior (Correct answer)
- Full-day immersive sessions only
- 30–45 minutes with a break
Correct answer: 3–10 minutes focused on a single concept or behavior
Microlearning is characterized by short, focused units (typically 3–10 minutes) that target one discrete concept or skill.
Question 7: Which facilitation move helps surface assumptions when participants resist a diversity concept?
- Providing the correct answer immediately
- Using Socratic questioning to invite participants to examine the reasoning behind their resistance (Correct answer)
- Skipping the concept and returning to it later
- Asking resistant participants to work alone
Correct answer: Using Socratic questioning to invite participants to examine the reasoning behind their resistance
Socratic questioning prompts participants to examine their own reasoning, making assumptions visible without the facilitator imposing conclusions.
CDT Training & Facilitation Techniques 3
Which instructional strategy is MOST effective for building empathy in diversity training?