Activity D kit: turn feedback into a next action

What this activity is for

Activity D turns a broad hope into an experiment: a small task with a date, a helper, and evidence to bring back. The Future Map stores the action and a review date, not an open-ended goal like "learn more about AI". Each learner leaves First Move with three dated actions in "My next 90 days", and the first one is small enough to finish within two weeks.

The journey template uses this kit at four points:

The steps (Day 3, three dated actions)

1. Choose a question. Something the learner genuinely wants to find out, ideally prompted by feedback from a taster, a practitioner or the plan clinic. For example: "Do I enjoy interviewing users enough to explore design?"
2. Define a small task that would test it, doable in a few hours.
3. Set a real date. Action 1 fits inside two weeks, around the school holidays.
4. Name who can help, by role: a teacher, a practitioner they met, a programme contact. Never a phone number.
5. Name the evidence they will bring back: a photo, a note, a file, a recording, a message.
6. Answer "What result would change my mind?" with an if-then sentence: "If ___ happens, I will ___."
7. Set a review date in the Future Map, against the cohort's 30-day check-in date.

Actions 2 and 3 can be bigger, such as checking an application window, filling a route card for a new option, or trying a short free course, but each still has a task, a date, a helper, evidence and a review date. Last, the learner writes what support they need and from whom (a role, not a phone number).

The worksheet is in next-action-worksheet.md. Examples of vague and better actions are in good-vs-vague-actions.md.

Good versus vague

A good action starts with a verb, has a date, names who helps, and produces something another person could see. A vague action describes a wish. The example dates are illustrative, for a cohort that ends in late December 2026; change them to fit your cohort.

Why a specific "when and how" helps

Psychologists call a plan in the form "when situation X happens, I will do Y" an implementation intention. A 2006 meta-analysis by Gollwitzer and Sheeran, as reported in a 2021 review in Frontiers in Psychology, found a medium-to-large effect on goal attainment, with Cohen's d = 0.65^[1]. Those studies were not about career choice, and an effect size is not a promise that any one learner will follow through. The practical lesson is modest: a dated, specific first step is more likely to happen than a general intention.

The "change my mind" question

This question does two jobs. It treats the action as a real test, not a box to tick. And it stops the plan from quietly turning into a verdict: a learner who finds two interviews boring has learned something useful, not failed. Encourage both directions, for example: "If I find two interviews boring, I'll try a making task next. If I enjoy them, I'll ask about a design short course."

What the facilitator looks for

The main criterion is explains a justified next step. The action should also show improves work after feedback, because it links back to something the learner heard or did. Record emerging, demonstrated with support, or demonstrated independently, with an example:

• Emerging: a wish with no date or task ("explore design").
• With support: a task and date after prompting, but the evidence or helper is vague.
• Independently: a small dated task, a helper named by role, clear evidence, and an honest if-then sentence that links to feedback received.

Safety and cost

An action that costs money says where the money comes from. An action that involves meeting or calling an adult goes through a parent, the learner's school or the First Move team, never a stranger found online. If a meeting happens, it is in a public place or online, a parent or guardian knows who, when and where, and the learner never shares their address, IC number or other personal details. They can end any conversation that feels wrong.

Week 1: the first experiment

Before starting, the learner writes what they expect to happen. Afterwards they keep evidence that they did it (something made, asked or tried, not just "done"), compare what happened with what they expected and with their if-then sentence, and change the Future Map if the result gives them a reason. Whoever follows up quotes the learner's own first action back to them. If the action was too big, help shrink it rather than drop it.

At the 30-day check-in

Ask three questions: Did you do it? What did you bring back? What will you do next because of it? Only an action with evidence counts toward the day-30 measure. If the learner did not do it, ask what got in the way and shrink the next action. "Not yet" is information, not failure.

What to do next

1. Facilitators: print the worksheet (three per learner) and the examples for every clinic table, and practise asking "What result would change your mind?" with each other.
2. Learners: before you leave Day 3, put your first action and its review date in your Future Map, and tell one person who will ask you about it.
3. Programme lead: settle who runs the week-1 nudge and the 30-day check-in (decision D11), and make sure each message quotes the learner's own first action back to them.