Objective:
- To understand team dynamics and how teams come together to achieve a goal
- Understanding the importance of careful research, discussion and planning
- Listening to other members of the team
- Research
- Idea generation
- Sales, persuasion techniques (as needed)
Overview
This exercise is a fantastic way to get people working together as they tackle up to 10 tasks in a given time frame. With limited information (on each other and the tasks presented) the group must navigate through the challenges in order to be the most successful group (back within the time frame; most tasks achieved; most accurate delivery of the tasks). Depending on the tasks selected, specific industry or sector knowledge can be tested as widerskills of background knowledge, research and creative thinking are required. Insist upon evidence of the achievements (photos on flip or camera phones) as well as delivery of objectives.
Activity : This activity needs a long session (such as 120 minutes) to complete, reflection and analysis takes place at the end of the session.
The groups of up to 6 people are sent out to complete > 10 tasks (usually 3 cryptic, 3 researched and 4 fun)
Examples of these could include:
- To find an encryption or statue (or similar engraving) in the University Library
- Two examples of their subject/discipline in practice (photographs or illustrations of)
- Interview a relevant professional in the field
- Find a particular journal article
- How many people can you fit in a phone box
- Share a message on social media as widely as possible
These tasks should be developed beforehand to suit the environment where the day is taking place. Ensure there are fun tasks involved and that everyone has a chance to engage by creating a range of challenges that involve the physical, mental, social aspects of your learners.
To manage this challenge effectively, if it important that you:
- Give strict time frames and penalties for not meeting the time
- Consider the health and safety aspects of all the challenges and adapt to suit your learners (by keeping everyone on campus; in 1 building; or keeping all the tasks within the 1 room etc as necessary).
- Consider whether you wish to keep them all together as a team or are happy for individuals to split off to deliver tasks back to the group.
Practically it can also be helpful to give them a puzzle to solve before they can leave and a further one when they return. This means they are leaving at different times and they return to a final challenge, so that you can record time and award points.
Skill Development:
Depending upon the challenges you create, there is a wide range of transferable skills and knowledge base that you can test during this challenge. You can create tasks that draw upon their:
- Imagination and creativity
- Communication and Strategy
- Problem solving
- Teamwork and organisation
- Route Planning
- Research skills
- Leadership/Persuasion
- Decision making
- Logistics/Systems
- Speed/Precision/Efficiency
- Reflection/Review/Analysis
- Feedback
It is important that you review the challenges and how the groups tackled the tasks in order to draw out the subject learning and these wider skills, before reviewing the wider team experience by exploring:
- How the initial discussions went, did someone take the lead, was it a bit of a shouting match, was it chaos, was there a lack of ideas/too many ideas
- Whose ideas were listened to the most and why
- Who planned the route
- Who was ignored and why
- Whose ideas were taken on board and why, was a consensus achieved
- Who allocated roles
- Who put themselves forward for roles
- How did the actual production go, smooth, chaotic, who took the lead, who organised, how did it progress, how was the mood of the team?
- Was everyone involved? Did everyone need to be involved?
- How did the dynamics between the members of the group change as they went through the different stages
- Were more people involved, less people involved
- How did people participants feel at each stage, did confidence grow or recede
- What skills were employed by the task
- How are these important to a task/team
Drawing out the team dynamics will allow the students to identify the lessons that they can take forward that will improve their future group work and learning experiences.
Ask if they started by sharing their knowledge and skill set or just started on the tasks (the most typical response) and whether they would do that again. Ask when, or if they ever start a task by reviewing when they have collectively or individually undertaken something similar and what was learnt that they could take forward.
Resources:
- Prepared tasks – such as Two indoor puzzles/tasks
- Research the area for tasks to complete
- A flip phone or check if students have their own camera phone
- Flip boards or wall space to show evidence
- A prize
- A timer or watch