How To Involve & Engage Difficult Kids?
This was a question sent to me from a participant who attended one of my recent workshops…
Q: What activities do you think would be well suited to students who are hard to work with and disengaged from participation? – Duncan (WA)
Here’s a part of my response…
… I can totally understand the “resistance” issue with the kids you’re working with especially. However, the principle is the same as with any other group – it’s all about preparation. If at any time they resist, it’s just a signal that they are not comfortable, and need more preparation. Most of the time, your groups are going to need LOTS more preparation, esp in terms of “sharing” and trusting one another.
However, that said, these groups are often the quickest to embrace the power of these interactions once they ‘get over’ themselves. And that’s part of our job. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I’m not saying that this is a lottery, but a play and adventure-based learning approach is just one tool in your arsenal, there is NO magic trick.
So, to your questions about what activities are good to introduce with these kids – well, pretty much anything that involves their WHOLE body – keep them moving, and subtly, invite them into “safe” places to share. An hour of running around, having a laugh, and raising heart beats goes a long way to helping kids feel more effective at sharing. It’s often baby steps at first (there’s a LOT of ice to break with these kids), but over time, you should start to see some kids get the idea, and feel safer to share and thereby open the door to learning and trusting.
Final word of advice… I often also spend some considerable time and effort “framing” my experiences before I invite challenging groups to “risk” playing. Sometimes this is a conversation, but often it can be just the way I behave or the type of activities I introduce that communicates “what is expected around here.” If it seems like rules, they’ll buck up. But, if the fun is really obvious, it’s often hard for kids to step away from it. And as I often say, it’s hard to look “cool” when every one else is having a fun time.
Do you have a leadership or programming question for Mark?
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Ubuntu Cards
One of the most exciting NEW props you can use to invite interaction and fun
At A Glance
A set of unique double-sided picture cards which present an endless array of conversation starters and opportunities to interact within a group.
What You Need
- 1 x set of Ubuntu cards
What To Do
These cards are my latest, favourite prop – here’s just one of a zillion of ways to use them…
Distribute one card (there’s 54 in the pack) to each person in your group. Describe that that there are two sides to each card, every one of them different.
On one side, there is a large picture of a unique object such as a hammer, a rubber chook or a model train. On the other side, there are 8 smaller images selected from the 54 larger items. Somehow (and I’m not a mathematician) any two cards will have one item in common among these 8 images. Crazy, I know! But it works every time.
Ask everyone to mingle and find a partner. On the count of “1, 2, 3″ each person flashes the 8-image side of their card to their partner. The first person to identify the common image / object, earns a brownie point!
From this point, you can take one of many routes. For example, once the match is identified, ask each partnership to have a quick chat to discover at least one thing that they have in common – but – encourage them to look beyond the obvious. Then, each person swaps Ubuntu cards, and returns to mingling and seeks out a new partner. And repeat many times.
Variations
- As above, but this time, partners stand back to back. One person starts by describing one of the 8 smaller objects on his/her Ubuntu card – but, without using the object’s name. They can describe its use, colour, shape, where it may be found, etc. Once a match is discovered, partners turn around and continue to share as above.
- Click here to read several more Ubuntu Card variations posted on the official Ubuntu Collaborative Resource page (as moderated by my good friends Ryan McCormick & High-5 Learning Adventure Center, USA).
If you are already using Ubuntu cards, why not post your favourite variation by clicking here…
Click here if you want to get your own Ubuntu card set?
The Maze
Dynamic problem-solving initiative that can be linked powerfully to real life
At A Glance
A group attempts to navigate the correct path across a series of spots on the ground.
What You Need
- Bunch of rubber spots / carpet tiles / chalk circles
- Pen & paper
What To Do
This is an ideal problem-solving exercise when you don’t have a lot of room to use.
In advance, lay a series of rubber gym spots /carpet tiles or simply draw chalk circles on the floor, arranged in rows and columns (see photograph). There’s no magic number, but the more spots, the more difficult the task will be.
Start your group at one end of the spots, and explain that you would like the group to navigate their way through the maze – one step at a time – to identify the secret pathway. The correct path starts with one of the spots in the top row (closest to the group), and will finish with one of the spots which form the final row. How the path travels between those two points is a secret.
As with electricity, suggest that the secret pathway will follow the path of least resistance, so it will not run in a straight line, and may turn in any direction, but it will never cross itself, nor use any spot twice (see sample below). Also explain that once identified, the path will not change.
Instruct your group that only one person is entitled to enter the area of the spots at any point in time. To this end, the group may choose to task several people to enter the area to navigate the path, but only ever one person at a time. Explain that every time a spot is stepped on (with both feet), you will either give the thumbs up (yes, part of the path) or thumbs down (no, not the correct path). Tally the number of “errors,” challenging the group to navigate the path with as few errors as possible.
This is the basic set-up. To add extra spice, add one or more of the variations described below.
Note, like many problem-solving activities, this activity and its execution are wonderfully applicable to many a metaphor. For example, the maze represents a journey (or the life of a group), because it has a start and an end and many unknowns in between, and to be successful the whole group must work together, etc.
Variations
Each time an error is made (stepped on wrong spot, or perhaps in wrong sequence), require the stepper to retrace their correct steps back out of the maze returning to the start.- Establish a maximum number of “errors” the group can incur to be “successful.” Based on the maze I often use (illustrated at right), most groups are able to be “successful” in 30 or less errors.
- Ask the group to complete the task silently, ie no verbal communication once the spotted area is entered for the first time. This may mean that they group can talk during their designated planning time.
- For groups still developing their social skills, use less spots or a greater number of allowable errors.
Do you have other ideas about this exercise? If so, let me and the world know by clicking here…
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Who am I?
Hi, I'm Mark Collard.
This blog shares some of the most successful group games, team-building activities & programming tips I know.
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