Got A Question?
Got a programming question?
Need help looking for a particular type of activity?
Ask Mark!
, and Mark will shoot back a response. Other experienced practitioners may also be willing to add their two-cents worth as well!
So, what’s YOUR most pressing question?
Here are some recent questions that might help you…
Q1: Problem-Solving Activities That Are Missing a Vital Clue?
….posted by Dellila (IN, USA)
I am part of a group who is trying to organize a conference. We have a problem because we know just what KIND of activity we need. We just don’t know what it would be.
Heres the kind of activity we are looking for:
- A group (or individual) problem solving activity in which group members or individuals have to solve some kind of problem that is very difficult.
- We will separate groups into 5′s -6′s and give them a task/problem to solve.
- What the groups/individuals don’t know is that we are witholding certain information from them which will make the solving of this problem easily solvable.
- We then allow them to try their best at solving this knowing they will not be very successful.
- The next step is that we tell them the KEY HINT that reveals how to solve it and the group members/individuals implement this hint and they then solve the problem with relative ease.
- Then we relate this problem with real life and attach a lesson to it.
Do you know of any group/individual activity such as this one?
Mark’s response:
Hi Dellila, my first impression of the activity you are looking for concerns me at one level because it suggests that the lesson the children may get is that “in life, certain truths will be withheld from you, and you can’t work it out on your own”. So, I would caution this strategy, to be honest. Some kids may perceive this as a trick, which sets you up (as the teacher) for always having to enlighten your students whenever they struggle. Better, to my way of thinking, is to empower the students to solve problems on their own.
However, that said, no particular activities come to mind which I know that fit your requirements. There are many group problem-solving activities which are still difficult, but would take time for a group to solve. You do not mention the age or skill level of the kids you are working with, but have a look at exercises such as Change Up, The Maze, Madagascar Rescue and Up The Challenge. All of these exercises are challenging, fun and can easily be framed in such as way as to impart lessons during the debrief.
There are dozens more activities just like this which would be ideal for your group contained in my books No Props and Count Me In.
Q2: Activities Appropriate for Kids with Autism / ADHD?
…posted by Daniel (VIC, Australia)
I was hoping to borrow some of your knowledge as I am currently a part of a program at the Ballarat Specialist needs school and and working with a young boy who has Autism and ADHD to a degree. He has an abundance of energy and is a friendly kid on his own. But has major social issues and has no concepts of sharing, getting along with other kids etc. I thought that using some outdoor ed, initiative, team work style activities with him and the other kids would be a great way to develop his social skills, etc.
Was just wondering if you have had much experience working with special needs children who usually suffer in mainstream, or if you could suggest any good resources or ideas to run with.
Mark’s response:
Hi Daniel, I personally have little experience of working with kids with disabilities – most of my experience in this area is with their leaders / teachers.
That said, however, I would suggest that larger group activities (ie 10 or more kids) may push the kid you are referring to over the edge. Try paired activities where he can work with just one other kid (perhaps two). In this way, if he does “lose it,” at least it only affects one or two kids, not the whole group. And better still, perhaps working in smaller units is easier for him to work with.
Take a look at the some of books, especially ‘No Props’ and pick out the paired activities, such as Paper Golf, Toe Tag, Toe to Toe, Gotcha, Thumb Wrestling In Stereo, ESP, etc.
Q3: When to stop an activity that’s not working?
… posted by Phil (NY, USA)
…I have been facilitating team-building for a number of years now and still find myself struggling to decide at which point it is time to end an activity and move onto another one. More precisely, when groups struggle with activities (helium stick for example), when should i end it and move onto something else without the group feeling like they failed? At times letting groups persevere has resulted in great results but in others this brings negative results and low morale. Any help would be greatly received…
Mark’s response:
First up, Phil, when to move on from an activity? In my experience, I like to consider the advice given to me by Karl Rohnke when i was first mentored by him – he says that is you are waning more often than you are waxing, find a new job! Meaning, that you should always keep your group wanting more. Try to nip the activity in the bud right at the peak or maybe just past it. If you go too far beyond this point, you will face the possibility of your group becoming dis-engaged. To my way of thinking, I would rather deal with a group complaining that they want to keep playing a particular activity (perhaps on the promise of coming back to it later on), than deal with the lamentations of people asking when is this going to stop? Does that make sense?
Now, your question also leans on the vexed issue of when a group struggles with an exercise, when do you stop or move? This is trickier, but my first response is always to consider your sequence first. In 95% of cases, when a group meets resistance, it’s because they are not prepared (physically, mentally and emotionally) for the challenge they are facing. So, in the case of the Helium Stick (which is extremely difficult and dynamic), you really need to ensure your group has the decision-making and communication skills in place first to manage this activity gracefully. Otherwise, it ends up very frustrating to everyone, you included. So in effect, always, always, always consider how well prepared your group is for a particular challenge before launching into it. Sometimes this means having to change your plans, ie the agenda says you should be doing the Helium Stick now, but looking at your group you can see that they are not ready for it yet.
It is true that there is always a judgement call to be made – how much can i push the group/individual before I push too hard, and everything falls apart. This skill comes with experience, and even then, you make mistakes. That’s why it’s called ‘adventure-based’ learning – if we knew the outcome, then it wouldn’t be an adventure. So, regardless of the outcome, the manner in which you process your group’s experience will be key. And to be fair, many group facilitators feel the least equipped to pull this part of the job off well. Therein lies the issue.
Finally, i will say that I am a big advocate of inviting groups into a CHALLENGE course, not a SUCCESS course. Sadly, in my humble opinion, I’m seeing more and more programs and facilitators design a program that will enable the group to be successful. They end up with lots of happy satisfied customers at the end, but no real lasting change. The alternative is to challenge your groups (challenge yourself), lead them into experiences that will provide opportunities for growth and development, and importantly will be processed effectively along the way so that they can make sense of it all – even if they don’t “succeed.”
Hopefully there’s some nuggets of wisdom in there some where for you.
Q4: How do you deal with group’s expectations, especially if they are not ready?
… posted by Phil (NY, USA)
… How do you deal with groups who come with expectations and desires to do particular activities but are not mentally/emotionally ready for them?
… Framing your group’s experience is absolutely crucial. That is, appropriately communicating and designing an experience that meets your group’s needs, which may or may not necessarily meet their expectations. That’s not to say that we should dampen our group’s expectations – I’m suggesting that we should take some if not most of the responsibility for developing appropriate expectations in our group’s minds ahead of time.
A quick illustration. There was a group once that I sold on the promise of providing a high ropes course experience. Yet, within 5 minutes of the program starting it was clear that this group was not taking their safety seriously. After much struggle, in the early afternoon, I decided to NOT proceed past low elements with this group. The client was royally pissed off, and rightly so, cos I said that they would get a high ropes experience. But I could not have confidently proceeded to the high ropes and judged this group as ready because there was no evidence. I learned that what I was really selling was an adventure program, NOT a high ropes course experience. I may choose to use a high ropes course to achieve our goals, but I never ever promise what I’ll do in a program. I promise I will achieve certain outcomes, but rarely is the outcome “to do a high element.” Does my point make sense?
So, yes, groups and individuals will always have expectations for particular activities that they may not necessarily be physically, mentally and emotionally ready for – however, it’s your call to decide if they are ready, and yet even before they arrive, I believe it is also your responsibility to prepare them for what’s ahead – or what may not be ahead, as the case may be. Always ask yourself, why are they really coming to the program, and what do they hope or need to achieve from it. Let that answer guide your facilitation and communication with the client.
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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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