Team Work = Problem Solved!

Introduction (5 minutes)

• Welcome the participants
• Introduce yourself and the Ideas Box project (give your name, say that you work for the Ideas Box, explain that the Ideas Box is a centre that implement activities for the community to improve their access to knowledge and information).
• Ask them to introduce themselves (name and how they feel today)
• Introduce the activity: Today we are going to do an activity about how to work as a team and how to solve challenges together. We are going to understand why communication is really important when we want to work efficiently together.

Ice-breaking game (10 minutes)

• Create groups of 2 with the participants.
• They have 3 minutes to share their name, their favourite colour and their favourite food with their peer.
• Everybody comes into a circle and introduce his/her peer to the other. Everybody has to talk.

Main activity (70 minutes)

Part 1 – The Snake (35 minutes)

• Divide the participants into groups of 4 people.
• Ask them to stand one behind the other and to hold onto the person in front of them by the shoulders. So each participant has his/her two hands on the shoulders of the participant in front of him/her in the line. This line forms a snake. The player at the front is the head and the one at the back is the tail.
• Now explain that the objective of the game is for the head of the snake to catch its tail.
• First, the participants have to do it while walking, then while running, then while jumping on one foot. They should always have their hand on the shoulder of the participant in front of them, otherwise, the snake is broken and the team has to start again.
• Once the head has managed to touch the tail, that person (the head) goes to the back, and becomes the snake’s tail, and so on until each person in the group has been in every position.
• If you see, as a facilitator, that the team is not successful, encourage them to plan a solution together.
• Be careful: This game creates excitement, so it is important to specify that everybody must pay attention to the other participants and that it is forbidden to hit or to push.
• Discuss all together: What did we learn with this game? When was it difficult and when was it easy? What made it easier? How did we work as a team?
• Conclude by saying: This activity showed us that when we have a difficult challenge to manage as a team, it is more important to take the time to discuss solutions together. It is through discussion and by working together that we will find a solution. If somebody has a perfect solution but does not share it and tries just by him/herself, it is not working. If somebody tries to impose a solution, it is not working. We need to do it together.

Part 2 – The Circle (35 minutes)

• Divide the participants into groups of 4 people.
• Have each group stand in a circle facing outwards with their backs to each other, and with their arms linked at the elbows.
• Place a marble or any small item 1 meter in front of each participant.
• Ask them to pick up all the items as quickly as possible, but without letting go of each other elbows. The elbows have to stay side by side all the time.
• They will probably struggle at the beginning, if you see, as a facilitator, that they cannot come to a solution, ask them to think about a plan and to discuss together the best way to succeed.
• Be careful: This game creates excitement, so it is important to specify that everybody must pay attention to the other participants and that it is forbidden to hit or to push.
• When each group has successfully collected every item, sit together and discuss: What did we learn during this game? Why communication is so important if we want to work as a team? Why is planning together more important than strength in this situation?
• Do the same game but with all the participants being part of the same circle.
• Discuss: What difference did it make to have more people involved in the game? Was it easier or more difficult to find a solution together? Why? Can you think about everyday life challenges that also require that to work as a team and discuss together to solve them?
• Conclude by saying: This activity showed us that when we have a difficult challenge to overcome as a team, it is more important to take the time to discuss solutions together. It is through discussion and by working together that we will find a solution. If somebody has a perfect solution but does not share it and tries just by him/herself, it is not working. If somebody tries to impose a solution, it is not working. We need to do it together.

Conclusion (5 minutes)

• Conclude the activity with a summary of what we learned today: There are some challenges we cannot face on our own, we need to work as a team to solve them. To work well as a team, we need to communicate and plan together how we are going to act. When there are many people in a team, it is sometimes more difficult to organize and plan, it requires more time and more discussion in order to have everybody understand and agree.
• Thank the participants for their involvement in the activity.
• Invite the participants to visit the Ideas Box center during their free time to use the content or to join a course in the future.