College Group Camp
Participant Overview: 32 freshmen and sophomores. Program took place at a Camp Location that the College owns
Program Goals:
1. Build Trust: For participants to gain reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, and surety of the members of the group.
2. Action = Consequence: For participants to see the results of Action – Consequence while participating in adventure based activities. Additionally participants will reflect upon the consequences of choice and have the ability to reflect upon the consequences of their actions in a closed system environment. Through this reflection process students will leave with practical knowledge to increase and sustain personal effectiveness.
Opening: Establish Team Program Atmosphere
• Expectations of team for the program
• Behaviors and norms of team (Full Value Contract)
• Challenge By Choice
Activities
Initiative: Icebreakers and Openers
• Gotchya an icebreaker that opens the group to laughter and comfort with each other
Outcomes: Participants will
• Understand goals for the day
• Feel invited to participate in the Teambuilding Program
• Learn about the other participant
Initiative: Birthday Rope Participants are asked to line up along a large rope circle according to birthdays
Focus: to allow participants to become close to each other (physically and emotionally). Also provides a taste of problem solving.
Processing: How many of you followed directions? What makes it hard to follow directions? What was difficult about this activity? How did you communicate to other group members? What part did the rope play in this activity? Why are boundaries important, and how will they affect our day? What sort of problems did we have to solve? What sorts of problems do we solve on a daily basis? Did you learn anything about any of your group members?
Initiative: Watch It! While participants are still in a circle from the birthday rope they are challenged to pass objects around the circle following complicated directions.
Focus: FUN!
Processing: Generally I do not process this activity; here are some ideas to discuss if processing takes place.
When was the activity easy? When did it get harder? How many things do you think you can handle at once? How many things do you think the group can handle at once? What are things? What sort of things do you think will be happening during our time together?
Initiative: Going Nuts! (Teams of 10 – 15 people) Teams are given a threaded rod with a nut screwed onto each rod that equals the amount of participants. Teams are challenged to remove the nuts as fast as possible.
Focus: Delegation of roles and responsibilities for group members. Accountability to the team by individuals as well as individual accountability to the team for success and completion of challenging tasks. Develop team and personal leadership skills.
Processing: What was the group’s initial reaction/expectation? What was the first problem encountered? What was the solution? Was there any sort if support during the activity? How did it help or hinder progress? When the first few players finished what did they do? Does this same behavior happen elsewhere? What was done with the rod after the nuts were removed? What can this be related to? Did anyone “GO NUTS!”?
Initiative: Sky Pipe the entire group will have to transfer items through a series of pipes, while not being able to physically touch the pipes or the object within the pipes.
Focus: The students will determine metaphors for the various objects and the pipes (ex. The end bucket is graduation, the pipes are classes they must take, and the objects are professors or themselves as students). Additionally this activity involves problem solving as a team. The participants also gain skills is goal-setting and goal attainment.
Processing: Did the team create a workable plan? How did this happen? Was time spent planning adequate? Did you set a clear goal? Was it realistic? Did the group agree on it? Did you reach it? Why or Why not? What factors contributed to the team’s success? What factors made the task difficult? What about this activity is similar or different from College Life? On a scale of 1 – 10, 10 being high, how satisfied are you with your results? With your team process? What would you do differently next time to improve your effectiveness and performance?
Initiative: Sticky Situation (teams of 10 – 15) the team is challenged with unrolling a roll of masking tape without breaking it.
Focus: Working as a team and individuals within a boundary, discussion of how boundaries placed on us can either make us work harder or accept defeat. High level problem solving placed on teams. Brainstorming skills as well as the personal commitment to “follow through” on a task or idea that may not be the idea you put forward. Understanding that sometimes the LOUDEST idea is not always the best, a team must be properly “mined” for the best practice for the team at that present time.
Processing: What was the initial reaction of the group? What information was available to start with? What wasn’t available? What planning took place? How were ideas shared within the group? What unforeseen problems came up? How were they dealt with? Did anyone make any sacrifices for the group? Did anyone refuse to make sacrifices? Why? What was the group’s end result? Was the process worth the effort? What worth came out of the activity? Now what do you do with all this tape??
Initiative: Focus Ring (Two teams acting as one) each team using ropes and small diameter ring must transport a tennis ball from a pipe to a second pipe.
Focus: To illustrate a need for interdependence among the students for success. Sharing leadership, everyone’s voice is needed for success, Focusing on a goal all the way to the end, Learning and moving forward from setbacks, working as a team.
Processing: Metaphor Cards each team will choose a card that best represents their personal learning from the Focus Ring.
WRAP UP! The students are lead through a series of ending activities with balloons or mousetraps with intention of cementing the skills learned from the program.
Special Notes on Processing and Reflect:
Create-Learning Facilitators will process and reflect after the majority of the activities. This session may include although is not limited to use of Metaphor cards, group drawing, Socratic question and answers, Small group presentations of learning, Personal reflection through the use of sharing circles and various hand signals, as well as creating concrete plans of how the skills gained will be used in the college environment personally and professionally.
Create-Learning has shown results using a variety of processing activities to actively engage each participant. Create-Learning uses processing techniques and activities to give each individual participant the greatest learning possible for the day.
Individuals and teams will learn about the different personalities and skills of their peers. This is learned through the hands on nature of the activities and the highly interactive processing session after each activity. Create-Learning enables the group to take credit and responsibility for their own learning, and gives them tools that can be used immediately in the college environment.