Themes: Group Dynamics
Objectives
- To create a group dynamic
- To make participants work together
- To build trust between the participants
Duration and Planning
- 30 minutes : Bridge
- 20 minutes : Me Too!
- 20 minutes : Drawing Each other
- 20 minutes : Debriefing
Materials
- Paper Tape
- Chairs
- Envelope for each participant
- Board markers
- Pastel Paint
Recommended Method
In this section, we will implement 3 different activities with the involvement of the all group and in pairs to develop a group dynamic and make the participants more familiar and close with each other for building trust as the activities later to be implemented requires teamwork and individual work.
“Bridge”
The facilitator creates a small road with two lines putting the paper tape to the ground of the room prior to the activity. The road should be as narrow as possible that only one foot can fit between the lines. During the implementation, Then the facilitator tell participants that they are in a time machine and they have travelled to 10.000 BC. The facilitator tells the only rule of the activity, “None of the participants are not allowed to step outside of the lines at any circumstance.”. Later on, the facilitator tells the participants that, they have to get into an order according to their birth month. ( In that way, the facilitator will as well have an opportunity to learn that if there is a birthday of someone during the duration of the training. ). One side will be January and the other side of the line will be December. After they have made the line according to their birth month.
The facilitator tells them to make a line according to their birth year, but this time, they are not allowed to speak. One side will be 2023 and the other side will be 1990. When the participants say that the line is in order, the facilitator validates with the involvement of the participants.
Then, the facilitator tells them to make a line according to their experience concerning to the youth work. In that way, we will be able to see in a detailed way about the participants’ experiences and they will be able to talk about their experiences according to youth work. After finalising the event, we continue with the Me Too! activity.
Me Too!
In this activity, the participants sit on the chairs. The facilitator tells the participants that each one of them will tell something personal about themselves and if the other person in the group has the similar personal trait, they must sit on the laps of the participant until, the person says something really particular to him/her. It is repeated by each participant clockwise of the circle and when the circle comes to the facilitator, the facilitator explains the next activity.
“Drawing Each Other”
The participants are asked to find a pair among the participants whom they have not talked before. Each participants are provided with envelope that they will be later used in the end of the training to send a letter to each other to keep as a memory of the training activity. The participants are asked to talk with their pairs, draw their picture and write 3 interesting facts about each other in 20 minutes. In that way, the participants will be learning about each other and discuss about their life as well as their reasons to involve in this training in pairs.
Debriefing
Prior to the finalisation of the activity, the facilitator can use the following guiding questions to implement the debriefing of the session, in that way, the participants will be aware about the general goals of the session and activity and it will lead them to talk about their experience.
- How do you feel about the overall activities?
- What do you think about the activities up to now?
- Did you feel uncomfortable, if yes why?
- Did you learn extraordinary things about each other?
- Why do you think we did these activities?
Facilitators’ Note
The activities that are explained under this segment is highly intimate and requires touching. Before implementing, pay attention to the group dynamics and try to get the idea that the methods are implementable with the group or not. In case that, somebody is uncomfortable with participating, do not force them to engage but find a way to engage them in a different way by improvising the idea of the method.
Additional Information and Readings
Other activities related with “Getting to know each other” and “Building group dynamics” can be as well implemented according to target group.
