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About Teambuilding Activities

Team-building begins with the creation of an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect. The IDEELS web site includes several activities and short simulations that help groups get acquainted and emphasize team-building: Getting to Know You..., A Fictitious Election, Narg Island, and Construction Projects (described on this page).

Getting to Know You... is a simple ice-breaker activity in which participants try to find others in the group with whom they share certain characteristics.

A Fictitious Election is a short simulation (ca. 45 minutes to 1 hour, including debriefing) that gives participants a chance to try out their strategic planning and negotiating skills as well as practicing working together to achieve a common goal.

Narg Island is a slightly longer survival simulation (ca. 1 - 1½ hours, including debriefing) in which participants must make decisions regarding equipment and actions. The simulation materials include a discussion of the kinds of behaviours that support collaboration as well as those that hinder it.

Construction Projects 1 1/2 hours or more. Using Lego blocks or magnetic balls and bars, construct a small, irregularly-shaped tower (e.g. about 5 layers and using about 20 blocks, depending on the amount of time available) for teams to build a copy of. Divide class into groups of 4-7 and provide each group with exactly the same materials (number, size and color) used in constructing the original. Place the model out of view of the groups (e.g. on a table in the hallway or behind a screen – the observers need not be able to move completely around the model). In each group, students take turns going out to observe the structure and bring back information to transmit to the rest of their group. Constraints: observers are not allowed to spend more than 30 seconds studying the structure each turn and they are not allowed to touch the original structure or their team's copy and they may not gesture to their teammates to communicate anything about the structure. Observers must describe the structure in such a way that the others in their group can construct a perfect copy of the original. When the first person runs out of information, the second person in the group goes out to observe the tower and report back. The process continues until a team thinks they have completed the task successfully, at which point the facilitator joins them while they compare their copy to the original. Debriefing might focus on 1) perceptions about the relative difficulty of the task at various points during the process, 2) evolution of strategies to cope with the task's complexity, 3) difficulties involved with translating visual observations into (a foreign) language, 4) specific vocabulary used (or found lacking), 5) how individuals compensated for their perceived handicaps, 6) their view of teamwork and insights they may have gained as a result of doing the activity.

Additional non-telematic ("paper and pencil") simulations for team-building are available from several commercial sources, including EduSim, which offers The Parks Commission and other well-designed simulations at very reasonable prices for educational purchasers.

Facilitators may find it especially worthwhile to do an additional team-building activity after the online simulation is over. A simple simulation like A Fictitious Election can be used before the telematic simulation and a more complex simulation, like Narg Island or The Parks Commission afterward to good effect. Despite the increased complexity of the second simulation, participants often perceive it as having been easier to do than the first one because of their experience working together during the telematic simulation.

Participant Resources | Facilitator Resources