Chapter 4

Teamwork, equality, leadership, problem solving

Y15+, but if the preparation is done well, you can include even younger participants

10-20 people divided in smaller groups

60 minutes is a recommendation. You can adjust the length of time, if necessary, shorter for young children, longer and more complicated for young adults.

Activity is implemented outdoors, preferably in the woods. You will need paper and pens to mark the route and to write out the challenges. Use your imagination for sticking the challenges to the trees in natural, no harming way. If you develop more advanced challenges, you can also build in other materials as needed.

This is the learning activity based on orienteering. Participants will have the opportunity to go through different obstacles and on the way discover the basics of team work, equality, leadership and problem solving.

Prepare the route for orientating activity and mark it with the needed symbols or signs. For every point on the route, you should prepare the exact task and put it in envelope. Make sure that the route is safe for your participants but also try to choose the one that is challenging for them. Before organizing this activity, take the capacities of your participants into consideration, eg. the wood is not a good choice if you have participants with disabilities etc. Remind your participants to dress accordingly to the weather conditions and the area they will be moving through.

This activity is a simplification of orienteering. Set up a route around a wide area (for example through a park or a small wood). Mark the route by hanging arrows on trees, signposts, etc. A series of envelopes are placed at strategic places along the route. The participants follow the route together as a group. As they find each envelope, they have to complete the challenge hidden inside before moving on to the next stage. The aim is to walk the entire route and successfully complete all the tasks.

Some examples of challenges you can use:

1. One person pretends to be blind and the others must lead him/her to complete some kind of physical task.
2. One person is chosen as leader. The rest of the group then pretends to be blind and the leader has to help them complete some kind of physical task.
3. The group must support two members to perform a climbing challenge or some other kind of physical activity.

A. Tell your participants that they should cooperate, this is not a competition

B. As a facilitator be always at disposal for your participants since they might need some explanation or support.  

C. Adjust the tasks to suit the participants’ age

D. Do not try to solve the tasks for the group, let them do it on their own for gaining learning experience

After asking your participants how they feel and about their impressions about the activity you should inspire the exchange about the following aspects of the activity:

• How did the communication went in the team? Were there specific roles taken by members of the team? Which one did they recognise? What are their characteristics? Who was the leader?
• How did the process of problem solving went? Did you recognize the stages of this process? Is it the same in the real life? How did your roles in the team influnced your participation in problem solving?