The Group First! Practical Exercises for Collaboration and Team-Building

Description

Although educators should focus on helping each learner grow individually, teaching usually addresses the classroom before the individual students. Thus, the capacity to promote group cohesion comes first, and is the initial objective that every teacher should immediately aim to realize in the classroom.

In this course, participants will practice and learn dynamic exercises to build a feeling of belonging towards their classroom community.

The practices will engage the participants, and after the course, their pupils, by actively involving the body, as well as the mind, and by exploiting the physical space of the classroom, rather than forcing students to sit in one place.

Hence, it is recommended for participants to show up in comfortable clothing, ready to move and use their bodies!

The exercises will focus on concentration, activation, and sharing feelings and thoughts. They will allow teachers to develop empathy and active listening among the students, and promote integration, cooperation, respect for common rules in the classroom, as well as conflict prevention and resolution.

The practices will be proposed when teachers can make the most out of them, depending on the time of the year, i.e., winter-time indoor activities for the first week of the year, outdoor activities for the spring, and summer activities for the end of the school year. Did someone say school Olympics!?

Participants will be encouraged to identify the activities that they prefer, and to employ them when it is most suitable for their teaching (e.g., at the start or end of any lesson, during breaks or outdoor experiences, such as excursions and school trips, or during PE).

By the end of the course, participants will know how to use these activities in their classroom to make it a more comfortable environment for the personal and social growth of their pupils. They will acquire new, effective tools to strengthen interpersonal relations within the classroom.

Learning outcomes

Participants in the course will learn to:

• Build a sense of cohesion within their classroom;
• Grow their pupils’ confidence;
• Stimulate their pupils’ self-expression and self-awareness;
• Teach the importance of respecting rules within a community;
• Resolve conflicts and encourage cooperation in their classroom;
• Manage and reduce inequalities;
• Promote social and intercultural interchange among pupils.

Tentative schedule

Day 1 – Course introduction

• Introduction to the course, the school, and the external week activities;
• Icebreaker activities;
• Presentations of the participants’ schools.

Activities for the first week of the year

• Concentration activities;
• Relaxing activities;
• Sharing activities.

Day 2 – Indoor activities

• Concentration activities;
• Relaxing activities;
• Sharing activities.

Day 3 – Outdoor activities

• Concentration activities;
• Relaxing activities;
• Sharing activities.

Day 4 – Activities for the last week of the year: the Olympic games!

• Concentration activities;
• Relaxing activities;
• Sharing activities.

Day 5 – Teamwork!

• Warm-up games;
• Present your activities to the other participants.

Day 6 – Course closure and cultural activities

• Course evaluation: round-up of acquired competencies, feedback, and discussion;
• Awarding of the course Certificate of Attendance;
• Excursion and other external cultural activities.

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