Teamwork: Planning, Communication, and Collaboration

Essential Questions allow students to keep the main idea in mind. They can provide the motivation to keep asking, learning, and being curious, in pursuit of answers to big questions.

• What makes a good team member?
• What is most important when collaborating with a group of people?
• What skills are needed to accomplish a group goal?

Set the tone for your reflection times early. As with all experiential learning activities, much of the learning happens during the reflection time of the lesson. Set group discussion norms right away, and hold to them! In fact, it may serve your group to create a set of group agreements before embarking on this activity. To make this activity a powerful learning experience, frame the time as a sort of "learning lab" for students to test their skills. Refer back to how the group performed during previous activities at Outward Bound and encourage the group to set goals for skills they can improve on. Consider tracking certain skills as the group progresses through the activities--such as shared voice, self-regulation, conflict-resolution, or interdependence.