Games to Reflect On The Importance of Teamwork

The Importance of Teamwork

Teamwork is an essential life skill, both personal and professional. Experienced educator, Rivka Oratz, indicates that, for teamwork to be efficient, the presence of series of characteristics such as fluid and clear communication, great respect for the members of the team, solidarity, collaboration, trust, and knowing how to delegate, are necessary to achieve a common goal.

Currently, the school curriculum indicates that teamwork must be a skill that must be worked on and developed in the classroom. So, as a teacher you must propose teamwork. Although it is true that practicing you learn, Oratz claims that it is also necessary to teach students the implications of teamwork, what it entails and what conflicts can arise. So that, when it is put into practice, it is more effective. With these games proposed by Rivka Oratz, you can work on all these aspects and reflect and debate on the importance of teamwork. Keep on reading.

Games Promoting The Importance of Teamwork

Form words: the teacher will give a long word with which letters other words must be formed, during a certain time. Subsequently, the same activity will be repeated, but in pairs and / or groups. Surely the more people in the group, the more words will be formed, since each one contributes their ideas. Oratz recommends extrapolating this idea to classroom work!

Order on the boat: All students must be placed on a Swedish bench or on a line drawn on the floor. The teacher will give a guideline and everyone should be ordered according to that guideline. For example: sort by age, height, color, etc. To add a little more difficulty, Oratz suggests in her publications on Muckrack, to try doing it without speaking! With this game you will be able to reflect on the importance of communication in the team and the importance of helping each other to achieve the same goal.

Reversible carpet: The group should be placed on top of a blanket, canvas or paper. Once they are all on top, they must turn around, without anyone from the group leaving the perimeter. How? Each team will find its strategy!

Escape room: In this game, suggested by Oratz, it is observed how the different students, who form the group acquire different roles and all of them necessary to achieve the common objective: to leave the room or open the box.

Crossing the river: Each team will have to reach the goal, but they can only do so by stepping on a piece of cardboard, canvas or mat. How will they organize to move forward? Is there only one way to do it? Why have they decided to do so? “It is interesting that the students explain their difficulties, their mistakes and how they have been able to solve them,” shares Rivka Oratz.

Now, that your students already know how important it is to work well as a team and know the many benefits that can be obtained if you collaborate correctly, the teacher, Rivka Oratz recommends giving them cooperative tasks, so that they can demonstrate that they have learned the lesson.