Exercise to set teams into reflective mode about themselves

[JeanNo]

SCRAP TOWER by JNP – Jean-Noël Puissant

Overview
Teams compete to build the highest tower that holds a weighted object off the ground for a minimum of ten seconds. It sets teams into a constructive, positive mindset to reflect on how they are going about virtually all of the 14 competencies on that specific exercise. It can be an alternative to “Best Teams” exercise.

Resources: 2 x newspapers, 2 x rolls of sellotape, tape measure and a test object (anything will do).

Space Required: Small. Indoors or Outdoors.

Group Size: 10 to 16 ideally (3-5 in teams)

Total Time: 55 minutes
• 5 minutes to brief and setup
• 40 minutes to achieve outcome
• 5 Minutes for testing
• 5 minutes to review and debrief

Running the Activity
• Split the group into smaller teams of 3-5 participants.
• Introduce the activity: Your team must design and build a tower to hold a weighted item off the ground. The team that has the tallest tower and that can hold the test item for a minimum of 10 seconds wins the challenge.
• Give each group a newspaper and a roll of tape – these are the only items they will have to complete the challenge.
• The time permitted to complete the challenge is 40 minutes.

Rules.
• Only resources provided can be used to build the tower.
• The tower must be freestanding.
• The height of the tower will be measured from the floor.
• Team members may not interfere with another team’s tower.
• If any guidelines are broken, the group must begin again.

Suggested Learning Outcomes: Explore each of the 14 competencies

Activity Guidance and Notes
4 minutes to complete the build may seem like a lot but most teams will be rushing towards the end of the activity to complete their towers. When working with kids, it is a good idea to provide a time check throughout the activity to keep them on track. When working with adults, tell them they have 40 minutes to build their tower and let them get on with it. If they run out of time and don’t finish building their tower, use it as learning point and discuss time management and effective planning during the review and debrief. Try and keep team sizes small (3-5 people). When working in larger teams, people end up standing around watching rather than being actively engaged.

Variations
Cooperation instead of competition
Consider creating a situation where smaller teams work together. For example, challenge the teams to build the tallest tower they can. When the towers are complete, measure each tower and add the measurements of each tower together to create a total height score. Then, ask the groups to reflect on the task, review how they planned for the task and use what they learnt to build new towers. The goal of the new build is to try and exceed the total height score from the previous round.
This way, all teams contribute and can learn about effective teamwork, reflection and progressive goal setting.

[JeanNo]

Should read (sorry for the typo):
Activity Guidance and Notes
40 minutes to complete the build may seem like a lot but most teams will be rushing towards the end of the activity to complete their towers. When working with kids, it is a good idea to provide a time check throughout the activity to keep them on track. When working with adults, tell them they have 40 minutes to build their tower and let them get on with it. If they run out of time and don’t finish building their tower, use it as learning point and discuss time management and effective planning during the review and debrief. Try and keep team sizes small (3-5 people). When working in larger teams, people end up standing around watching rather than being actively engaged.

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