Grade 3 EAL 

Team - Building and Problem Solving

I was thinking of a way to make it obvious for my students that it is easier to problem solve collaboratively. My idea was to adapt well-known team building games like Zoom or Go for Gold in such a way, so that my students will realize the benefits of cooperation with friends during decision making.

In the Go for Gold game traditionally teams have a common objective but different materials for building, creating, etc.

My goal was to make sure that my students are actively involved in the decision-making process. To reach this goal I modified the Go for Gold game by giving my students 4 different cards with a problem scenario as they worked in 4 small groups. However, the idea of the game was the same: they all had the common goal of solving the problem/making a decision, but they all had various resources as they had to work with different people. In the end, each group had to share their solution and explanation of the choice.

In order to scaffold this activity I did three things. First, I made sure that the scenario was described in easy language, as I wanted everyone to be able to participate. Second, the cards with the guiding questions (such as - What makes a decision necessary?; What are my options?; What are the consequences of each option?;etc) were on each table. We also discussed the language of the questions prior to the activity. Third, I prepared a Decision Making Wheel  to guide my students through the process and explained how to use it before the game.

I was closely observing my kids moving from table to table and was excited to see how they were feeding ideas to each other, thinking collaboratively and how it affected the final decisions in a creative way.

At the end of the class we traditionally shared our outcomes and reflected on the process in general. I was glad to hear some of my students saying that it was easier to make a decision with friends!

Jiun enjoyed participating in the group discussion and shared his choices.

After sharing some ideas and opinions in their small groups of three students, Maly and Tony enthusiastically started the conversation between the groups.