icebreaker activities

Flip Chart Activity – Supervisory Training Session Icebreaker

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Flip Chart Activity – Supervisory Training Session Icebreaker

Getting participants to actively become involved in a learning session can sometimes be a challenge and can potentially inhibit or slow leaning opportunities.  To help overcome this obstacle, you may want to consider a creative icebreaker activity like this one in your next supervisory training session, especially if participants do not work together regularly or do not know one another.

Flip Chart Activity - Supervisory Training Session IcebreakerPrior to the arrival of your participants in a supervisory training session where you will assign them to teams and have them work as groups throughout the program, place a page of flip chart paper, several different colored markers, and some painters tape at various points in the room.

Once everyone has arrived, form equal-sized groups and assign team leaders and scribes (note-takers) in a fun, creative manner.

Have each team select a group name and draw a graphic image that represents their team name. Once the time has elapsed, ask the team leaders to display their artwork, and explain why they chose their name and image. Follow this with individual introductions.

Next, assign a project, question, or challenge related to the session topic and allow learners time to discuss it (or come to a decision/solution) depending on the task. For example, in a supervisory session on delegation skills, you might have each team discuss reasons why many supervisors and leaders do not effectively delegate and how they might change that in their organization.

Flip Chart Activity – Supervisory Training Session Icebreaker by The Creative Trainer – Robert W. Lucas, Awarding Winning Brain-Based Adult Training Author

I like these types of activities early in a learning event because they provide a way to have participants get to know one another, relax a bit, and quickly become active participants in their own learning.

This type of activity can help get people immediately thinking and networking. And, it helps them recognize that you will be facilitating their learning, but not doing all the talking.

For additional ideas on creative ways to create, use, transport, and store flip charts, get a copy of The Big Book of Flip Charts: A Comprehensive Guide for Presenters, Trainers, and Team Facilitators. FOr additional activity and game ideas, get a copy of Creative Learning: Activities and Games That Really Engage People.

Engaging Adult Learners with Icebreaker Activities Using Flip Charts

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Engaging Adult Learners with Icebreaker Activities Using Flip Charts

Brain based learning research and adult learning theory  (andragogy)point to the value of actively engaging participants in activities throughout a learning event. Doing this early in a session helps them to claim ownership for the learning process, overcome potential hesitance about getting involved, and potentially get to know one another. It also allows you to identify introverts and extroverts and leaders and followers, and to encourage active participation by all learners throughout the session.

Engaging Adult Learners with Icebreaker Activities Using Flip Charts

Here are two easy icebreaker activities involving flip charts that you might use in your next session:

1.    Get participants involved in a self-discovery activity at the start of a session. I do this in a program on behavior styles. I have participants group in threes. I then ask them to write the first names of group members at the top of three columns on a flip chart page. They are given a total of five minutes for each person to think of three characteristics (adjectives) which they think describes their behavior as it relates to the session topic. For example, in a session on supervisory training or leadership, someone might offer goal-oriented, assertive and decisive as their choices. Through such an activity, people become actively involved early in the session, share information, get to know something about others, and begin discussing the program topic. Later in the session, you can conduct an additional activity in which participants explain how the characteristics they identified during the icebreaker might be applied in a given situation related to the program topic

2.   Group participants, then show a flip charted statement related to the program topic. Have participants introduce themselves within their group, then discuss and flip chart their thoughts on the statement they read. For example, in a session on customer service, you might state, “Customers today are very impulsive and in a hurry.” After a specified period of time, go over the group responses as a class. This type of activity provides a vehicle for discussion of a program relevant topic, gains active involvement, and gives people a chance to get to know one another and share how they think.

For additional ideas on creative ways to create, use, transport, and store flip charts, get a copy of The Big Book of Flip Charts: A Comprehensive Guide for Presenters, Trainers, and Team Facilitators. For additional creative games and activities to energize your learning events, check out Creative Learning: Activities and Games That Really Engage People.

Energizer Flip Chart Activity – Word Search Puzzle Review

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Energizer Flip Chart Activity – Word Search Puzzle Review

PURPOSE:    Brain-based learning activity designed to energize participants (in a group with a maximum of 18 people) mid-way through a training session and to review and emphasize key points, issues, and terms covered up to that point.

The activity can be used as a pre-test (icebreaker) to introduce terms at the beginning of a session or as an interim or final review during the learning event.

Energizer Flip Chart Activity – Word Search Puzzle Review by The Creative Trainer – Robert W. Lucas, Awarding Winning Author, and Blogger

OBJECTIVES:   Through an interactive team activity, participants will be able to:

  • Review and reinforce key content covered in the session.
  • Work together to compete against other groups.
  • Practice intra-group communications.
  • Have fun!

PROCESS:

  1. Form three or four equal-sized teams. Any odd numbered participants can join any group.
  2. Provide a flip chart easel, pad, and markers to each group.
  3. Based on the program topic, the facilitator will prepare identical word search flip chart pages with the terms of key issues, ideas and concepts hidden and scattered throughout a series of letters (see sample below) for each team. These pages will be turned over behind the easels and out of view until the facilitator starts the activity.
  4. Prepare two “master flip chart” pages that the facilitator keeps at the front of the room. On one create an alphabetical listing of all terms to be found in the word search puzzle (words are shown below the sample word search example below). On a second “solution” flip chart page, create a word search identical to that used by the teams and circle each word they are to find from the alphabetical list page.
  5. When ready to introduce terms or as an interim/final review at some point in the program, unveil the prepared flip chart with the alphabetical terms listed. Do not unveil the solution page with circled terms until after the activity ends and a team has been declared the winner.
  6. Have each team line up in a row before their easel containing the scrambled words.
  7. Instruct participants that they are going to be trying to solve a word search puzzle by finding key terms, concepts, or issues that are part of the session content and that words can be found across, backward, up, down, or diagonally.
  8. When the facilitator shouts “go,” the first person in each team quickly proceeds to their easel. Turns over the word search puzzle and looks for the first word from the facilitator’s master list on the team’s flip chart page. When they find it, they circle it with the marker, then rush back to their team and pass the marker to the next person, who repeats the process and so on. Once the marker is passed, the team member goes to the end of his/her line as the activity cycle continues.
  9. The team getting all of the terms first shouts “Done” and all other teams stop looking for words.
  10. The facilitator does verification of terms.
  11. If all terms have been found correctly, the winners are rewarded (small toys, candy bars, or whatever).
  12. If words have been missed, the facilitator shouts “Continue” and they resume until someone again yells “Done.”  The verification process is repeated.
  13. Review the key terms and definitions as a group.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

  • Prepared word search flip chart pages for each team.
  • Prepared master flip chart with word search terms listed alphabetically.
  • Prepared master flip chart with word search showing all words circled.
  • Assorted colored water-based flip chart markers.
  • Incentive rewards for members of the winning team.
  • Flip Chart easels and pads for each team.

ALTERNATIVE:  As an alternative to using flip charts for each team, you can print copies of the puzzle and distribute to team tables. Doing so loses the interactive and physical movement of the activity.

TIME REQUIRED: Approximately 10-20 minutes depending on team sizes.

HOW THIS RELATES TO ADULT AND BRAIN BASED LEARNING:

  • Actively engages learners.
  • Stimulates recall and memory of key concepts and key terms and concepts.
  • Appeals to visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning modalities/styles.
  • Increases energy and noise level in the room, thus energizing learners.
  • Applies the concept of rewards and incentives to help encourage participation.
  • Incorporates novelty and fun into the learning event.

Energizer Flip Chart Activity - Word Search Puzzle Review

For addition, creative training ideas and activities, get a copy of The Creative Training Idea Book: Inspired Tips and Techniques for Engaging and Effective Learning, The Big Book of Flip Charts: A Comprehensive Guide for Presenters, Trainers and Team Facilitators, and Creative Learning: Activities and Games That Really Engage People.