A retreat is a great time to review the student organization's mission, vision, and values. 1. What staff retreat activities do you adore? It is pretty common to have the critical problems in a company simply solved over lunch. This activity will get everyones heart rates up while helping you release energy and embrace your silly sides. If your students are online, breakout rooms on Zoom or Microsoft Teams allow you to replicate this experience with virtual team-building. Below are several local campgrounds and centers that Penn State has successfully used in the past. From there, students continue the conversation, prompting one another to support their claims with evidence from previous course concepts or texts. Also, one of the ways you can make the experience smooth is to divide responsibilities among your group members. Then, use a digital tool like Word It Out or Wordle to make word cloud magic. One of the perks of team retreats is that teammates can discover common ground with coworkers. Download, Online (synchronous or asynchronous), in-person, Online (synchronous or asynchronous), blended, in-person, 45+ Team-Building Activities for College Courses, Fun leadership activities for college students, Community-building activities for college students. Retreat Theme Ideas Based On: Specific Bible verses Specific worship song Fruit of the Spirit A specific culture or people group Gifts of the Spirit/Spiritual Gifts Personality tests Having time for silence Communication Friendships Self Esteem Making Choices Or, to really mix things up, one team can represent student affairs staff and the other can be academic staff, who all shock the system by working together to score the most total points. As the name suggests, the matrix helps your group decide how quickly certain objectives should be accomplished. (Preserve), What is it we dont have and dont want? However, if your group is on a tight budget, then you can camp on a public or dispersed campground. You can take a tour to fun places like museums, wineries, or even another city. Pretend one team is your staff and the other is a round of budget cuts that you have to creatively survive. Guess The Country: A player names things peculiar to a particular country like a movie, celebrity, or flag description without mentioning the exact name of the country. Be sure to bring speakers so you can blast out the best clips, and print out transcripts for anyone with hearing impairments. After dividing students into teams, provide them with a list of items for survival. Enhance individual relationships with peers, staff, and faculty. There are tons of activities you can do on a group retreat. Teams are given the task of carrying a marble or ball from a start line to a finish line, without it ever touching the flooror students hands. Check the weather forecast to be adequately prepared for the weather condition. Transforming Negative Self-Talk Activity. After you have come up with an Idea for your event lets get to the essential planning components. After the opening remarks, its time to get everyone into a retreat mindset, the state of mind in which ideas flow more easily because students are unimpeded by distractions of everyday life. Two truths and one lie: A player will make three statements. You could follow up with an activity from, The Big Book of Conflict Resolution Games. Students then look at each gallery piece before reconvening for an all-group discussion. 60 Awesome Icebreakers For Orientation and Beyond, 100 Quick Icebreaker Questions to Keep in Your Back Pocket, 24 Virtual Icebreaker Activities Thatll Help You Build Community via Video Call, One way to immerse students in the organizations mission, vision, and values is to create a. . You can seize this spirit by trying out an adventure sport together. Walk of Faith. Forget the one-sided lecture or PowerPoint. She's a proud graduate of Emory University, where she majored in Creative Writing, and of Nova Southeastern University, where she earned her master's degree in College Student Affairs. The Chaplains' Office also offers a number of retreats available to alumni. Knowing everyones results within a team can help you identify your overall strengths and weaknesses, plus reveal who might be the ideal person for certain responsibilities. Grace is the Director of People & Culture at TeamBuilding. For sports like volleyball, the beach will be a good location. Cant pick just one or two? Our facilities provide amazing experiences, activities, and events for youth, college students, adults, and families. You and your group can walk on foot around interesting sites at the retreats location. Here are some icebreakers that you could use: A retreat is a great time to review the student organizations mission, vision, and values. Although the mention of icebreakers may make some participants groan, there is actually a bit of science behind why these activities are so effective. A fully realized culture deck takes time to create, but a retreat is a good time to lay the foundations for such a worthy endeavor. For online courses, instructors can make use of Zoom rooms to organize teams or groups. A few ideas for a Great College Retreat are: A Prayer Retreat, Community Development Retreat, Service Project Retreat, Book Study Retreat, Wilderness Retreat, The True Vine Retreat, etc. Dancing, jumping, racing, and birthday parties form a large part of every high school student'ssports and recreational activities. stream For instance, if there are 25 players, then each player will take a number between 1 and 25. First, decide if the tour will be outside the country or locally. For instance, list a series of classes and ask your team member to vote on the preferred courses, or offer a variety of tutorials in different timeslots. Got someone with woo? Why hold a retreat? The game is quite straightforward as players say a word each to tell a logical story. However, the discussion does not have to be too formal. Many cruise lines offer corporate rates and retreat packages, so be sure to inquire about these options when booking. Another twist is to not inform of every one of this activity beforehand. Or, if most people need to take (or retake) the test, set aside a half-hour for them to do so, ideally in a quiet, solo space that fosters reflection. This activity can help. Theyd probably love to charm guests in an office tour. The retreat then becomes a recommending activity/body, not just a source of ideas. Clue, Pictionary, Yahtzee These are all teambuilders waiting to be unboxed. Ask the groups questions like How did this impact your prior knowledge of the topic? or What was your initial reaction to this source/article/fact? to encourage students to reflect on their personal connections to the course concepts they are learning, which is particularly beneficial to educators around the first day of school. There are several variations on this, such as building a pyramid with paper cups, but the idea is to promote communication and collaboration in a leadership exerciseand provide a little incentive as well. that transitions people from fretting about the past or future to focusing on the present. Good Deeds Chain. For example, taking a tour, playing icebreaker games, and playing a team sport. But pick your activity thoughtfully. 2. Hopping on for a tour near your campus will allow you to see your community in a new way, especially if you have a professional guide to teach you about the towns history and future. Teams of students must then categorize these objects on a piece of paper or sticky note, even when no obvious connections exist. When their time is up, a spokesperson can present their ultimate solution to the rest of the group or to the class. You should ask the group members if any of them has food allergies. But, do you enjoy running activities with your staff? Spring 2023 Fall 2023 . In this icebreaker, small groups of students imagine theyre stranded on a deserted island. , When we dare to break that silence, or when we dare to see, and we create conflict, we enable ourselves and the people around us to do our very best thinking.. Each student on the inside is paired with a student on the outside; they face each other. An Advent Calendar for the Entire Group. Group retreat activities are games and events that groups can partake in during a retreat. We will provide van transportation for students from the IC Campus Center at 8:45am and return to campus at 5:30pm. , then the following ideas can help you with the nuts and bolts activity-wise. The first order of business should be to create. I cant promise that all of these activities will be new to you but, hopefully, youll spot some original gems that will get you pumped for your next retreat. These activities are also great as icebreakers or retreat exercises. These retreats draw on Ignatian Spirituality and the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, which have been used by people of all faiths to help them examine their lives and begin to articulate a personal spirituality for themselves. This is another one with a simple, yet valuable, benefit: Fun. that can help students identify their leadership styles are a good place to start. For more brainstorming ideas, I recommend checking out Gamestorming, Futurespectives, Untools, and IDEO U. Then the players with the first two numbers will start the game. Team sports are great retreat games for large groups. We have some recommendations for you here, specific to higher education. CliftonStrengths for Students Courses Champions: Learn how strengths can inspire engagement and wellbeing through intentional touchpoints. 3. Then find out that special member of your group who can keep a straight face the longest without laughing. Students must prioritize and rank those itemsfirst on their own, and then as a group. Is restorative anyones top strength? We've put together this list of 18 awesome campus activities ideas to help you get started with your planning for this semester (or next semester). Trivia can remind your team of vital facts while keeping things light and fun. Breaks provide people a chance to mentally recharge, use the restroom, get snacks, and stretch. Youll literally jump for joy. Reflect on their transformative college experiences and the people who have influenced them by role modeling Dickinson values. Use breakout rooms in Zoom and randomly assign students in pairs with a discussion question. Set a time limit for designing and building a spaghetti tower (one thats structurally sound, of course). At this retreat, you will be enlightened with God's Word and encouraged by friends and enjoyable activities. You do not have to make hiking competitive. Course type: Online (synchronous or asynchronous), in-person. Similar to leadership development topics. Remember. 2 Getting-to-Know-You Icebreaker Games for College Students 2.1 Alphabet Freeze 2.2 Who Are You? This retreat can include times of contemplative prayer and studying Biblical examples of being heard by God. These resources will hopefully inspire some ideas thatll work well for your group: No retreat would be complete without icebreakers! They can bond people together, promote healthy team dynamics, and establish a clear vision for your shared future. The host asks a multiple-choice trivia question, and teams are given 60 seconds to discuss and agree upon an answer. Most cruise lines offer a wide range of fun activities and group games for retreats, vacations, and parties. Then, as the leader, gently tap a few random participants on the back or shoulder. can provide you frameworks. Adding some fun and levity to your classroom helps your students build informal connections with peers. There doesnt need to be a particular order to how students speak, but they are encouraged to respectfully share the floor with their peers. Get articles with higher ed trends, teaching tips and expert advice delivered straight to your inbox. You should also check in with your office of diversity programs or multicultural affairs to tap into their expertise. If you plan to travel on an airplane, then ensure that the airline regulations permit fishing gear on the plane. Perhaps you can use a recent picture of your team, a memorable selfie from a student event, or a talented student photographers amazing campus snapshot. Engaging in team games and activities during a retreat can be relaxing for small and large groups alike. We did a study of Esther and how she handled her lemons and how we as women of Christ can learn to handle our lemons. We do so by slowing down our breathing so that we feel more of whats going on around us. If you have a large budget for the retreat, then you can go for a private camping trip at a luxurious resort. Led by faculty and student leaders, our . Heres how it works: Each team member is given a PVC pipe (though they could also use paper and tape, or paper towel rolls). If you are having a hard time deciding what topics to cover in a dedicated DEI workshop, NACAs Competencies for Diversity and Inclusion can be applied to student organizations. All they take is a class with at least one student who isn't too shy. Technology, Entertainment, Design and you! There are workshops to design, food to order, and so many other components needed to make a retreat a, Fortunately, finding ideas for workshops to include in a retreat can be pretty easy thanks to the plethora of sample agendas available online. Content Expert at teambuilding.com. There are literally dozens of in-school activities for college students that can be used in the classroomyou can even ask students to create their own. Assign students a case study or reading to discuss with a partner, then have them share their thoughts with the larger group. First Day Of School Activities 1st Day Of School Beginning Of The School Year School Starts College students look forward to the opportunity to share who they are and learn more about others. Take that further by showing students how to make. Learning to get along with peers, for example, isnt something you can pick up through memorization. Give chronological numbers to the players. For inspiration, here is a collection of icebreaker jokes. For projects that make the final cut, the students could create a RACI Matrix to identify everyones roles and establish accountability. 9:00 PM Snack provided by Refreshing Mountain (Cookies and Milk) 10:00 PM Free Time. Finally, Jennifer says that silly rules that are supposed to make icebreakers fun can take the focus away from learning. Depending on the organization, the students could set goals for the number of programs that they want to plan, the number of members that they want to recruit, what new equipment they want to acquire, or even what policy changes they want to ratify. A flat hand represents paper, while a peace sign turned horizontally represents a scissors sign. You should also check in with your office of diversity programs or multicultural affairs to tap into their expertise. Sara Keinath, Youth Leadership Educator at Michigan State University explains the value of team-building activities for students: Guiding group members through intentional games can help them improve their communication skills with each other, which will transfer to their work or club projects later. Whether you're planning an overnight retreat, a day trip, or a campout, check out these 11 great youth retreat ideas to get inspired. You could even invite students to join in on this part of the retreat. It probably wont boost your institutions retention rate nor emphasize deep-seated values, but having fun can be noble goal in and of itself. Jennifer Gonzalez, Another problem might be that the icebreaker. They could think about wanting to learn more about your field or simply that their friends were enrolled in your class, too. They're collaborative activities that help develop critical thinking, writing, and media literacy skills. Each team is then instructed to come up with questions about the topic that will be discussed. First-year Student Retreat Date: Saturday September 17, 2022, 10am-4pm Location: On Campus As the name suggests, the matrix helps your group decide how quickly certain objectives should be accomplished. They may decide to combine several ideas together. You can award a prize to the winner. Park: 20 minutes. Examples might include, "I can't do this," "I'm not smart/cool/funny enough," or, "I'm just too shy/boring/bad at school.". It sets the tone for the gathering and signals to students that theyve entered a space that requires their complete attention. You need only two people, who are sitting on the floor. The culminating event is a scenic 5K and 10K race on Saturday morning! Creating connections in your classroom will ensure your students are engaged. She previously worked for Hillel: the Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, where she engaged students in co-curricular programming at Cornell University and The University of Pittsburgh. Then, find a suitable venue in your retreat location. If your group is already energized after their break, feel free to substitute an icebreaker activity. Improvisational (improv) games encourage students to think quickly and step outside their comfort zone to connect with their peers. The player who starts the game first will say a word. Psychology researcher Dianna Raab describes the benefits of centering like this: When we center ourselves, we bring calm to our emotions. 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And building a spaghetti tower ( one thats structurally sound, of course.... With their peers ) games encourage students to think quickly and step outside their zone... The country or locally not have to be adequately prepared for the retreat then becomes a recommending activity/body not! 2.2 who are sitting on the present vital facts while keeping things light and fun, as leader. 60 seconds to discuss and agree upon an answer thatll work well for your shared future groups....