Learning team building the fun way!

Written by Loh Teck Hua

Students learning the principles of team building in project management using hoops, cards, ropes, and in one activity, working on a task without exchanging a word to one another! Work and play can be one and the same! That is what active learning is all about.

KDU UC promotes active learning in all its academic programmes. The term ‘active learning’ is self-explanatory really. In brief, it means students are put in situations where they actively engage with the materials being taught. According to the theory, that will lead to better information recall. This is the opposite of the traditional lecture-room method where the lecturer talks and the students mostly listen and make notes.

Putting theory to practice, Ms Karen Lee and Mr Gerard Chong, both lecturers from the School of Business, organised a team building student activity on 12th August 2011. It was just one of many activities they organised for the SET Club (Student Entrepreneurship & Teamwork Club) and just like most of them it was fun filled and inspiring.

What are all these hoops, cards and ropes all about? The hoops were light-as-air helium hoops and the students in teams...had to maneuver it onto the ground quickly and evenly by using just a finger each. How about the cards? The students working as a team had to sort 3 decks of cards as quickly as they could - in a specific assigned order! And the rope activity basically required them to form a particular shape with a rope as instructed. And the finale: the teams had to design a specific product without any verbal communication. The topic was a “High-Performance Sports Shoe” and the winning team, Addidox, comprising team members Law Chee Boon, Vincent Tan Ying Sheng, Then Mun Weng, and Leon Liew De Yun, won a mystery gift for the best design from the judges. The judges took on the role of Marketing Directors selecting designs for a product launch. The judging criteria were based on group cohesiveness, task delegation and, most importantly, creativity both in the use of non verbal communication and innovation in product design.

Underlying the fun and games were physical exercises that encouraged self-organisation within a team when confronted with challenges; learning how to work together and communicate in small to medium sized groups; and to explore teamwork, leadership and the ability to work under pressure to solve a problem. These are skills students will find useful in their coursework, in their every day life, and especially when they embark on their separate careers in the business world.