Erasmus+ training course (2020-3-FR02-KA105-018318)Urdos/France, 28 June – 5 July 2021
organizer: Association La Villa/FR participating countries: BG, ESP, GR, IT, LV, PL, PT, RO, SI
In recent years, the importance and the role of playing in everyday life are being redefined as research has provided
evidence that play at work is linked with less fatigue, boredom, stress, and burn-out in individual workers. Play is, also, positively associated with job satisfaction, sense of competence, and creativity. Studies show that when a participant receives a task that is presented playfully, (s)he is more involved and spends more time on the task. Furthermore, playing develops social and soft skills, teaches cooperation with others, and encourages trust, can heal emotional wounds and generally contribute to social and psycho-emotional well-being. Social games have proven to be an effective tool to stimulate learning and create moments of deep reflection and understanding on a personal level. A well-designed and well-facilitated game can leave an everlasting mark and change attitudes and behaviours. With this in mind, the Power of Play project aimed at equipping youth workers, youth leaders and educators with tools, frameworks and space to create and implement educational social games workshops which address social issues and can be applied in their particular environments of social action and youth work.
The main objective was to teach the methodology of social games to enable participants to acquire new pedagogical competences which would enable them to diversify their field of action by learning about the approach of social games, project management and animation techniques, to raise the appeal and quality of their own projects at school, community, organization level, to provide them with an innovative and flexible method that closely responds to the needs of individuals and address the needs of the individuals with fewer opportunities and/or of less privileged backgrounds. Moreover, social games as a form of non-formal education and as an ideal way to teach personal and social skills can introduce positive, healthy activities that encourages co-operation, strengthen confidence, develop communication skills, compassion and empathy towards others. The effect of playing social games is much more than just having fun, it is a process that can profoundly transform one’s own vision of themselves and interact with others and direct people towards a constructive and positive way of life.
During the training course, the
topics of game-based learning and the use of educational social games were
covered. The pedagogical tasks focused on practical workshops, case studies,
theoretical presentations and group reflection. By the end of the course, all
the participants received practical experiences on the topic, reflected on
these experiences and the methodology used, conceptualized the learning results
for their professional work and made a plan for applying their own newly-developed
competencies.
Social games require the existence of teams, which are comprised of team members. Team members take on social roles which facilitate internal interaction among them within the team as well as extrovert parametres in the course of social action. Defining team roles and responsibilities is crucial for any project. It resembles the process of role casting for a theatre play or film production or employing the right personnel for specific work posts in a business. Team success depends on the behaviour and performance of the team members. Defining various team roles allows matching task/role requirements with the appropriate skills and, therefore, one can create a well-balanced team. The team tends to work more cohesively if the team members understand their individual roles and can deliver better results. Familiarity leads to enhanced performance, sharing information engages team members to find constructive solutions and ideas. It reduces misunderstandings and disputes. Finding a good match between the team members and their roles eliminates mistakes and improves quality of work.
"The types of behaviour in which people engage are infinite. But the range of useful behaviours, which make an effective contribution to team performance, is finite. These behaviours are grouped into a set number of related clusters, to which the term 'Team Role' is applied." (Dr.Meredith Belbin, Team Roles at Work (1993), published by Butterworth-Heinemann). A Belbin 'Team Role' is one of 9 clusters of behavioural attributes, identified by English researcher and management consultant Dr.Meredith Belbin (95) at Henley College in Oxfordshire/UK, as being effective in order to facilitate team progress. The research indicated that the most successful teams were made up of a diverse mix of behaviours. Each team needs access to each of the nine Belbin Team Role behaviours to become a high-performing team. The nine Belbin Team Roles are further categorized into Social roles (SR), Thinking roles (TR) and Action roles (AR):
1). Plant (TR): tends to be highly creative and good at solving problems in unconventional ways.
Strengths: creative, imaginative, free-thinking, generates ideas and solves difficult problems. Allowable weaknesses: might ignore incidentals, and may be too preoccupied to communicate effectively.
Don't be surprised to find that: they could be absent-minded or forgetful.
2). Resource Investigator (SR): uses his/her inquisitive nature to find ideas to bring back to the team.
Strengths: outgoing, enthusiastic, explores opportunities and develops contacts.
Allowable weaknesses: might be over-optimistic, and can lose interest once the initial enthusiasm has passed.
Don't be surprised to find that: they might forget to follow up on a lead.
3). Co-ordinator (SR): needs to focus on the team's objectives, draws out team members and delegates work appropriately.
Strengths: mature, confident, identifies talents, clarifies goals.
Allowable weaknesses: can be seen as manipulative and might off-load his/her own share of the work.
Don't be surprised to find that: might over-delegate, leaving them little work to do.
4). Shaper (AR): provides the necessary drive to ensure that the team keeps moving and does not lose focus or momentum.
Strengths: challenging, dynamic, thrives on pressure, has got the drive and courage to overcome obstacles.
Allowable weaknesses: can be prone to provocation, and may sometimes offend people's feelings.
Don't be surprised to find that: could risk becoming aggressive and bad-humoured in their attempts to get things done.
5). Monitor -Evaluator (TR): offers a logical eye, making impartial judgments where required and weighs up the team's options in a dispassionate way.
Strengths: sober, strategic and discerning, sees all options and judges accurately.
Allowable weaknesses: sometimes lacks the drive and ability to inspire others and can be overly critical.
Don't be surprised to find that: could be slow to come to decisions.
6). Teamworker (SR): helps the team to gel, using their versatility to identify the work required and complete it on behalf of the team.
Strengths: can be indecisive in crunch situations and tends to avoid confrontation.
Allowable weaknesses: sometimes lacks the drive and ability to inspire others and can be overly critical.
Don't be surprised to find that: they might be hesitant to make unpopular decisions.
7). Implementer (AR): needs to plan a workable strategy and carry it out as efficiently as possible.
Strengths: practical, reliable, efficient, turns ideas into actions and organizes work that needs to be done.
Allowable weaknesses: can be a bit inflexible and slow to respond to new possibilities.
Don't be surprised to find that: they might be slow to relinquish their plans in favour of positive changes.
8). Completer – Finisher (AR): most effective at the end of tasks to polish and scrutinize the work for errors, subjecting it to the highest standards of quality control.
Strengths: pain-staking, conscientious, anxious, searches out for errors, polishes and perfects.
Allowable weaknesses: can be inclined to worry unduly, and reluctant to delegate.
Don't be surprised to find that: could be accused of taking their perfectionism to extremes.
9). Specialist (TR): brings to the team in-depth knowledge of a key area.
Strengths: single-minded, self-starting and dedicated, they provide specialist knowledge and skills.
Allowable weaknesses: tend to contribute on a narrow front and can dwell on the technicalities.
Don't be surprised to find that: they overload you with information.
Argyrios Zymaras
10th Primary School of Kozani
0 Comments