Tangen College Project 08.05. – 12.05.

In this week it was our task to create eight different activities for high school students to give them a deeper insight in the outdoor life. The activities were

• Abseiling
• First-Aid
• Canoeing
• Two Group Dynamic Games
• Fire Making
• Slacklining
• Orienteering

We planned around forty minutes for each station, which was organised by two to three international students. The students, who were 17 to 19 years of age, were divided by their teachers into groups of four to seven and had to go from station to station. It was part of their Friluftsliv curriculum to spend one night outdoors. They arrived around 6 in the evening to be welcomed by us Internationals before doing two of the eight stations in the same evening. The sizes of the classes varied between thirty to sixty students. Further to motivate them, the teachers told them there was a prize to win for the group with the most points which were given out by us Internationals for several aspects such as teamwork, speaking English and performance.

Max and me organised the group dynamic game “The Amazing Maze” which we also played with the Norwegian and International students on one of the Monday Trips. We prepared a track through a field of squares, which we adhered on a tarp of ours. It was the students task to find that track in the fastest time possible and with the least minus points/mistakes, which you got when you stepped on a field for the second time or couldn’t walk the same exact way back after stepping on a false field. Also they were not allowed to talk so they had to communicate through signs and sounds. We also had another game prepared if the groups managed to solve the maze too fast and we still would have spare time left. It was called “Acid Pond” in which the group was given several items to remove an object in the middle of a prepared “pond” without touching the “acid” ground.

We had a lot of fun with the students as they all solved the maze in a faster or less faster time. They seemed quite motivated and cheered themselves after they made to the finish line. Whenever they made a mistake they were also cheering themselves up to make it better the next try.

The plan also was to swap between the different stations, so we also had some variation during the days. My next station was Orienteering. A relaxed one, where I just had to explain the students that they were to find different images in the woods around in 20 minutes and the more they would find the more points they would achieve.

On the Wednesday I was at the abseiling station with Kathrin where you either had to help and belay the students to abseil or to welcome them and explaining them the basics. Both were a lot of fun as you get in direct contact with the students and can have a chat with them. I was surprised as many of them haven’t climbed before and it was their first-time abseiling. I always imaged Norwegians to have an overall experience in such things. So some of them, mostly girls, were scared to abseil and had to be convinced to do it. Others didn’t hesitate at all and went down the little rock in no time. But all of them seemed relieved and happy to have done it, which was very interesting to observe.

My last station on Thursday was First-Aid with Eliska and Berit. We have prepared a memory game with medical and survival items, which the students had to name after two minutes of looking at them. We also talked about them and illustrated what they can be used for and when. Afterwards we played a situation where one of us simulated to be unconscious and one to be panicking. It was the students task to control the situation by calming it down and render first aid. After we have seen enough we reflected the situation the actions they took and discuss what could have been done better. On this station we experienced surprises in both ways. Some groups acted appropriate and well while others just stood there in didn’t know what to do. According to this we either had to reflect more or less, but it was also very interesting to observe how people react in those situations although they were just simulated.

Conclusion

This week has been a very pleasant experience. It was interesting to observe many people with different attitudes and experiences. From sporty and a natural leader to rather shy and keeping oneself in the background, we could observe diverse types of students. As well the groups’ cohesion varied enormous. Some groups’ teamwork have been very intensive and they were able to be creative towards solving challenges as others turned out poorly. I was able to learn a lot myself as well in terms of how to handle different situations that might come up and be flexible towards students’ motivation and participation. Some groups were keen for the tasks and stations and therefore easy to handle. Others, especially in the morning, had to be motivated as they were either tired or not into the activities. They needed to be looked after with tactfulness and empathy. To show enthusiasm yourself is what must be done. And to react appropriate to certain students, who show no interest at all and rather disturb, is a helpful skill to make things work at the station and within the group as well. Nevertheless most of the groups were enjoyable and also their feedback turned out to be generally positive.