Last week we breeched the taboo topics. I would like to continue that this week. I have worked at both secular and Christian camps. I am wondering what the view in the industry is about incorporating religion or even spirituality into their camp program. Is this something that should be done? Is the topic of religion to be avoided at all costs in a secular camp? Should it only be spoken about if campers bring it up?
Disclaimer: I will attempt in the following post to use neutral language. I want to give no opinion on this issue. I have not heard it talked about in very many circles, so I would like to know what people in the industry think about this topic.
I had the opportunity to interview a camp counselor who is homosexual for a cabin counselor position. I began to wonder if this poses a liability issue. This person has taken a position with another organization, but the question still remains. Is there a boundaries/liability/legal issue with employing a person who is homosexual in positions where that person would be in a one-on-one with campers? Please let me know what you think. You can post anonymously if you would like.
To start our discussion of effective debriefing, I want to give you a list of do’s and don’ts to keep in mind as a facilitator, as well as some suggested debrief topics. Please remember that one of the most important steps to effective debriefing is effective front loading. How you set up an activity, a Full Value Contract, or a task will go a long way in processing it after. More about the idea of frontloading next week. For now:
When processing with a group, a facilitator should:
1. Accept individuals, but not all behavior
2. Self-disclose thoughts and feelings when appropriate
3. Invite others to self-examine by confronting them directly
4. Identify individual and human relations issues
5. Observe body language and draw accurate inferences from it
6. Create a climate of trust and safety by enforcing certain rules and norms
When processing with a group, a facilitator should not:
1. Attack the personal worth of a participant
2. Compare students to others
3. Lose his or her temper
4. Push people too far
5. Avoid a competitive or carnival atmosphere
Here is a list of debrief topics about that our facilitator group brainstormed. If you have any to add, please leave them in the comments section:
Until you get comfortable with debriefing, it is a good idea to fall back on structure. This is another topic that we will discuss in a future blog entry. Also, for the next two Mondays, there we’ll have information on activities that are helpful in debriefing. If you would like to improve your skills even more, I would recommend Project Adventure’s Debrief Skills workshop.
A topic that came up in the staff training held by The Adventure Center was the idea of effective debriefing. For the next three Wednesdays we will post about some do’s and don’ts of debriefing as well as it’s importance. We will also include some effective strategies and activities for debriefing effectively. Check back often, and in the meantime, post some debrief ideas that you have used.
This past weekend The Adventure Center held low ropes training for our staff. It was a great training, even with snow on Sunday. One of the things that we focused on in this training was giving and receiving positive feedback. The model that we created is what we call the CROW method.
C – Constructive – Try to offer solutions with the issues that you confront. If you cannot offer a solution, offer to brainstorm with the other person.
R – Relevant – The feedback should be delivered in a timely fashion and address the issues that relate directly to your program, work or idea.
O – Open – You should invite conversation with your feedback. Avoid making statements and then cutting off conversation. Allow for enough time to address issues fully.
W – Well Intended – Recognize that everyone in your organization is trying for the same goals. Offer your feedback based on the want to improve those goals.
What I found was that after discussing the CROW method with our staff, it made the feedback sessions after the practice facilitation much easier. Everyone seemed to understand that the comments were coming from a good place, and that each facilitator wanted to help the others be better at what they do.
A Full Value Contract can be used to gain buy-in from a group, as an accountability tool, as a way to assess group progress, and much more. It is a shared creation, developed in words that are understandable to all group members. It creates an emotionally and physically safe environment supported by all group members. All versions of the Full Value Contract ask the group:
1) To understand and/or create safe and respectful behavioral norms under which to operate
2) For a commitment to those norms by everyone in the group
3) To accept and share responsibility for the maintenance of those norms
The FVC is something that can be developed quickly or something that can evolve over time. It is a way to allow members of a team to talk openly to each other, to give and receive feed back in a positive way, and set standards for behavior in a group.
I have seen a number of ways to create the contract. One simple way is to apply a word (i.e. trust, communication, fun, etc.) to each finger. Then in the debrief of each activity, refer to each of the fingers to see how the group is doing with that.
A more complex way that I tried that was quite successful was to allow a dance team, using a large piece of newsprint to create a standard for how they wanted to be treated throughout their dance season. I gave them the idea behind the FVC and facilitated the process of creating the words they wanted to use, and then asked them to create a visual to represent that.
What came out was a beautiful drawing of their “path to success” with all of the words in different places along the road. I later found out that the team sent this drawing to a printer and it became the design for the team tee shirts for that season.
For those readers who have used a Full Value Contract, what were some successful (or unsuccessful) contracts that your groups have created?
*Image from www.advicenow.org.uk
I got to be part of a conversation recently on the issue of waivers. It brought back some memories of when I was in college. As part of the degree I earned in recreation at Central Michigan University, I was required to take a risk management class. One of the topics that garnered a lot of attention was the idea of waivers. There were two factions in the class on each side of the issue of making a group sign waivers or not.
One of the things that we learned in this class early on was that in Michigan, as with most other states, a properly written, signed waiver is not admissible as evidence in court. The only thing that it does is provide some substance if you are trying to claim that the participant was aware of the risk inherent in the activity. The problem is that if the waiver is written incorrectly, it can be used as evidence against the agency.
Anyone who has ever read one of these release forms knows that they can be full of jargon and difficult to understand. It is also easy to misinterpret what is written in them, all things that will go against the agency in court. So why do we use them?
The reasons that we came up with in the class were:
1) Peace of mind for the Client – A properly written waiver allows clients to know some of the risks before they participate and can better help them decide their level of participation.
2) Protection for the Agency – As long as the form is properly written (usually involving lawyers of some sort) then it can go a long way to proving that the client was aware of risks involved in participation.
3) We decided that if we were judging a case, the fact that a wavier was present at all, rather than not, would go a long way on the agency’s behalf.
What do you think? Does your agency require waivers? Do you think that they protect you in case of a lawsuit? Have you ever been involved in a lawsuit in which a waiver helped or hurt you? Talk about it in the comments section.
In the March/April 2008 edition of Camping Magazine, there was an article entitled “Social Capital and Organized Camping.” If you are an American Camp Association member, you can view the full article here. This piece talks mostly about how the social environment at camps is a great way to teach kids social skills that they would otherwise not receive. The article concentrated on the group living aspect of summer camps.
Reading further, the authors talk about the importance of small group activities. They use the classic example of the Group Juggle as an activity that can start to build community. Here at The Adventure Center, we have been practicing this for a long time. All of our community groups, our residential population, and our summer campers, participate in some forms of this. Specifically, our summer camp is based around a model of Adventure Based Behavior Management (for more info on ABBM visit adventure-center.org).
It was surprising to me that this article needed to be printed. I had assumed that challenge courses, small group activities, and group living were staples of camps. Am I just ignorant on this? Are there camps not doing this kind of thing? How much importance do you place on the social aspect of summer camp? Leave a comment and let me know.
I was recently asked, “How do you judge what your group is ready for?” It seems like a very basic question. Making the right decision about what your group is ready for can have a huge effect on your day. For example, if my group is having trouble with a trust lean, should their next activity be the climbing tower? I would say no. I use one tool in particular to make these decisions, and that is the stages of group interaction.
Bruce Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development:
Bruce Tuckman (1965) developed a 4-stage model of group development. It is important to remember that a group can be in any of these stages at any time. Also, individual members of the group could be in a different stage than the rest of the group.
1. Forming: This is the time when the group first meets or returns from an extended break. Generally, everyone is trying to establish the person that they are going to be in the group, as well as whom they will interact with and in what way.
2. Storming: As you can tell by the name, this stage is very chaotic. This is where alliances are formed, leadership is vied for, and group positions begin to be established.
3. Norming: The group begins to set rules for behavior (this is often the best time to create the full value contract). The group will also begin to operate within these norms that are being set.
4. Performing: While operating inside set norms, the group begins to accomplish the tasks. These tasks are either presented to the group from an external source or created internally.
Tuckman later added a fifth stage:
5. Adjourning: When a group adjourns, its members generally celebrate accomplishments, and forget about unpleasantness. This stage can look very similar to the forming stage.
What I have found is that continually assessing which of these four stages my group, and it’s individual members are in, help me plan a more effective day for the team.
For more information on Tuckman or the stages of group development, click here.
If anyone from Project Adventure is reading, could you please comment on the GRABBSS Assessment Model? Thank you.
Any other readers - Please comment on what has worked well when you assess your groups.
This week I would like to stick to the basics. Now that we have some understanding of the Experiential Learning Cycle, I would like to talk about the Idea of Challenge By Choice (also know as Choose Your Challenge). No matter what name you call it, the principles are the same.
Challenge By Choice offers a participant:
Challenge By Choice asks that participants challenge themselves and participate fully in the experience. Recognizing that any activity or goal may pose a different level and type of challenge for each group member and that authentic personal challenge comes from within. Challenge By Choice creates an environment where participants are asked to search for opportunities to stretch and grow during an experience. The determination of what kind of participation represents an optimal learning opportunity is the responsibility of each group member. All are asked to add value to the group experience by finding a way to contribute to the group’s overall efforts while also seeking to find value in the experience for themselves.
Accepting Challenge By Choice encourages all to respect thoughtful choices. Its use provides a supportive and caring atmosphere in which students can stretch themselves. It recognizes the need for individuals and the group to accept responsibility for decisions. It creates opportunities for learning about how to set goals that are in neither comfort zone nor panic zone, but in that slightly uncomfortable stretch zone where the greatest opportunities for growth and learning lie.
While the specific language may change to match the unique needs of a group or learning environment, the philosophy of Challenge By Choice remains the same throughout all Adventure Center Programs.
