Reflection on Growth Games

As a class we participated in a few growth games to develop group cohesion and grow as a class. I think it was a great experience because it helped us develop relationships with our classmates who we had to work with at our practical venues. It was also a learning experience because we had to analyse each game and see if it would be appropriate for patients and at what level.

One of the first games we played was imagining that you were in a sinking ship and there was only one lifeboat. So from approximately 15 people only 5 would survive. It was interesting to see how different personalities came into play. Some automatically chose to stay behind. Others motivated their strengths that would help in surviving in a raft. There were also many contrasting views. Many of us felt that at least one male should be on the boat, where as some of the males themselves played by the unspoken "ladies first" rule.  Some felt that those who were married should survive, where as others opposed this, feeling that everyone had a family or 'someone' to go home to. Ultimately it was interesting to see what values came into play, and how different people played by different sets of rules.

 

Some of the of the other games we played was 'Have you ever', whoosh whoosh wooah, talisman and zip,zap, zop. Many of these games brought much fun and laughter, which really brought us together as a class. The activity I most enjoyed was Egg drop. Each group was a given a set of materials or tools and had to create a little basket/cocoon for an egg. We were allowed to barter and exchange between groups for materials and tools. We then had to advertise this 'egg carrier' and thereafter, drop it 2 stories down to see if the egg could survive. It was great to see the creativity that came out, with many groups creating mini parachutes for their egg carriers. The advertisements were the most entertaining, as even in a short space of time, each group created a fun and catchy advert. We all then headed out to test our egg carriers. There was much banter and laughter, but ultimately all the eggs survived(whew!). However, we did receive many strange and weary glances from passer-by's as well as a complaint for our disruption of other lectures(oops!).

In conclusion, it was incredible to see the bond and cohesion in our class. Looking back at first year we were a segregated bunch only sticking to our own clans. However, there are just some things you cannot go through without becoming friends. And studying OT is one of them:)