Cultivating a culture of fruitful communication and democratic dialogue among teachers/adult learners (or secondary school students, if the activity is adapted accordingly)
“The blooming flower of good communication” can be used as a team building activity for teachers/adult learners helping them to self-reflect and then discuss in teams the key-values and useful tips that promote fruitful dialogue.
This activity can be also adapted to address secondary school students, helping them create their class’s “educational contract” in the form of a flower poster that can decorate the wall.
Objectives
To create a positive and creative climate in the class.
To cultivate a culture of democratic dialogue and cooperation at school (and in general).
To promote cooperation to achieve common social objectives.
To develop positive communication among the group members
Indicative time
30 – 45 minutes
Facilitator & target group
Facilitator(s): One or two adult trainers
Target Group: 6-12 Teachers/educators
Methodology – steps for the facilitator
- Explain the objective of the exercise to the participants, e.g.: “During this activity, we will self-reflect and then work together to discuss and agree on important values and useful tips that help us to communicate more effectively/to have fruitful dialogue with other people.
- Establish ground rules. Explain to the learners that this is a free safe open space, that everybody’s input is equally valued, and that no idea is bad as long as we show respect to each other.
- Ask each participant to take 3-5 minutes and think about their own values that promote good communication and fruitful dialogue and then draw a flower and place in its various parts (e.g. roots, stem, leaf, core, petals) the above mentioned values. Each participant is free to decide what parts will include in his/her flower, how many petals it will have etc. (e.g. some participants might draw roots, others not, some might draw only one leaf, while others 2 or more).
- Create sub-groups of 3-4 participants each and give them 10-15 minutes to discuss, exchange their answers and create together a common flower with attributes and values they found out they all share/tips and values they all agree to include.
- Each sub-group will then decide on a spokesperson for their team who will present their flower in a plenary session.
- As facilitator, you can compare the flowers and with input from all participants create a common flower that represents the whole group.
- In the process of creating this common flower, as a facilitator, you can open a discussion on what important values, useful tips and basic skills we need for effective communication. In addition it can be discussed how a group identity could be developed into a diverse school, based on values and relations that connect the school community members under the umbrella of human rights and democracy.
- Conclude the activity by asking the participants questions like the following: How did the activity make you feel? Was it something that surprised you? How did your team work together? How easy is it for teachers to promote these values/give a good example?
Materials & Resources – tools
- Sheets of papers, pencils/markers for all participants and then for each team
- Classroom board or flipchart and markers for the facilitator
Reference/source
The activity is based on the “My and our flower” activity from Council of Europe (2021). HANDLING CONTROVERSY IN SCHOOLS THROUGH HUMAN RIGHTS AND CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION: Peaceful Coexistence and Communication, Conflict Resolution, Social Mobilisation. An Educational Toolkit for Teachers. Developed under the project “Sharing Knowledge, Handling Controversy in Schools of Greece, North Macedonia and Bulgaria”. Authors: A. Telliou, K. Pantziou, A. Radevska, G. Decheva, T. Hristova, Sept. 2021. https://skhc.antigone.gr/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/SKHC-Toolkit_ENG_FINAL.pdf
Additional resources and related material
Headlee, C. (2016). “10 ways to have a better conversation”. TED video available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1vskiVDwl4 (subtitles in 43 languages).
Indeed (2023). “19 Characteristics of Good Communicators (With Tips)”. Indeed editorial team, updated February 4, 2023. Available online at https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/good-communicator-characteristics