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Experiential Exercise - Team Building

1. A member of a hiking party gets lost on a solo hike at sunset. It is now dark and cold. 2. The document provides 10 survival scenarios for the lost hiker to answer individually within 10 minutes. It then instructs breaking into groups to answer the same questions by consensus within 20 minutes. 3. Scores are calculated for individual performance, group performance, average individual score, and best individual score to analyze group decision making effectiveness. Discussion questions follow about the results.

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Samuel Lee
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463 views

Experiential Exercise - Team Building

1. A member of a hiking party gets lost on a solo hike at sunset. It is now dark and cold. 2. The document provides 10 survival scenarios for the lost hiker to answer individually within 10 minutes. It then instructs breaking into groups to answer the same questions by consensus within 20 minutes. 3. Scores are calculated for individual performance, group performance, average individual score, and best individual score to analyze group decision making effectiveness. Discussion questions follow about the results.

Uploaded by

Samuel Lee
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Experiential Exercise

Wilderness Survival

You are a member of a hiking party. After reaching base camp on the first day, you decide to
take a quick sunset hike by yourself. After hiking a few exhilarating miles, you decide to
return to camp. On your way back, you soon realize that you are lost. You have shouted for
help, to no avail. It is now dark. And getting cold.
Your Task
Without communicating with anyone else in your group, read the following scenarios and
choose the best answer. Keep track of your answers on a sheet of paper. You have 10
minutes to answer the 10 questions.
1. The first thing you decide to do is to build a fire. However, you have no matches, so you
use the bow-and-drill method. What is the bow-and-drill method?
a. A dry, soft stick is rubbed between ones hands against a board of supple green
wood.
b. A soft green stick is rubbed between ones hands against a hardwood board.
c. A straight stick of wood is quickly rubbed back-and-forth against a dead tree.
d. Two sticks (one being the bow, the other the drill) are struck to create a spark.*
2. It occurs to you that you can also use the fire as a distress signal. When signaling with
fire, how do you form the international distress signal?
a. 2 fires
b. 4 fires in a square
c. 4 fires in a cross
d. 3 fires in a line*
3. You are very thirsty. You go to a nearby stream and collect some water in the small
metal cup you have in your backpack. How long should you boil the water?
a. Fifteen minutes
b. A few seconds
c. One hour
d. Depends on the altitude*
4. You are also very hungry, so you decide to eat what appear to be edible berries. When
performing the Universal Edibility Test what should you do?
a. Do not eat for 2 hours before the test.
b. If the plant stings your lip, confirm the sting by holding it under your tongue for
15 minutes.
c. If nothing bad has happened 2 hours after digestion, eat half a cup of the plant
and wait again.
d. Separate the plant into its basic components and eat each component one at a
time.*
5. Next, you decide to build a shelter for the evening. In selecting a site, what do you not
have to consider?

a.
b.
c.
d.

It must contain material to make the type of shelter you need


It must be free from insects, reptiles, and poisonous plants.
It must be large enough and level enough for you to lie down comfortably.
It must be on a hill so you can signal rescuers and keep an eye on your
surroundings.*

6. In the shelter that you built, you notice a spider. You heard from a fellow hiker that
black widow spiders populate the area. How do you identify a black widow spider?
a. Its head and abdomen is black; its thorax is red.
b. It is attracted to light.
c. It runs away from light.
d. It is a dark spider with a red or orange marking on the female's abdomen.*
7. After getting some sleep, you notice that the night sky has cleared, and so you decide to
try and find your way back to base camp. You believe you should travel north and can
use North Star for navigation. How do you locate the North Star?
a. Hold your right hand up as far as you can and look between your index and
middle fingers.
b. Find Sirius and look 60 degrees above it and to the right.
c. Look for the Big Dipper and follow the line created by its cup end.*
d. Follow the line of Orion's belt.
8. You come across a fast-moving stream. What is the best way to cross it?
a. Find a spot downstream from a sandbar as the water will be calmer.
b. Build a bridge.
c. Find a rocky area, as the water will be shallow and you will have hand- and
footholds
d. Find a level stretch where it breaks into a few channels.*
9. After walking for about an hour, you feel several spiders in your pants. You dont feel any
pain, but you realize some spider bites are painless. Which of these spider bites is
painless?
a. Black Widow
b. Brown Recluse *
c. Wolf Spider
d. Harvestman (Daddy Longlegs)
10. You decide to eat some insects. Which insects should you avoid?
a. Adults that sting or bite
b. Caterpillars and insects that have a pungent odor
c. Hairy or brightly colored one.
d. All of the above*
*Correct answer
Group Task
Break into groups of 56 people. Now imagine that your whole group is lost. Answer each
question as a group, employing a consensus approach to reach each decision. Once the
group comes to an agreement, write the decision down on the same sheet of paper that you

used for your individual answers. You will have approximately 20 minutes for the group
task.
Scoring Your Answers
Your instructor will provide you with the correct answers which are based on expert
judgments in these situations (www.wilderness-survival.net). Once you have received the
answers, calculate: (A) your individual score; (B) your groups score; (C) the average
individual score in the group; (D) the best individual score in the group. Write these down,
and consult with your group to ensure that these scores are accurate.
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

Your individual score


Your groups score
Average individual score in group
Best individual score in group

Discussion Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.

How did your group (B) perform relative to yourself (A)?


How did your group (B) perform relative to the average individual score in the group (C)?
How did your group (B) perform relative to the best individual score in the group (D)?
Compare your results with those of other groups. Did some groups do a better job of
outperforming individuals than did others?
5. What do these results tell you about the effectiveness of group decision making?
What can groups do to make group decision making more effective?

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