10 dynamics of group integration for all ages

Various group integration dynamics to exercise different psychological competences.

The dynamics of group integration are methods used in groups to achieve an objective. They are activities that provide benefits, since they allow learning in a fun way and interacting with other people.

The purpose of each dynamic can change, but the essential thing is that they allow to promote fellowship while acquiring new knowledge or improving interpersonal relationships.

In this article we are going to talk about their main characteristics, as well as explaining some examples of dynamics used in groups. some examples of dynamics used in groups of varied ages..

Characteristics of group integration dynamics.

The dynamics of group integration are done with the intention of offering a lesson, whether moral, educational or fellowship. Participants are offered to reflect on what they have done with the activity, and to explain how they feel.

They are widely used in areas such as education and organizations, since they make it possible to improve relations between people and organizations.They are widely used in areas such as education and organizations, since they make it possible to improve relations between students and employees, breaking down interpersonal barriers. In addition, they allow, in the educational case, to transfer the theoretical knowledge to a more experiential field, favoring a significant learning.

For a group integration dynamic to be carried out correctly, it is necessary to have one or more facilitators.. These people are in charge of indicating the steps to follow, besides being the ones who elaborate the dynamics after having studied the characteristics of the group where it is going to be applied.

Examples of group integration dynamics

These are some examples of group integration dynamics for adults, children or teenagers.

My name is and my likes are

This is ideal for use on the first day of kindergarten.. Its objective is to introduce the children and make them get to know each other. Groups of about 10 children are recommended.

The facilitator starts by saying "My name is Juan and I like to play with my dog". In an orderly fashion, and starting from the same example, each child introduces him/herself and tells his/her likes and dislikes..

When all the children have spoken, the facilitator will ask if they remember the names of their classmates and will put together those who have similar tastes.

2. Shared storytelling

Children need motivation and to practice their creativity.. That is why this dynamic is perfect, since it involves creating a story together.

The facilitator will start the story, telling a story in which he/she appears and also in which one of the children appears, to whom he/she will point. The pointed child will have to say his/her name and continue explaining the story. He/she will have to mention another child, point him/her out and continue telling the story.

It is highly recommended for kindergarten and elementary school children. Ideally, the group should be about 8 to 10 people..

3. Murky river

Participants are seated in a circle and hold bottle caps in their hands. A song is sung: "a very murky, murky water flows through the river". With the bottle caps they must follow the rhythm of the song. At each beat, they must pass the bottle cap to the partner on the right.

The song gets faster and faster. Those who lose the rhythm are eliminated until there are only three left. The last three participants will require very good coordination to continue doing the activity.

In this dynamic fellowship, coordination and synchronization are practiced..

4. Dreams

It is a dynamic that is widely used with adolescents and young people to teach them the importance that, despite the difficulties, they should never stop pursuing their dreams.

It lasts about 15 to 25 minutes and is recommended for groups of 10 to 20 participants. Balloons and chairs are needed, one for each participant.

At the beginning all participants are seated in a circle as close together as possible and must choose a dream. Each one blows up his or her balloon and pretends to put the dream in it..

Then, they stand up and turn the chairs around to form a very small circle, inside of which they stand. The balloon should go as high as possible. The facilitator has an object, such as a BB gun, to pop any balloons that get out of the circle.

The idea of this dynamic is understand that it is necessary to get out of your comfort zone to achieve your dreams, but that there will always be someone who will try to destroy them.

5. Backs glued together

This dynamic encourages teamwork and lasts approximately 10 to 25 minutes. The number of participants is very variedThe number of participants varies from 2 to 40 people.

Two participants, for example, sit on the floor with their backs to each other and hold each other's arms without turning around. The idea is for them to stand upright, holding each other but without resting their hands on the floor.

It is important that, if done in pairs, their members should have more or less the same physical build, height and not haveheight and that they do not have back problems.

The fundamental learning in this dynamic is that by joining efforts, great milestones can be achieved.

6. Team Summing

It lasts about 20 minutes and requires between 10 and 20 people. Sheets with numbers from 0 to 9 are needed.

There must be at least two groupsEach person receives one or two sheets of paper with numbers on them.

The facilitator calls out a multi-digit number and the groups have to form it with their sheets of paper. The group that forms the number first wins the point..

The numbers can be said directly (e.g.: 45) or say a mathematical formula (e.g.: 10x10:2-10+5).

Mathematical skills are tested in an interactive way and a sense of sportsmanship is promoted.

7. The mirror

This is an ideal dynamic to improve trust between children, as well as to help them reflect on their emotions.

The facilitator forms pairs of children, who will face each other.. One of them will make movements and the other will imitate him/her.

Empathy is promoted, since they are free to imitate their partner, but they must do it in a way that does not humiliate them. Synchronization, coordination and concentration are also tested.

8. The wrong message

Ideal for teenagers and young adults. It is fun and allows to reflect on the transmission of information in a chain of several interlocutors.

The participants line up. The first person in the line receives the message directly from the facilitator. The first person in line will say the message to the second, and the second to the third, and so on.

The last person in line should say out loud the message that has reached him or her. The facilitator will compare what was said at the beginning with what has arrived at the end.

This dynamic tests the participants' memory, attention span and communication skills. their communication skills..

9. Putting the word together

This activity allows participants to interact and get to know each other.

The facilitator will hand out sheets of paper with letters written on them. Each participant will have a sheet of paper and will not know what letters the others have.

The facilitator has chosen those letters to form a word, and it is up to the participants to figure out which one it is. In addition, rules can be set, rules can be setrules, such as that they must introduce themselves every time they talk to someone.

10. The most inquisitive ball

This is ideal for working with small groups. You need a ball and a music player..

The children form a circle and, while playing music, the ball is passed from one to another. When the music stops, the person who has the ball must say his or her name and ask the others a short question.

The other children must answer before the music starts playing again.. When the music starts playing again, the ball will be in motion again. The game will last until everyone has introduced themselves.

Bibliographical references:

• Backstrom, L.; Huttenlocher, D.; Kleinberg, J.; Lan, X. (2006). Group formation in large social networks. Proceedings of the 12th ACM SIGKDD international conference on Knowledge discovery and data mining - KDD '06. p. 44.