Group Challenges
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Group Challenge: Parties
Goal
To understand the different perspectives that men and women may have regarding party behaviors.
Instructions
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Separate class into small groups. Each group should select a leader and a recorder for the group. This leader will make certain the group process moves along smoothly throughout the exercise. If there is more than one group, the recorder will summarize the content (information) and process (method by which the content was obtained) of their group activity.
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The class leader reads a descriptive statement from the chapter one Party Time comments of the students who attended the party and did not consume alcohol.
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Following each statement, members of each group vote as to whether it was a male or female making the statement.
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Members of the small groups discuss why they picked male or female following each statement.
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Following discussion and voting for each statement, small groups will report back to the class the results of their voting.
Personal Reflections
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What surprised you about the perspectives that others have about men and women?
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Group Challenge: Attitudes about Alcohol
Goal
To gain a deeper understanding of the attitudes and opinions of other students regarding the use of alcohol.
Instructions
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Place signs around the room indicating the following five responses.
Strongly Agree Agree Not Sure Disagree Strongly Disagree
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Class leader reads one of the statements listed below.
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After reading a statement, members of the class move to the sign in the room indicating their own response to the statement.
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Members of each group explain their reasons for their answer.
Statements
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I can have a few drinks without my driving being affected.
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Alcohol helps me get through stressful situations.
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Drinking regularly could result in my becoming addicted to alcohol.
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Drinking alcohol is bad for my health.
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I have more fun at social events when I drink.
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Alcohol has been a negative influence on my life.
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My friendships would be damaged if I drank a lot.
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I feel more confident when I drink alcohol.
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Drinking alcohol is a good way for me to relax and loosen up.
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I would feel ashamed if I drank too much.
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I would have problems at school if I drank more than I do now.
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Drinking is a good way to forget my problems.
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It is okay if I get drunk once in awhile.
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Drinking alcohol is a normal part of the college experience.
Personal Reflections
How much do you rely on alcohol to enhance your life?
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Group Challenge: Campus Advertising
Goal
To provide students an opportunity to identify and discuss freely their beliefs regarding campus alcohol advertising while identifying critical issues faced by campus administrators regarding this advertising.
Instructions
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Separate class into two groups. Each group should select a leader and a recorder for the group. This leader will make certain the group process moves along smoothly throughout the exercise. If there is more than one group, the recorder will summarize the content (information) and process (method by which the content was obtained) of their group activity.
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One group is assigned the Pro position and the other group is assigned the Con position to an issue listed below.
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Debate the issue.
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For the next issue, each group is assigned the opposite position. (The Cons become the Pros and vice versa.)
Issues
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Sponsorship of college athletic events by the alcohol industry
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Alcohol advertising during televised college athletic events
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Spring Break advertisements by the alcohol industry
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Alcohol advertising in campus newspapers and on campus radio stations
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Anti-alcohol messages (newspapers, campus radio, posters, etc.) on the college campus
Personal Reflections
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How does your campus handle alcohol advertising? Do you believe your campus implements a responsible policy regarding campus alcohol advertising?
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Is there anything you can do to address alcohol advertising on your campus?
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Adapted from Making Choices: A Personal Look at Alcohol & Drug Use (1992). McGraw-Hill Higher Education, Quinn/Scaffa.
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Group Challenge: Activities
Goal
To broaden student perspective on activities that can be done on a date or with other friends.
Instructions
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Each student records a list of ten things that would each cost $25.00 or less that s/he could do on a date.
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Separate class into small groups and share your lists. Each group should select a leader and a recorder for the group. This leader will make certain the group process moves along smoothly throughout the exercise. If there is more than one group, the recorder will summarize the content (information) and process (method by which the content was obtained) of their group activity.
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Small groups create one large list containing all of the ideas from each member of the group.
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Small groups brainstorm as many more activities as possible in five minutes.
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Small groups report their lists back to the class.
Personal Reflections
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Think about recent times that have been enjoyable or fun for you. What were you doing? Were you spending a lot of money? If yes, could you have had as much fun without spending as much money? Are there other ways for you to have fun without spending a lot of money?
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How important is spending money when having fun with a friend or date?
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How does high-risk alcohol consumption impact the cost of having fun or dating?
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Adapted from Activities Manual for The Education of Character, Lessons for Beginners, Will Keim (1995). Harcourt Brace College Publishers.
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Group Challenge: Advertising
Goal
To heighten awareness of advertising themes and techniques.
Instructions
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Separate class into small groups. Each group should select a leader and a recorder for the group. This leader will make certain the group process moves along smoothly throughout the exercise. If there is more than one group, the recorder will summarize the content (information) and process (method by which the content was obtained) of their group activity.
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Overnight Assignment: Each member of the group selects five alcohol commercials from television and/or newspaper or magazine ads to review.
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At the next group meeting, each member reports back to the small group with copies of videotapes and/or ads and provides the following information
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How was the use of alcohol portrayed in the ad?
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How were the drinkers portrayed in the ad?
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What do you think is the theme of the ad? (i.e. sexual innuendo, adventure, fun, romance, etc.)
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Small groups generate a list of the themes of the alcohol commercials and/or ads.
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Small groups report back to the class the themes they identified regarding how alcohol was portrayed in their commercials and/or ads.
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Class discusses the results of this exercise.
Personal Reflections
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Based on your own experiences, how accurate is the portrayal of alcohol consumption in the media?
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How do you think young adults are influenced by commercials and ads?
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How have your attitudes about alcohol been influenced by commercials and ads?
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Have your attitudes about alcohol advertising changed as a result of this exercise?
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Group Challenge: Other Drugs
Goal
To understand the physical, psychological and emotional consequences of the use of a variety of drugs.
Instructions
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Separate class into small groups. Each group should select a leader and a recorder for the group. This leader will make certain the group process moves along smoothly throughout the exercise. If there is more than one group, the recorder will summarize the content (information) and process (method by which the content was obtained) of their group activity.
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Each group selects one drug to research: Cocaine, LSD, Marijuana, Ecstasy, Heroin
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Overnight Assignment: Using five separate resources (other than this book) find the answers to the following questions:
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What are the dangers of being under the influence of this drug
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Is this drug addictive?
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What are the physical and psychological implications of both short term and long term use?
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Members of each small group report their findings to their own group.
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Each small group synthesizes the findings of its members.
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Small groups report their findings to the class.
Personal Reflections
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How does this information influence your decision to use or not use these drugs?
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Do you believe that you are not susceptible to the dangers reported about these drugs? Why or why not?
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How could the use of these drugs impact your success in college and beyond?
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Group Challenge: Stress
Goal
To identify the major causes of stress in students’ lives and develop an action plan for stress reduction.
Instructions
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Each student records on a piece of paper three major sources of stress in his/her life.
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Synthesize all responses on large list on a flip chart or chalkboard.
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Class determines how these sources of stress can be grouped together into more general issues. (A typical list might include time management, over-commitment, interpersonal conflict, disorganization, test anxiety, family problems, other personal problem, etc.)
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Class breaks into issue-based groups based on the applicability of it to each student. Each group should select a leader and a recorder for the group. This leader will make certain the group process moves along smoothly throughout the exercise. If there is more than one group, the recorder will summarize the content (information) and process (method by which the content was obtained) of their group activity.
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Each group discusses ways to reduce the stress caused by the issue selected by the group. Each student should be encouraged to speak out on the issue. The recorder notes the action plan(s) developed by the group. The action plan should be as specific as possible.
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Reconvene as a class. Each recorder reports the action plan(s) for reducing stress surrounding their issue.
Personal Reflections
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Where does your stress come from? Faulty interpersonal skills? Faulty organizational skills?
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Can skill development help you manage your stress more effectively?
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What one new skill or behavior would reduce your stress substantially?
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Which action plan(s) is appropriate for you?
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Are there ways other students can help you reduce your stress rather than your trying to solve it alone?
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Does high-risk alcohol consumption and the resulting consequences contribute to your stress?
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Adapted from Activities Manual for The Education of Character, Lessons for Beginners, Will Keim (1995). Harcourt Brace College Publishers.
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Group Challenge: Why College?
Goal
In a group setting, to create a hierarchical list of the primary reasons for attending college.
Instructions
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Separate class into small groups. Each group should select a leader and a recorder for the group. This leader will make certain the group process moves along smoothly throughout the exercise. If there is more than one group, the recorder will summarize the content (information) and process (method by which the content was obtained) of their group activity.
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Each member of the group writes down the primary reason why s/he is attending college. The reasons can be a mix of practical (i.e. to get a job), and philosophical (i.e. to gain wisdom).
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After each student has written his/her reasons, through a consensus process, the leader rank-orders all the reasons for attending college from the members. The group should decide which reason is most important and second-most important, etc. Each group must arrive at this list through discussion and reasoning and without averaging, “horse trading” (you vote for my first choice and I’ll vote for your choice), or “majority rule” voting.
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Small groups report their lists back to the class.
Personal Reflections
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What are your goals for your college education?
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Were you surprised by some of the members and their reasons for getting an education?
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Have you gained some additional short-term and long-term goals from this activity?
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Adapted from Activities Manual for The Education of Character, Lessons for Beginners, Will Keim (1995). Harcourt Brace College Publishers.
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Group Challenge: Dating
Goal
To develop a heightened awareness of likes and dislikes of dating behavior.
Instructions
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Divide the class with women on one side of the room and men on the other side. (Or, you can have mixed groups developing male and female perspectives if desired.)
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Each group will develop two lists:
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The first list will include all of the group’s answers to the following:
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I really like it when my dating partner....
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The second list will include all of the group’s answers to the following:
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I really hate it when my dating partner....
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Each group will report their lists back to the other group, taking turns with statements from each list.
As a class, discuss the following:
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How were your lists similar?
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How were your lists different?
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Can you make any generalizations about what you as a class really like and really dislike about the dating experience?
Personal Reflections
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How can alcohol impact your behavior while on a date?
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Have you done any of the things on either list when on a date? How did your date react when you did?
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Adapted from Activities Manual for The Education of Character, Lessons for Beginners, Will Keim (1995). Harcourt Brace College Publishers.
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Group Challenge: Attitudes about Sexual Activity
Goal
To gain a deeper understanding of the attitudes and opinions of other students regarding sexual activity.
Instructions
Place signs around the room indicating the following five responses.
Strongly Agree Agree Not Sure Disagree Strongly Disagree
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Class leader reads one of the statements listed below.
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After reading a statement, members of the group move to the sign in the room indicating their own response to the statement.
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Members of each group explain their reasons for their answer.
Statements
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Sometimes men get so turned on, they just can’t stop.
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Sometimes women get so turned on, they just can’t stop.
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If two people have been touching and fooling around all evening, both of them must want to have intercourse.
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A person can have sex with his date and does not need to get agreement if they have had sex before.
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A person who goes to another person’s room after a party clearly wants to have sex.
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If a person spends a lot of money on a date, s/he is entitled to sex.
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Someone who is impaired due to alcohol use, cannot give informed consent for sexual activity.
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Kissing, fondling, etc. is an indication that a person wants to engage in sexual intercourse.
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Drinking causes people to engage in sexual activity they would not normally do.