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the six remaining players or all the angels to create a surprise and give them some
pride or fun to stay where they are.

How to play “Evolution”:
1. Activity leaders give clear instructions about how the activity is done.
2. Activity leaders demonstrate what each species does to attract people of the
same species to play with them.
3. Activity leaders demonstrate how each species can evolve into the next
species using the rock-paper-scissors game.
Figure 5.2 demonstrates how this activity is done.
Figure 5.2
Evolution
1. Pictures of different stages a participant has to go through

Bacteria Fish Bird Monkey

Elephant Human Angel

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2. Pictures of how the same species find one another and interact with one
another

The same species looking for one another and playing the rock-paper-scissors
game

Fish (Stage 2) Bacteria (Stage 1)

The winner evolves into the next evolution stage while the less successful one

stays the same.

Tips:

Activity leaders can create more fun in this game by being creative when

designing action for each species. What they have to keep in mind is to make the

activity fun and friendly, not humiliating or embarrassing.

Variations:

Activity leaders can choose other animals instead of the above. Choosing animals

with which participants are not familiar is not a good idea because they should

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be able to imitate those animals movements to play and/or enjoy the activity. A
variation of this activity can be found on Leadership Inspiration (n.d.).

Activity Four: Body to Body
Time Required: 20-30 minutes
Type of Activity: Pair
Materials Needed: None
This activity might not be appropriate in contexts where touching is considered
inappropriate. So, we have to be cautious when planning activities. In other
contexts, activity leaders engage participants in reviewing vocabulary about body
parts from head to toes. They need to know body parts in English in order to do
this activity. It is more fun if they are not certain about specific body parts
because that is the fun part of the activity.

After reviewing body parts, activity leaders inform participants that they
need to do this activity with a partner by touching their partner’s body parts
following the instructions given by the activity leader. The fun part of this activity
is that participants need to keep their body parts together until they are told to
change their partners. That means they cannot undo the first instruction when
hearing the second one. Neither can they cancel the second and first instructions
when they hear the third one. A variation of this activity can be found on Youth
Group Games (n.d.).

How to play “Body to Body”:
1. Activity leaders give clear instructions about how the activity is done.
2. Activity leaders demonstrate what participants need to do when hearing the
first, second, third, and fourth instructions. The number of instructions varies
from round to round, with an average of three to five.
3. Activity leaders inform participants that they need to change their partners
when hearing “Body to body”.

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4. Activity leaders might do three to four rounds before instructing participants
to change their partners.
5. Activity leaders need to wait for participants to do the action before giving a
new instruction. Table 5.1 below shows what can be done in one round using
simple instructions.
Table 5.1
Body to Body: Sample Instructions

Order of Instructions Actions
1. Forehead to forehead

2. Hand to ear (Forehead to forehead and hand to ear)

3. Knee to knee (Forehead to forehead, hand to ear, and knee
to knee)

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4. Lower your body three times (Forehead to forehead, hand
to ear, knee to knee, and lower your body three times)

5. Body to body (= Change your partner)

Tips:
This activity is fun when activity leaders add funny instructions and movements.
Below is a list of sample instructions to be given to participants while doing this
activity.
1. “Back to back”, “Hand to shoulder”, “The other hand to waist”, “Heel to
heel”, and “Move clockwise three times”.
2. “Hand to shoulder”, “The other hand to waist”, “Knee to knee”, “Toes to
toes” and “Dance”.
3. “Back to back”, “Hand to ear”, “The other hand to waist”, and “Lower your
body three times”.
4. “Shoulder to shoulder”, “Hand to forehead”, “Toes to knee”, and “Lower
your body three times”.

Activity Five: Mirror 83 CHAPTER 593
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A Practical Guide to Designing and Managing English Development Projects

Materials Needed: Music (optional)
This activity requires creativity on the part of the participants. Activity leaders
inform participants to pair up and be ready to create amusing actions that do not
go against any faiths or norms. In a pair, one camper is a human and the other a
mirror. The human needs to lead in this activity as s/he has to do the actions,
and the mirror needs to imitate or mirror the actions. Music can help create active
participation in this activity. More information about this activity can be found
on Trainerbubble (n.d.).

How to play “Mirror”:
1. Activity leaders give clear instructions about how the activity is done.
2. Activity leaders demonstrate what each role has to do.
3. Activity leaders inform participants they have to perform and mirror actions
as long as the music is on or as long as they are not instructed to stop.
4. They have to continue acting and mirroring until the music is off or until they
are instructed to stop. Then they have to change their partner.
5. They start acting and mirroring again when the music is back on or when
they are instructed to start again.
Figure 5.3 depicts examples of different actions that can be performed in this
activity.
Figure 5.3
Examples of Actions in Mirror

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Tips:
This activity should not be the first activity if most participants are new to the
environment or rather shy. It is best done later when they are relaxed and in the
mood for more fun.

Activity Six: Who’s the Leader?
Time Required: 20-30 minutes
Type of Activity: Whole group
Materials Needed: Music (optional)
This activity needs to be done in a big group. All participants and activity leaders
make a big circle. There needs to be one leader in the group, and the leader needs
to lead others to do different actions or dance moves. One of the participants
needs to be the guesser who is not with the group when the leader is appointed.
The guesser will be led out during the appointment and then back in when
everyone is doing actions or dancing. Activity leaders inform everyone not to
look directly at the leader as they need to make it hard for the guesser to guess
who the leader is for that particular session. When each round is done, activity
leaders select the guesser and later the leader. More information about this
activity can be found on Ventureteambuilding (n.d.).

How to play “Who’s the Leader?”:
1. Activity leaders give clear instructions about how the activity is done.
2. Two activity leaders demonstrate how the activity is done, one of them being
the leader and the other the guesser. Participants need to follow the leader.
3. Activity leaders select the guesser and lead him/her out of the circle. The
guesser needs to be out of sight, and s/he is not allowed to see or hear the others
until s/he is led back into the circle.
4. The leader leads others to do different movements, including dancing.
Participants follow the leader without directly looking at the leader.

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5. The guesser needs to guess who the leader is. When the guesser makes a correct
guess, the round comes to an end. The next round begins.

Tips:
Like Mirror, this activity should not be the first activity if most participants are
new to the environment or rather shy. Also, it is tricky when activity leaders
choose the leaders. They need to be observant and choose those who are
outgoing and not shy.

How to Praise, Reward, and Give Feedback to Participants

Since our project is aimed at helping students develop a growth mindset and
become motivated in their English learning, we praise and reward students based
on their work, effort or progress, not necessarily the end products or outcomes.
This way, we encourage students to view success or achievement (as well as
setbacks) as part of learning, not as fixed personal attributes (Dweck, 2012).
When we give feedback, we also focus on the task, not on any individual
student(s). We also focus on what they can do better in the future. When we talk
about their work, we talk about what they can learn from the past to do better
next time (Hymer & Gershon, 2014).

Lessons Learned from Leading Icebreakers

Icebreakers are meant to make people feel comfortable being around
one another. Activity leaders need to keep this in mind when leading icebreakers
as making people feel otherwise would not benefit anyone at the camp. Some of
the key ideas we have to keep in mind while leading icebreakers in order to create
a positive environment for future activities and learning are listed below.

1. Activity leaders should not try to control people. Instead, we should
create a safe, supportive environment for all. When people feel no pressure, they
will be willing to participate in any activity.

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2. Activity leaders should understand the nature of the participants and
respect their input and participation. We should be flexible and never be hard on
anyone, including ourselves. Activity leaders should relax and lead with energy.

3. Activity leaders should use positive verbal and nonverbal language to
encourage participation because saying or doing otherwise would do the
opposite.

4. Activity leaders should be sensitive to other people’s feelings,
emotions, and needs. We should choose our words wisely and plan and lead the
activities with the context and people in mind. However, even a carefully planned
activity can be problematic if it triggers anxiety in the participants. We should
never forget that icebreakers are meant to reduce anxiety, not to create it.

5. To lower students’ Affective Filter, activity leaders should demonstrate
how to do icebreakers and allow participants to feel comfortable with the
activities before asking them to do the activities or produce physical responses
(Krashen, 1982).

Icebreaker Resources

Group-games. (n.d.). https://www.group-games.com/category/icebreakers
Iowa State University Student Activities Center. (n.d.). Icebreakers,

energizers, teambuilders. https://www.sac.iastate.edu/leadership-service-
center/leadership-and-service-center-outreach/leadership-and-service-
center-resources/icebreakers-energizers-teambuilders
Leadership Inspirations. (n.d.). Leadership activities database.
https://leadershipinspirations.com/activities-database/
The University of Manchester. (n.d.). Icebreaker booklet.
https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=7582
Trainer Bubble. (n.d.). Free Icebreakers.

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https://www.trainerbubble.com/downloads/category/free-training-
resources/free-ice-breaker-games/
Ventureteambuilding. (n.d.). Icebreakers. https://ventureteambuilding.co.uk/
category/icebreakers/#.XucHkGozZQI
Youth Group Games. (n.d.). Youth group icebreakers.
https://youthgroupgames.com.au/category/icebreakers/

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Chapter 6
Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development:
Team and Skill Building Activities

This chapter details Bruce Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development which is
employed as a theoretical framework for the management of our team and skill
building activities. First, I will give an overview of Tuckman’s Stages of Group
Development. Then I will present how we design, plan, introduce, and
implement team and skill building activities, especially in low-resource contexts.
Finally, I will discuss the lessons learned from leading team and skill building
activities.

A Brief Overview of Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development

Tuckman’s (1965) Stages of Group Development is a group development model
created by Bruce W. Tuckman. The initial model detailed four main stages of
group development, including forming, storming, norming, and performing.
Tuckman (1965) states that a group evolves from the first stage to the last stage
as group members attempt to form a team to perform a task. This model was
later revised in 1977 in joint efforts of Tuckman and Mary Ann Conover Jensen
to include the fifth stage—adjourning. The main focus of Tuckman’s model is
on how a group functions in areas of interpersonal relationships and task
performance and completion (Bonebright, 2010). The five stages of group
development are as follows:
1) Forming: This is an initial stage during which group members attempt to find
their places in the team, size each other up, and gradually establish a good
relationship with other team members. In order to form a team, group members
usually avoid conflict for fear that it might create a bad first impression.

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2) Storming: At this stage, people see themselves as team members; however,

they might challenge one another while starting to perform a task due to

conflicting ideas. Tuckman explains that people may find this stage very

challenging to focus on the task as they negotiate their ways toward task

completion as a team.

3) Norming: This stage is characterized by group members’ growing sense of

belonging as they come together to develop processes, establish some ground

rules, assign roles, clarify how things will be carried out, and move toward task

completion together as a team.

4) Performing: The fourth stage occurs when members work together as one

cohesive team in a productive manner with little hesitation or argument as

everyone knows their roles and aims to complete the task together as a team. This

stage focuses on functions, flexibility, and task completion.

5) Adjourning: The fifth stage takes place after a team disbands, having achieved

its desired outcomes or being split up for other reasons. The management should

assist the team in moving on by celebrating their achievements, offering to

provide recommendations and references, or reminding them of their positive

shared experiences. The management should also capture the team’s experiences,

knowledge, and/or expertise for future reference or use.

When organizing team and skill building activities, we focus on

promoting leadership, problem-solving, creativity, critical thinking skills,

interpersonal skills, management skills, empathy, and deep listening skills. We

believe that our team and skill building activities can boost participants’

engagement in the task/project and, hence, allow them to develop a sense of

belonging to their teams as well as commitments to the tasks/projects. Each team

revolves through all the five stages of group development as they work toward

task/project completion, enabling participants to establish trust and rapport with

their team members and with activity leaders during each activity and throughout

the event. Activities 1-5 (Marshmallow Challenge, Story Hunting, Logo United,

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Team Anthem, and Project for a Good Cause) enable participants to move
through all the five stages and, as a result, form a strong team and develop
relevant skills while activity 6 is suitable for promoting empathy and deep
listening.

Low-resource Team and Skill Building Activities

Team and skill building activities are critical in helping students build soft skills,
empathy and community. A strong, supportive community of learners is vital for
effective project implementation in the short run and for developing students’
essential skills such as leadership, problem-solving, and communication skills in
the long run. Students can also build empathy through team and skill building
activities. Empathy is crucial in the community and workplace because
understanding our own and others’ emotions can help us build strong teams,
develop positive relationships with others and solve problems or conflicts
(Mindtools, n.d.). In light of this, if done well, team and skill building activities
can help students develop essential skills for both their personal and professional
lives, which in turn contribute to the well-being of the community.

In this chapter, I present six team and skill building activities, some of
which require no resources other than the leaders and participants. I have found
activities that use low resources as efficient as other activities. However, team
and skill building needs to be done correctly to yield the desired results.
Therefore, activity leaders need to give sufficient training to the members to help
organize effective team and skill building activities for others. We use team and
skill building activities on several occasions including our English camps in order
to help participants build strong teams, feel comfortable around one another, and
see purposes in actively participating in subsequent activities.

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Activity One: Marshmallow Challenge
Time Required: 30-45 minutes
Type of Activity: Group of 4 to 8
Materials Needed: To build one structure, each group needs: 1) 50 pieces of raw
spaghetti; 2) three meters of string or tape; and 3) one piece of marshmallow.
Activity leaders divide participants into teams and ask them to sit in a circle or sit
at a table. Activity leaders distribute the materials to participants and inform them
that they have to build the tallest structure with a strong foundation using the
materials given to them. Activity leaders should also encourage participants to
brainstorm and work as a team to build this structure. They should also be
informed that they have to present their work to others after 30 minutes. They
need to answer the following questions in their presentation:

1. What is the name of this structure?.
2. What is this structure for?.
3. While building this structure, were there any problems in getting this

structure done? How did you solve the problems as a team?
4. What have you learned from this activity? After all presentations,

participants have to vote for the best team by basing their judgment on
teamwork and the final product.
Based on my experience, this activity can help team members build a strong team
through brainstorming, giving opinions, practicing active listening, sharing ideas,
solving problems together, and setting, sharing, and achieving the same goal and
vision as they go through the five stages of Tuckman’s Theory of Group
Development. In addition, this activity can also empower team members through
the task. Some team members realize their strengths and weaknesses through this
activity. Some learn to appreciate other people’s attributes and contributions. All
are encouraged to appreciate their attributes and contributions while learning to
build and enhance essential skills.

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How to play Marshmallow Challenge
1. Activity leaders give clear instructions about how the activity is done.
2. Activity leaders show pictures of the structures people built in the past to
participants. This step should not take long because the purpose of showing
pictures to participants is to give them some rough ideas about what they can do
to achieve this mission as a team.
3. Each team takes 30 minutes to brainstorm and build the tallest structure
using the materials given. Once the structure is done, each team has to put a piece
of marshmallow on top of the structure.
4. After 30 minutes, each team has to give a 3-minute presentation by
answering the four questions mentioned earlier.
5. After the presentations, participants vote for the best team.
Figure 6.1 demonstrates how Marshmallow Challenge can be carried out.
Figure 6.1
Marshmallow Challenge

Tips
We usually have one of our staff members in each team in order to establish a
good relationship between participants and activity leaders. Activity leaders can
start using humor with our team members to break the ice and later with
participants to establish rapport with them.

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Activity Two: Story Hunting
Time Required: 45-60 minutes
Type of Activity: Group of 5 to 10
Materials Needed: None but the instructions (in paper or file format)
This activity is designed to help participants develop several essential skills,
including interpersonal skills, communication skills, leadership, empathy, and
deep listening. The main purposes of this activity are two-fold: 1) to build a strong
team; and 2) to build empathy. This activity is like a scavenger hunt with
storytelling.

In this activity, participants need to strictly follow the instructions
because jumping or switching the order of things they need to do can cause
confusion and problems to the team. Team members need to study the
instructions together and complete the mission of each station they visit. Most
activities require them to say or do something and take photos or videos of what
they say or do to keep a record of what they do. We choose to use no additional
materials because we want to save the budget and the environment by reducing
waste. When they complete all the missions they need to do before they reach
the last station, they will be given a clue of whom they have to go to in order to
complete the last mission. At the second-to-last station, they will be given a
description of a person they have to find. When they know who the person is,
they have to go to that person with the mission given to them at the second-to-
last station.

The person in question has a life story to tell. After listening to the story,
the team needs to retell it in whatever form they want to do. This will empower
them to show their empathy, team spirit, and creativity. Activity leaders must
provide different platforms for them to showcase their abilities and skills. As
participants go through the five stages of Tuckman’s Theory of Group

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Development, they have gradually developed essential skills and formed a sense
of belonging to their teams.

Activity Three: Logo United
Time Required: 45-60 minutes
Type of Activity: Group of 5 to 8
Materials Needed: 1) A piece of A3 paper; and 2) color pencils
This team-building activity is most useful when conducted at the beginning of
any program since it allows team members to talk and exchange ideas about what
represents them as unique individuals and as team members. It acts as both an
icebreaker and a team-building activity.

To prepare everyone for the group activity, activity leaders can first ask
participants to think about any famous logos and come to the front to draw at
least one logo. Later, activity leaders can ask them why they remember these logos
and how important a logo is for a brand. Then activity leaders inform participants
about the next activity they are required to do – creating their logo, one which
represents their team. They need to talk about the different qualities, interests,
and visions of their team members. Once team members have some ideas about
a diverse set of qualities, interests, and visions their team represents, they have to
think about things they share in common and create a logo that symbolizes their
team spirit. As they move from exchanging opinions to designing their logo, they
inherently go through the five stages of Tuckman’s Theory of Group
Development and consequently develop their group identity.

If there are name tags, activity leaders need to distribute the name tags
during this activity so that a team member can then draw his/her team’s logo
alongside his/her name on the name tag. Each team needs to present its logo to
the audience. This activity is an expanded version of Logos (American

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Management Association, 2019). Figure 6.2 shows how LOGO United can be
carried out.
Figure 6.2
Logo United

Tips:
This activity can be used as an icebreaker as well. Instead of calling it “Logo
United”, we can call it “Logo Love” and make it more personally meaningful to
each individual as his/her logo, not group work.

Activity Four: Team Anthem

Time Required: 45-60 minutes for preparation

Type of Activity: Group of 5 to 10

Materials Needed: None

This activity is better conducted later, preferably after icebreakers, because it

requires active participation and engagement on the part of the participants.

However, if done well, this activity can set the tone for the other activities that

follow. I suggest activity leaders run this activity early in the second half of a one-

day event or first thing on the second day of a longer event.

The aims of this activity are to: 1) create a team spirit; 2) promote

creativity; and 3) foster communication skills (Team Building Made Easy, n.d.).

Like Logo United, this activity requires participants to talk, brainstorm, and tell

their team members what they think about themselves and the team. In order to

create a song that represents their team, participants need to know one another

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quite well through other activities prior to this one and should feel comfortable
sharing their ideas with fellow team members.

The length of an anthem should not be over one minute because what is
more important is how people collaborate and constructively work together. In
this regard, each team can be creative about what they want their anthem to be
and whether or not they should have some performance to accompany their
anthem. The instructions are to create a team anthem representing their team
spirit and leaving a long-lasting impression on the audience. Simply put, each
team needs to make their team anthem outstanding and recognizable even after
the first show. In order to create a team anthem, participants move from the first
stage of group development, which is forming, to the last stage, which is
adjourning. Figure 6.3 demonstrates how Team Anthem can be done.
Figure 6.3
Team Anthem

Tips:
After a round of team anthem performances, activity leaders should inform all
teams that they need to greet people with their team anthem every time they enter
any activity station. To create an energetic atmosphere, activity leaders should
put some fun and adventurous team activities after this one so that they can bond
with one another through those activities.

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Activity Five: Project for a Good Cause
Time Required: 60-120 minutes
Type of Activity: Group of 5 to 8
Materials Needed: 1) A Project for a Good Cause worksheet (for drafting their
project); 2) A piece of A3 paper (for project presentation); and 3) pens and
markers
This activity aims to promote empathy, public-mindedness, volunteerism,
leadership, teamwork, creativity, and some important skills such as interpersonal,
communication, management, and problem-solving skills. Participants are asked
to work with their team members to create a project for a good cause. They are
encouraged to analyze problems in their community and choose one problem
they consider most severe or important. In this activity, participants have to do
the first three stages of design thinking: 1) empathize; 2) define; and 3) ideate
(Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, n.d.a). Activity leaders hand out design
thinking worksheets to participants and follow the steps mentioned in the Hasso
Plattner Institute of Design’s (n.d.b) Facilitator’s Guide. Our worksheet is an
adapted, simplified version of the one provided in the Facilitator’s Guide (see
Appendix K).

We ask participants to engage in conversations with their group members
to accomplish all the three stages in this activity. As a result of their group
discussion, participants will roughly have ideas about what project they want to
do for their community. In the final stage of this activity, all groups have to
present their projects to the audience. As this activity involves brainstorming,
exchanging ideas, designing a project and activities, and presenting a project to
other people, participants inherently move through all the five stages of
Tuckman’s stages of group development. Figure 6.4 displays how Project for a
Good Cause can be carried out.

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Figure 6.4
Project for a Good Cause

Tips:
1. We use this activity after icebreakers in our social enterprise event to prepare
participants for developing social enterprise business models.
2. For purposes other than developing business models, the focus is on
developing empathy and other skills, including problem-solving skills. Activity
leaders have to inform participants that there is no right or wrong idea. There
may be more practical ideas, but no one knows what the most practical idea is
until it is executed. So, what activity leaders have to do is encourage everyone to
feel free to think, speak, share, and give constructive feedback.
3. All groups deserve praise and applause.

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Activity Six: Line of Empathy

Time Required: 30-60 minutes
Type of Activity: Whole group
Materials Needed: None
This activity is inspired by the movie “Freedom Writers”. This activity promotes
empathy and openness, two important qualities we all need for peaceful
coexistence and a better world. By participating in this activity, participants will
gradually and inherently learn that “they share certain common experiences
despite their differences” (Spirituality and Practice, n.d., para. 3). Although this
activity lies outside the scope of Tuckman’s Model, it is included in this chapter
because of its easy application and benefits.

In this activity, participants are asked to form two parallel lines with both
groups facing one another. Between them, there is a line (physical or mental) that
sets them apart. An activity leader asks a series of questions and tells participants
to step forward to the line if their answer to that particular question is yes.
Questions used in this activity play a subtle yet important role in promoting
empathy and openness. If formulated well and put in a well-thought-out order,
this activity alone can help form a strong community. A decision on what
questions to be used in the activity is up to activity leaders’ understanding of
participants and scrutiny of that particular context. Figure 6.5 shows pictures of
Line of Empathy.
Figure 6.5
Line of Empathy

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Tips:
1. This activity should be done later after participants get to know one another
through other activities and may have formed some perceptions of others. This
is so because the activity can deliberately build empathy and open people’s minds
through a series of questions asked by an activity leader.
2. A person who leads this activity should be sensitive to other people’s feelings
and know what to say or do to create a safe space for everyone to be vulnerable
to their own and other people’s feelings, stories, and experiences.
3. When appropriate, an activity leader may ask if some of the participants
standing on the line feel comfortable sharing their stories.
4. Whenever someone is telling a story, everyone is encouraged to practice deep
listening and withhold judgment since what is being told to them is just a fraction
of a much bigger story. Activity leaders should ask participants to listen
attentively to understand the story being told to them as it is. Activity leaders
should also encourage them to stay open-minded and embrace themselves and
others.

Lessons Learned from Leading Team and Skill Building
Activities

Nowadays, soft skills are regarded as essential skills for people of all walks of life
and of all professions. Team and skill building activities should be incorporated
into classrooms and different activities in order to help younger generations
develop core skills necessary for both personal and professional development.
These skills are even more critical in times of disruption since individuals with
this set of skills become invaluable assets to their teams and communities. For
effective team and skill building activities, activity leaders must be natural leaders
who possess the skillset and showcase their skills while leading activities. Some
desirable qualities that activity leaders should possess include using positive

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language, being respectful, embracing the differences and uniqueness individual
people bring to the event, and promoting acceptance and understanding. Clear
instructions and guidelines for tasks/projects also facilitate participants in
activities while forming their teams. For a smooth transition from one stage of
group development to the next, participants need to know what they are required
to do/complete. Therefore, it is imperative that activity leaders thoroughly
understand the activities and possess good communication skills.

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Chapter 7

Conclusion

This chapter presents a reference point or resource for future interventions. It
details useful information regarding designing and managing English educational
innovations with a specific focus on how to deliver such innovations in one year.
To aid the busy reader, I will present our annual plan examples with details
regarding how each program is delivered in the first section. The reader is
encouraged to read Chapter 1 for more information concerning the planning,
design, and implementation of the project in general and the activities in
particular. The second section is Q & A with the Author where I provide
information the readers might find useful for their future interventions. The
chapter ends with the final remarks, which sum up all the critical messages
embedded in this book.

Annual Plan Examples

Example 1: Pre-COVID-19 Pandemic
The first annual plan example details projects and activities we organized prior to
the COVID-19 pandemic. It consists of our annual projects, weekly activities,
and English tutorials. Details about how we conduct the projects are also given
in Tables 7.2-7.8. Table 7.1 gives details of the annual plan.

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Table 7.1
Pre-COVID-19 Pandemic Annual Plan

Annual Projects Weekly Activities English Tutorials

• January: Two MSU • Language classes • General English course
Homeroom English Camps • Inspirational talks by tutorials
current students • Standardized test
• February: MSU Homeroom tutorials
Open House & Two MSU • MSU English Exit-
Homeroom English Camps Exam tutorials

• March: Two MSU
Homeroom English Camps

• July: Train-the-trainer
• August: MSU Homeroom

International Day
• September: MSU Homeroom

Festival
• October: MSU Homeroom

Halloween
• November: Two MSU

Homeroom English Camps
• December: MSU Homeroom

Christmas & Two MSU
Homeroom English Camps

The following tables give specific details of how our projects are organized to aid
the reader’s understanding of how each project is implemented. Table 7.2
displays details of how MSU Homeroom Open House is carried out.
Table 7.2
MSU Homeroom Open House

Nature / Length of Activities Remarks
Project/ Key
Activities • Introduction to MSU • We use this project as a
Homeroom, MSU platform to promote our
• Informative & Homeroom activities and showcase
Inspirational FriendAdvisors, and our students who participate
• Half day (Afternoon activities in our activities.
hours) • Talent shows by • A famous guest speaker
• Role Model's + Mindset students who won can attract students, who
Talks English and talent might otherwise hesitate
competitions organized to join English activities,
by MSU Homeroom to come to the event.
[Cover dance shows, a • Our MSU Homeroom
mini concert, and a Open House is very well-
speech] received. We can attract
• Inspirational talk by a over 1,000 participants
famous guest speaker each year. Some of them
are secondary schoolers.

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Table 7.3 presents details of how MSU Homeroom International Day is
conducted.

Table 7.3
MSU Homeroom International Day

Nature / Length of Project/ Key Activities Remarks
Activities
•Inspirational talks by •This project aims to raise an
•Informative & speakers who share awareness of cultural
Inspirational overseas experience diversity and sensitivity
•One day (Eight among our students and staff.
hours) •Country visits: groups
•Role Model's + of students rotating •We invite foreign lecturers to
Mindset Talks from one country host stations which represent
station to the next to their countries and cultures.
learn about different Our stations represent
countries, languages countries in Europe, Asia, and
and cultures (30 North America. We would like
minutes/station) to have representatives from
all continents if we could.
•Cultural shows by
student participants •Cultural shows are the
(coached by foreign highlight of the project.
lecturers) Student participants can give
amazing traditional
performances even though
they are given only one and a
half hours in the afternoon to
practice with their coaches.

Table 7.4 shows details of how MSU Homeroom Festival is managed.
Table 7.4
MSU Homeroom Festival

Nature / Length of Activities Remarks
Project/ Key
Activities • Speech Competition • Our singing contest is very
(Individual) popular among students, so we
• Edutainment & • General Knowledge Quiz host an audition round before
Inspirational Competition (Group of the event to select 10- 12
• One day (eight hours) three) finalists for the final round.
• English Competitions • Singing Contest
(Individual) • We offer money prizes and
• Inspirational Video certificates of achievement to
Competition the winners.

• Our judges are university
lecturers, both Thai and
international. For the singing
contest, the judges are from the
English Department and the
College of Music. For the
speech contest, the judges are
from the English Department
and the Business School. For
the general knowledge quiz
competition, the session is
chaired by international
lecturers.

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Table 7.5 gives details of how MSU Homeroom Halloween is organized.

Table 7.5
MSU Homeroom Halloween

Nature / Length of Activities Remarks
Project/ Key Activities

• Edutainment & • Costume Contest • Halloween is one of the
Inspirational • Cover Dance Contest most popular events we
• Half day (six evening (Group) host. We attract almost
hours) • Games 1,000 students per year.
• Halloween Activities • Haunted House
• We offer money prizes and
certificates of achievement
to the winners.

• We host a cover dance
contest because of two
main reasons: 1) to support
younger generations by
giving them a platform to
showcase their talents; and
2) to attract more students
to MSU Homeroom and our
future activities.

• All activities arranged at
the event are very well-
received.

Table 7.6 displays details of how MSU Homeroom Christmas is carried out.
Table 7.6
MSU Homeroom Christmas

Nature / Length of Activities Remarks
Project/ Key
Activities •A mini concert •We create a cozy
•Christmas carols atmosphere for our
•Edutainment & •Q & A on Christmas community members
Inspirational (Audience on Christmas.
•Half day (six evening engagement) •We ask for
hours) •Poetry reading sponsorship from
• Christmas both friends and
decorations, businesses because
Christmas tree, we would like to have
Santa Claus and lots many presents and
of presents and giveaways for the
giveaways participants.

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Table 7.7 shows details of how MSU Homeroom English Camps are conducted.
Table 7.7
MSU Homeroom English Camps

Nature / Length of Activities Remarks
Project/ Key
Activities • Day 1 [Morning: Icebreakers + • We assign MSU Homeroom
team and skill building activities FriendAdvisors to accompany
• Edutainment & Afternoon: English camp each group of students as they
Inspirational activities] rotate from one station to the
• Two days next. These FriendAdvisors will
• Selection of future self- • Day 2 [Icebreakers + team and assist the students at each
guides and mindset skill building activities + future station.
activities self-guides activities + mindset
• Ice breakers activities] • We arrange future self guides
• English camp activities and mindset activities on the
• Team and skill building • NOTE: The afternoon hours of second day because we would
activities Day 1 are for English learning like the students to explore and
station visits. Usually, there are discover their own strengths,
five English learning stations for shortcomings, interests and
five groups of students (15-20 needs before they reflect on their
members in each group). experiences in order to
Students need to rotate to understand themselves better
different stations. They are given while appreciating other people
30-40 minutes to complete a around them.
mission at each station. There
are at least two MSU Homeroom
FriendAdvisors and one English
or Foreign lecturer at each
station.

Table 7.8 gives details of how our train-the-trainer workshop is managed.
Table 7.8
Train-the-trainer Workshop

Nature / Length of Activities Remarks
Project/ Key
Activities • Day 1 [Icebreakers + • It's important that MSU
team and skill building Homeroom FriendAdvisors
• Edutainment & activities + public understand the vision and
Inspirational speaking workshop] missions of our office.
• Two days • Day 2 [Icebreakers +
• Public speaking team and skill building • Meanwhile, it's equally important
workshop activities + future self that we understand their
• Selection of future self- guides activities + aspirations as well as know their
guides and mindset mindset activities + strengths and shortcomings.
activities planning and designing
• Ice breakers the upcoming year • We empower FriendAdvisors to
• English camp activities activities] plan, design and lead activities
• Team and skill building with their fellow FriendAdvisors,
activities lecturers and supporting staff
members in our office.

• Our FriendAdvisors also adopt or
adapt these activities in their
classes, activities and/or
workshops (Some FriendAdvisors
give their own workshops or
classes upon request. Our
activities provide a platform for
these students to showcase their
abilities.)

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Example 2: During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The second annual plan example shows how we manage to shift all projects and
activities to online platforms. Details of how some of our programs are organized
online can be found in Chapter 1. Table 7.9 shows details of our annual plan
during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Table 7.9
An Annual Plan During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Annual Projects Weekly Activities English Tutorials

All projects are English, French, Khmer, General Education
organized online Japanese, and Chinese learning English Courses
via a meeting (Online & Live)
application and videos and live programs.
live streaming English Proficiency
on a social Alumni Talks by alumni Tests
media platform. &
(Online & Live)
Homeroom Talks
by current students
(Details of how these two
programs are conducted can
be seen in Chapters 1 & 2.)

Q & A with the Author

This section presents frequently asked questions to which I have opportunities
to answer on different occasions. I personally find the questions useful in
providing some guidelines and information needed to plan, design, and
implement any English development projects, especially in low-resource
contexts. I hope these questions address concerns about what needs to be done
in planning, designing, and implementing projects and activities.

Question: Does the book contain all activities you do in your project?
Answer: No, unfortunately, it does not. I purposively selected activities that are
easy to do even in low-resource contexts. I hope the readers benefit from this

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compact guidebook and feel empowered to adapt the activities to suit their
project’s goals and circumstances.

Question: What have you learned from the past four years of project
implementation and the adaptation in the recent years of COVID-19 pandemic?
Answer: I have learned that change is inevitable and constant, so we need to be
flexible when planning and implementing innovations. Adaptability seems to be
the key in today’s disruptive world. Leaders need to stay proactive and alert of
possible changes or disruptions and make plausible decisions with their teams.

Question: Why do your activities include skills other than English?
Answer: Because I view students as persons in their own right. There are more
complex issues and challenges in their lives than we could anticipate or
comprehend. We see only the tip of the iceberg, and I do not want to force
students into embracing or doing something they do not find meaningful. We
craft our activities to help the students craft their own lives by exploring the many
options we offer and participating in activities we put our hearts and effort into
designing and doing. We hope they discover more about themselves and the
world around them through these activities.

Question: Is this project applicable in other educational contexts?
Answer: I wish I could give a precise answer to this question. I think there is no
one-size-fits-all kind of thing, and I believe what we need is a toolkit that is
constantly updated to enable us to plan, design, implement, assess and adapt our
innovations to suit our context. This book provides some valuable tools for those
who need to expand their toolkit. My goal in writing this book is to create a space
to share my experiences with others. I have learned from so many scholars,
practitioners, and students throughout these years, and it would be useless if I
did not share what I have learned and done with the readers of this book.

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Question: Did you do anything similar to this project before?
Answer: Yes. I always work with students and for students throughout my career.
I do extracurricular activities and always spend time outside the classrooms with
my students. Before taking on the responsibilities in this office, I also worked as
a middle administrator. Most of my work as an administrator involved student
development.

Question: Where did you learn about all these activities?
Answer: I attended many useful workshops when I was a PhD student in the
UK, and I was granted scholarships to attend some practical workshops both
inside and outside of Thailand (USA and Vietnam). I also offered a course to
international students during a summer semester at a university in South Korea.
The abundance of experience has broadened my horizons and perspectives on
student learning and development. As a practitioner, I keep updating my toolkit
by attending workshops, reading books, watching videos, and learning from other
practitioners.

Question: Do you have a well-laid-out plan when you organize English camps
and other projects?
Answer: We keep the objectives of each project intact but remain flexible when
it comes to the action part. It is good to have a good plan, but options are better
when things do not go according to plan. As we carry out an on-site assessment
that is ongoing in nature, we can adapt our activities to suit the nature of the
students and the situation accordingly.

Question: How do you engage others in the planning, implementation, and

assessment of your project?

Answer: There was resistance in the first year of implementation. We should

expect resistance to new ideas or change. People may have doubts about the

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plausibility of your project, and that is understandable and predictable. In this
project, I focused on the goals of the project and continued doing what was
suitable for the students. If I asked for support and there was no support where
I asked, I continued doing the work I had to do to achieve the goals either by
myself or with the help of those who had faith in the project.

Little by little, people who were impacted by change talked about it. In
this case, students, lecturers, and supporting staff who worked with us or
benefited from our work helped promote the work. After the first year, people
have started to know about our work, and we have opportunities to serve the
wider community, including schools and other universities. Interestingly,
acceptance and acknowledgment came from those who were impacted by the
interventions first.

In my humble opinion, sometimes people do not see the value of their
work until a society appraises it. What I do is I focus on the work and keep
updating the community with information, results, and stories. When people find
something personally meaningful to them, they will see its value and become
more passionate about it. From my experience, people want to do something for
their community, but they might give up because no one supports them. The
thing is, they can support themselves first and keep doing what they believe will
benefit their community. If they persevere through all the challenges while
contributing to the lives of others, they will find the experience rewarding and
fulfilling at the same time. People will eventually understand why they need the
project in their community.

Question: Is budget a problem?
Answer: Yes and no. When there are budget cuts, instead of upsetting about the
situation, we plan to do some activities that are volunteer-based instead. We do
not want perceived limitations to stop us from improving our work or
minimizing our project’s impacts. We learn to turn crisis into opportunity. For

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example, when I heard about the outbreak of the coronavirus in China and the
early spread in January 2020, I planned to make online content that would benefit
and empower the students right away. I started talking with some colleagues and
student volunteers about the online content. I informed everyone about the
vision (a new vision emerged as a response to the spread of the virus) and that
everything was volunteer-based because it was not in the initial plan. The student
volunteers were willing to host online programs or make online videos after their
final exams in March. As a result of this, we started our online programs in April
2020.

Question: How did you shift your work to online during the pandemic?
Answer: Communication played quite a vital role in this. I started reaching out
to my colleagues and students as soon as I heard about the outbreak in China
and its early spread. I informed them that I wanted the students to feel loved and
that they were not alone during the tough time. I wanted to maintain the presence
of our project and the relationships with the students, lecturers, administrators,
and supporting staff members across the University. I wanted our project to
continue inspiring the students to keep learning and moving forward with their
goals in mind. I wanted our project to continue serving the community despite
all the challenges. Since we had formed a strong community of like-minded
people, many agreed to work with us.

Question: Do you have any success stories to share?
Answer: I have quite a few. Let me tell you about one student who attended my
workshop on the growth and fixed mindsets back in January 2017 when she was
in high school. I did not know she decided to study at the University until she
came to our English camp in 2018. We asked student campers to give feedback
on the camp, and this student was one of them. She said she benefited
tremendously from the mindset workshop since what she learned helped her

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persevere through challenges in life. She also decided to pay attention to some
subjects she disliked and found out that she could achieve anything she wanted
to achieve as long as she did not give up. She decided to study at the University
because she found the workshop very useful and believed there had to be
something good about the University. She said that the English camp was one of
the best experiences in her life. After the English Camp, she asked whether she
could work with us. She has been with us from her first year through to her final
year at the University.

Question: How do you measure the success of your project?
Answer: This is the most challenging question, and I’m not sure if the readers
will like my answer. I don’t measure the success of the project by numbers or
figures, unfortunately. We can show the results of our project and activities in
numbers because we understand that numbers are easier to understand and, to
some extent, more tangible. For us, we care about the lives and well-being of the
students. The project is not a big success, but what it does for the community is
important. How do we know that what we do is meaningful? We receive an
abundance of positive feedback from the students and those affected by the
interventions.

Question: If there is one takeaway your readers can carry with them, what is it?
Answer: Everyone can lead change, and we need more people than ever to work
constructively together to create greater impacts. Change should not be done only
at the top. We need a strong team of leaders, and that is not limited to the
management. We need teamwork—aligned leadership. Administrators,
academics, supporting staff members, and students can join hands and lead
change in their context together. The MSU Homeroom project is one example
of how teamwork thrives despite all the challenges. I hope this project can inspire
change within individuals who will then inspire change in their communities.

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Final Remarks

“Does the book act as a practical guide as it attempts to be?”
I hope it does. Chapters 1 and 7 are complementary to each other as the former
provides detailed information regarding the book and project while the latter
gives snapshots of how the project can be planned, designed, and carried out.
Chapters 2-6 provide important details about the theoretical frameworks and
activities that can be utilized when planning, designing, and implementing
English development projects. In addition to the important information
regarding the project and knowledge of relevant theories provided in the
preceding chapters, Chapter 7, with its lengthy Q&A section, provides the reader
with crucial details, confirmations, and reminders of how all of us can inspire and
lead change in our context.

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119 APPENDICE12S7



By Anyarat Nattheeraphong

Appendix A
Pictures of MSU Homeroom Language Classes

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A Practical Guide to Designing and Managing English Development Projects

Appendix B
Pictures of Cultural Events

A. MSU Homeroom International Day

APPENDICES 122 129

By Anyarat Nattheeraphong

B. MSU Homeroom Halloween

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A Practical Guide to Designing and Managing English Development Projects
C. MSU Homeroom Christmas

APPENDICES 124 131

By Anyarat Nattheeraphong

Appendix C
Pictures of MSU Homeroom English Camps

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A Practical Guide to Designing and Managing English Development Projects

Appendix D
Pictures of MSU Homeroom Open House

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By Anyarat Nattheeraphong

Appendix E
Pictures of Online Exchange Programs

A. An Online Language and Cultural Exchange Program between Students
from Mahasarakham University, Aichi Prefectural
University, and Marunouchi Junior High School

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APPENDICES 128 135