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Exercises/Reflection and Learning/Collaborative Team Challenge for Small Groups - Madagascar Rescue
Team Reflection · Reflection and Learning

Collaborative Team Challenge for Small Groups - Madagascar Rescue

Collaborative Team Challenge for Small Groups - Madagascar Rescue is a team reflection exercise for reflection and learning: it helps participants reflect on experience and turn observations into learning.

15 to 30 minutesTIME
Small group (4-8)GROUP SIZE
ActiveENERGY
In person, RemoteSETTING
High cognitive loadCOGNITIVE LOAD
Strengthens Learning Transfer This reflection and learning exercise strengthens Learning Transfer, one of the eight Gathering Effectiveness pillars.

How to run it

  1. Place a large tarp (approx 2 x 3 metres) on the floor.
  2. Randomly distribute a bunch of soft toys around the area.
  3. Ask your group to stand on the tarp entirely, and distribute a ‘stepping stone’ to each person.
  4. Any touches onto the floor/ground will require the group to start over.
  5. Then, instruct your group to use the stepping stones to retrieve the numerous soft toys.
  6. Challenge your group to retrieve all of the objects within these two parameters:
  7. - Every stepping stone must maintain unbroken physical contact with the group at all times, otherwise, they will lose it; and
  8. - If someone happens to touch the floor, they must return to the tarp and possibly lose the stone on which they were standing.
  9. Madagascar Rescue Collaborative team challenge to develop group strategy skills.
Live facilitator

Run this exercise live

The facilitator console stays in this browser. Its QR handoff is a short-lived participant snapshot containing only public exercise instructions, phase, prompt, and timer state.

Prompts to use +

Place a large tarp (approx 2 x 3 metres) on the floor.

Ask your group to stand on the tarp entirely, and distribute a ‘stepping stone’ to each person.

Any touches onto the floor/ground will require the group to start over.

Then, instruct your group to use the stepping stones to retrieve the numerous soft toys.

- If someone happens to touch the floor, they must return to the tarp and possibly lose the stone on which they were standing.

Run this with your AI assistant +

Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Adapt this exercise for my exact room. Exercise: Collaborative Team Challenge for Small Groups - Madagascar Rescue. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: Place a large tarp (approx 2 x 3 metres) on the floor.; Ask your group to stand on the tarp entirely, and distribute a ‘stepping stone’ to each person.; Any touches onto the floor/ground will require the group to start over.; Then, instruct your group to use the stepping stones to retrieve the numerous soft toys.. Return a concise facilitator script with timing, wording, safety notes, and remote/in-person adjustments.

Origin unverified

  • Where we observed it: The strongest current observations come from Playmeo; aggregators are listed as additional observations, not origin proof. (1 source observed, including Playmeo.)
  • What that means: we track where an exercise has been observed in public sources. We do not claim to know who created it, or how popular it is.
  • No efficacy claims: appearing in this library is not a claim that the exercise is proven effective. Facilitator judgment and context decide whether it works for a given room.
  • Corrections: if you have evidence of an earlier or more accurate source, read our methodology and trust boundary and tell us.

Pairs well with