.png){kind=logo}
%20(1).png)
Team building activities for teachers can unite the workforce and create a sense of team unity as the school year begins.
The COVID-19 pandemic threw teachers plenty of unexpected hurdles, and it’s never been more important to confront these challenges with a supportive team. To promote honesty and transparency, the team must come together.
Team building activities for educators should not be overlooked. Teaching staff often focus exclusively on implementing team building activities into their lesson plans, neglecting the importance of fostering relationships with other staff members.
Are you...
As someone deeply passionate about education and team dynamics, I've explored various team building activities tailored specifically for teachers. Drawing on my team-building expertise, I've curated a list of activities that are not only fun but also effective in promoting collaboration and camaraderie among teachers.
This article is for:
Teachers can only deliver a well-crafted curriculum when they have the professional support of those around them. In challenging moments, inside and outside the classroom, it is the support of fellow staff members that can be a complete game-changer for teachers. It’s time to bring your team closer together with teacher team building activities.
Strong teams in schools can help reduce staff turnover. Positive relationships with colleagues can inspire emotional resilience and empower teachers to perform.
When a team is effective, people often adopt best practices and tight-knit teams can support personal development and lift everyone’s spirits. A sense of community among teaching staff can be tremendously beneficial to their wellbeing. Team building activities can nurture these professional relationships.
Robust workforces come in many different shapes and sizes. Despite this, there are typically some characteristics that are shared among highly successful teams. After all, it’s important to remember that success leaves clues. Some common characteristics:
Team building activities for teachers can support the development of key relationships within your workforce. These activities are designed to promote many of the key characteristics that are commonly found in effective school teams. From leading with drive and purpose to uniting around a clear objective or ambition, group activities can bring teachers closer together.
Teachers can be grouped into small teams to take part in this activity. This involves a scavenger hunt from a student’s perspective, taking pictures along the way. From the best hiding places for teachers to the door that nobody knows where it goes, you can have some fun with the hunt. Later, come back together and share the photos.
.png)
This is a great way to put your team’s creativity to the test. Teachers sit around a classroom table and use modeling clay to create sculptures. Inevitably, this will generate plenty of communication between team members. Ideally, participants should not be seated next to people they work directly with each day.
A team member begins the activity by sharing something about their professional life with their colleagues. When another person hears something they have in common with the speaker, they need to jump up and link arms. The exercise should continue until everyone is standing and has linked arms.
Write some wacky mission statements by extracting words from the team’s actual mission statement. The teachers will have to try and guess the words that were extracted from the real mission statement without referring to it at all. While having some fun, this activity can help to reinforce the team’s actual mission statement.
Organize a day-long or weekend retreat for teachers to engage in team building activities outside of the school environment. Activities could include trust falls, group problem-solving challenges, and collaborative games. Retreats offer a more immersive experience and allow teachers to bond in a relaxed setting.
Pair teachers up into coaching circles where they can support each other professionally. Teachers can take turns being both the coach and the coachee, offering feedback, sharing resources, and collaborating on lesson planning. Peer coaching circles foster a culture of continuous improvement and collegial support.
Start a book club focused on education-related literature or professional development books. Teachers can meet regularly to discuss key concepts, share insights, and brainstorm ideas for implementing new strategies in the classroom. Reading and discussing books together can deepen connections and encourage collaboration.
Organize volunteer opportunities for teachers to give back to the community together. Whether it's participating in a local park clean-up, volunteering at a food bank, or organizing a fundraiser for a charitable cause, community service projects can strengthen bonds among teachers while making a positive impact outside of the school walls.
Facilitate collaboration between teachers from different subject areas or grade levels. Encourage interdisciplinary lesson planning, joint projects, and co-teaching opportunities. Cross-department collaboration not only fosters teamwork but also enriches the learning experience for students.
Water Cooler Trivia will become your team’s new weekly ritual. Trivia quizzes, hand-written by trivia professionals, are delivered to your inbox weekly. The quizzes can be customized for your team based on a number of factors, including difficulty and length. Once these are complete, they can be submitted around your team’s schedule.
Trivia quizzes can spark insightful discussions between team members and create social situations that otherwise wouldn’t occur. Great team building activities for teachers enable people to have interactions with other team members that they wouldn’t ordinarily have. Ultimately, it’s about adding something to the working day that shakes up the atmosphere.
Get started with Water Cooler Trivia today!
