DAFFODIL: GETTING ACQUAINTED IN SMALL GROUPS
Goals
To assemble the participants into small groups in a nonthreatening
manner.
To facilitate the getting-acquainted process by generating contact
among the participants.
Group Size
Unlimited. This activity is most successful with a minimum of twenty
participants.
Time Required
Approximately forty-five minutes. With a total group of more than
thirty-five participants, Steps III and VI require additional time.
Materials
A name tag for each participant. Prior to conducting the activity, the
facilitator divides the name tags into groups of four to six each and assigns the common
name of a different flower to each group. The following common names of flowers may be
used to designate the groups: Daffodil, Petunia, Periwinlcle, Hollyhock, Begonia,
Geranium, Magnolia, and Camellia. The facilitator may choose other names to accommodate
additional groups.
Using the participant roster, the facilitator assigns four to six
participants to each group and fills out a name tag for each participant. To do this he or
she writes the appropriate flower name on each tag within each group as the
participant’s middle name. For example, a participant named John Smith who is
assigned to the Daffodil group will receive a name tag reading "John Daffodil
Smith."
Physical Setting
A room large enough to allow the participants to move around easily and
to congregate in groups.
Process
As each participant arrives, he or she is given a name tag and is
asked to wear it throughout the activity.
The facilitator begins by making the following statement:
"Kurt Vonnegut wrote a book entitled Slapstick in which one
of the characters decides to run for President of the United States. A major part of his
campaign involves the theme of loneliness. He says that the principal problem in our
country is that most people feel lonely and isolated from others. Consequently, he
promises that if he is elected, he will take immediate action to correct this situation by
designating specific middle names for all citizens and having these names added to
phone-book listings. All people in the country with the same assigned middle name will be
considered cousins. Then, for example, when a person with the assigned middle name of
‘Daffodil’ travels or moves to another city or town, he or she can look in the
local phone book for other people with the middle name of ‘Daffodil,’ visit
these people, and get to know and trust them."
The facilitator states that as the participants look around the room,
they, too, may be experiencing a feeling of isolation and that this feeling will be dealt
with in much the same way as that suggested by the Slapstick candidate.
The facilitator points out that each participant’s name tag
bears an assigned middle name, such as Daffodil. Each participant is instructed to stand
up, walk around the room locating others with the same assigned middle name, and
congregate with these people. (Five minutes.)
After all groups have been formed, the facilitator asks the members
of each group to be seated in a circle and to conduct their first "family
reunion" by sharing information about their hobbies, recent positive or negative
experiences, their career goals, or any other personal matters that they choose. (Ten
minutes.)
The members of each group are instructed to take turns discussing
their feelings and behaviors at the beginning of the activity, during the previous step,
and at the present moment. (Ten minutes.)
The facilitator reassembles the total group and elicits the
participants’ reactions to the activity by asking the following questions:
What reactions did you experience while locating the members of your group? How did
those reactions change after sharing information and feelings with your fellow group
members?
What did you notice about how you and the other members formed yourselves into a group?
What does this process suggest to you about the members of your group?
What can we conclude about making contact with others in small groups? What can we
conclude about shared interests? What about feelings of comfort and discomfort?
How can you use your experiences during this activity to enrich your personal and work
life?
Variations
After Step VI the "family groups" may be reassembled for
subsequent small-group activities.
After Step VI the participants may be reassembled into their
"family groups" for discussion and contracting with regard to applications of
this learning experience.
Names other than those of flowers (for example, signs of the zodiac)
may be used. If the participants share a single profession, terms common to that
profession may be used.
(Vonnegut, Kurt (1976)Slapstick, Delacorte Press/Seymour
Lawrence)
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