Team Building Activities for College Students

Team-building activities in college can help students get to know one another, establish trust and function well together, both in the classroom or in shared living situations. Whether you're leading a freshmen orientation weekend or teaching a class to undergraduate students, you can use team-building activities to help students break the ice and feel more comfortable with their peers. Experiment with different activities. You might find one that works better than others or that the students have their own ideas for games.

One team-building activity is a game called Two Truths and a Lie. In this exercise, students get together in small groups of about three to five people. Participants take turns going around the circle and telling the other students three things about themselves: Two of these statements are true and one is a lie. The other students must then guess which thing is a lie. This can be a fun way for students to learn interesting things about one another, such as where they grew up, how many siblings they have or what they like to do in their spare time.

Another team-building game is commonly called the three P's. In this game, students get into small groups -- or simply go around the room -- and share three facts about themselves. The first fact must be personal, such as an interesting childhood anecdote or lifelong dream. The second fact must be related to something professional, such as what the student wants to do with his career. The last fact must reveal something peculiar about the student, such as an interesting habit or hobby that might be seen as unique or strange. Ask students to think of things that other people in the group probably don't already know about them.

The survival scenario game is often one of the best team-building activities as it creates a sense of unity and camaraderie. In this game, students get together in groups of about five to seven. Give each group a list of about 20 survival-related items, such as matches, water, a tent, rope, a box of food, etc. The students must imagine that they are stranded on a desert island together and they can only bring five items from the list. Give the students about 30 minutes to discuss among themselves which items they would bring. Have each group present their lists in front of the whole class and explain why they decided on each item.

In the new invention game, students split into small groups of about seven. Tell them that they are now responsible for creating a new invention that does not yet exist today. In addition to coming up with a new invention, each group is assigned a criteria for their invention. For example, one group's criteria might be that the invention must help people make money. Another criteria could be that the invention must assist with grocery shopping. Ask the groups to draw, paint or sketch their inventions and present them in front of the other groups.