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Activity Description

How many times is a Team Activity focusing on critical-thinking.

Benefits of How many times Group Critical Thinking Group Activity 

  • Involves critical-thinking
  • Encourages creativity
  • Variations available
  • No props needed

How To facilitate How many times Group Critical Thinking Activity 

This is a fun exercise that requires imagination and critical thinking to solve a problem. You will be provided with a puzzle that only has one solution or answer. The aim, as for any group activity, is to enjoy the experience and not to worry too much over the results.

The exercise does involve the imagination and is completely a hypothetical situation. The aim is to encourage critical thinking and is not focused too much on the actual circumstances.

The best way to perform this activity is in smaller groups, so have everyone from into teams of 2 to 5 people. Begin by asking everyone to imagine five things – a boat, a women, packet of corn, a chicken and a fox. To make things easier, you can include some props to represent the chicken, women etc.

The puzzle: the woman has a problem – she must get over the river in the rowboat, but she can only take herself and one other thing with her at a time. The problem is she cannot leave the chicken and fox behind, nor can she leave the chicken and corn together. Your job is to work out the least amount of times she can cross over, in order to get herself and all other items across.

 Give groups enough time to strategize and come up with ideas, also allow them to experiment.

The Solution:

The first thing to do is for the women to cross over with the chicken. The corn and the fox are fine together. The women must leave the chicken on the other side of the river, then return for the fox. She takes the fox across and returns with the chicken. The reason being, the fox and chicken are not safe together. (this is what most groups miss).

She then leaves the chicken again and takes the corn across the river to where the fox is. Finally, she returns and fetches the chicken and crosses the river to the other side. There you have it, puzzle solved.

Contextual Framing Ideas for How many times Group Activity

I am sure all of you have heard about the expression “two steps forward and one step back”. You should keep this in mind when attempting the following exercise.

Step-by-Step Instructions for How many times Group Group Activity 

  • Have the group form smaller teams of 2 to 5 people.
  • Provide the challenge, teams must solve a puzzle
  • Using their imaginations, they must figure out the following. There is a woman who must move a chicken, fox and a packet of corn across a river in a boat. They must do this using the least amount of moves possible.
  • There are a few rules, which include:
  • The boat can only carry the women and one other item at a time.
  • The chicken and corn are not safe together and cannot be left alone with each other.
  • The fox and the chicken can also not to be left alone with each other.
  • Give teams a chance to come up with ideas and experiment
  • Finally, reveal the solution

Facilitators and Leaders Tips

The step where most groups fail is where the chicken needs to return with the women after it has been taken across the river. Once this is discovered, it can provide an interesting discussion about having to ‘take two steps forward and one step back.’ Another angle of discussion could include when to make decisions that ultimately affect the bigger plan.

You might find groups complaining about the impossibility of the task. You could include some suggestions and encourage teams to come up with some creative ideas. For example, placing the chicken in a cage or hiding the corn from the chicken etc.

Congratulate them on their creative and imaginative ideas and encourage them further to solve the puzzle.

Debriefing and Reflection Tips

Here are some questions to ask the group, which will help them to process their experience of playing the game ‘How many times’

  • Did you and your team find the puzzle difficult to solve?
  • What thought process was needed in order to solve the puzzle?
  • Was there a moment where you discovered you should be changing the way you think, in order to solve the puzzle? Give an example.
  • Can you apply this way of thinking to other areas of your life?

Variations of ‘How many times’ Group Critical Thinking Group Activity 

  • Cannibals and Missionaries: Here three cannibals and three missionaries must cross over the river. The one rule, the cannibals cannot outnumber the missionaries at any time on both sides of the river.
  • Bridge River Crossing: During the night, there are four people who come across a river and a narrow bridge that crosses over. The thing is, only two people can cross over at a time. In order to see in the dark, there is one torch, which must be used between them. Each person moves at different speeds (person w, x, y, z). w – travels at 1 minute, x-2 minutes, y-5 minutes and z-8 minutes. When you have two people moving together, both must move at the slower speed. You must see if all four people can cross the bridge in 15 minutes or less.

How Many Times Group Critical Thinking Group Activity 

Basic Details
Property Type : Team Building
Listing Type : Placeholder
Activity Type : Team Building
Focus On : Build Trust, Collaboration, Creativity, Having Fun, Problem Solving
Outcome Based : Yes
Facilities : Indoor, Outdoor
Props Required : None
Duration : 6 - 15 minutes
Exertion Level : Low
Group Size : 1 - 8, 9 - 16, 17 - 30, 31+
Age : Children, Youth, Adults