The Yellow Brick Road
Theme-based Team Building for Tutor Training Sessions
I. Introduction
A. Presenter
1. Loleta Collins, Edison Community College, Piqua, Ohio
B. Presentation
1. Using the well-known theme of The Wizard of Oz, tutors learn the value of
understanding their jobs, their school, and each other by a series of critical-thinking based
adventures.
II. The Process
A. Preparation (The most in depth part of the process)
1. Send invitations
a. Remember to include the key word!
1. Clues to help them locate their teams
a. Not identified on team collection bag!
2. Create the teams
a. Team names
1. Related to but not obviously Wizard of Oz
a. Team Ozzy
-Ozzy in Black Sabbath
-Black Sabbath sang “Iron Man”
-“Iron Man” is similar to Tin Man
-Key to ID team = Sabbath
b. Team Sheridan
-Sheridan on Babylon 5
- Played by Bruce Boxleitner
- Who also starred in Scarecrow & Mrs. King
= Scarecrow
-Key to ID team = Sheridan
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c. Team Skye Vermin
Team Skye Vermin
- Skye is an island in Scotland
- Vermin is what terriers were bred to hunt
-Cairn Terrier
= Toto
-Key to ID team = Skye
d. Team Hollywood Squares
-Estelle Getty was on Hollywood Squares
-Starred in Golden Girls
-Daughter was Dorothy
-Key to ID team = ’s
e. Team Masai Mara
-Big Cat Diary
-Studies Lions
= Lion
-Key to ID team = Masai
b. Team uniforms
1. Related to but not obviously Wizard of Oz
a. Team Ozzy = Black t-shirts
b. Team Sheridan = Flannel shirts
c. Team Skye Vermin = Dogbone Bandanas
d. Team Hollywood Squares = Apron
e. Team Masai Mara = Medal
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c. Team members
1. Mix of New/Experienced
d. Team collection bags
1. Related to Team names but not obvious
Team Ozzy
Team Sheridan
Team Skye Vermin
Team Hollywood Squares
Team Masai Mara
d. Each team collection bag has team uniforms and a team clue sheet
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Team Masai Mara
Clue Sheet
Clues from Team Name
Clues from Team Icon
Clues gathered along the way
3. Create the paths
a. Create the Gold Bricks
b. Create Brick questions
1. Questions are commonly asked tutor questions
a. Where do we get refills for the peppermint bowls?
b. Where do we get more facial tissue?
c. Where do I find a list of phone numbers?
d. Where do I get graph paper?
e. What do I do if a student forgets their Student ID
f. Where do I put things people leave in The Learning Center?
4. Create the clues
a. Special questions directing each team
1. No two teams have the same questions
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b. Create the last question – a crossword puzzle
5. Enlist assistance from key areas
a. Ask each department for assistance
1. Do not disclose any additional details
b. Inform maintenance/security of day/time of event
6. Organize culmination meeting
a. Decorate “Emerald City”
b. Create overview presentation
c. Organize question sessions
B. Day of
1. E-mail assisting departments a reminder
2. Place clues in their strategic locations
3. Randomly place Gold Bricks
a. Count the number of Bricks to help ensure all are found
b. Be sure to remind Maintenance to leave them in place
4. Have lunch arranged to be in the “Emerald City”
5. Run the exercise
a. Director stays “hidden” to ensure independent tutor action
On your invitation, you had a clue…
Find your team members and work together to figure out which
collection bag belongs to your team!
Once you claim your bag, start following the clues…
6. Clues
a. The clues are printed and then cut into strips.
b. Each strip is placed in a gold envelope
1. Team name and clue number on the front.
c. Each envelope is placed in the location directed to by the previous clue.
Now that you have found your team follow the clues to find out where to meet for lunch.
Oh, yes! Remember to pick up the gold you find along the way!
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Team Skye Vermin Clue 1 (located in the Team Collection Bag along with some dog treats): Tutoring can be
stressful – better check your blood pressure!
Team Skye Vermin Clue 2 (located at the health-check station): The Cafeteria has a collection of pamphlets on
healthcare – perhaps you should look at them…
Team Skye Vermin Clue 3 (located at the health bulletin board in the cafeteria): Now that you are healthy, the
Director would like you to check her faculty mailbox.
Team Skye Vermin Clue 4 (located in the faculty mail room along with a Frisbee): Have you noticed the clues?
Put them together and collect your photo from the Edison Photo Club display.
Team Skye Vermin Clue 5 (located on the photo club wall with the portrait): South, North, or East? For up or
down, any way will do… but only one comes with a party!
Team Skye Vermin Clue 6 (located in the North stairway): You’ve see the old wings now check out the new. No,
we are not having wings for lunch (sorry!).
Team Sheridan Clue 1 (located in the Team Collection Bag): Someone forgot to turn in their timesheet. Go see
Sharon!
Team Sheridan Clue 2 (located at the cashier’s office with an accompanying Poppy flower): Tutoring requires
a lot of networking. Cisco is a great tool for networking… Who can tell you more?
Team Sheridan Clue 3 (located at the Cisco Department’s Office with some straw): You have collected some
clues (and found some gold!) Put the clues together and collect your photo from the Edison Photo Club display.
Team Sheridan Clue 4 (located on the photo club wall with the portrait): The Learning Center wasn’t always
where it is now – check out what happened to the old digs!
Team Sheridan Clue 5 (located on the door of the old Learning Center): 46572*4-186,601= x
Team Sheridan Clue 6 (math problem = the number of the new Math Lab): All of this running around can
make a person confused. Get to the Conference Center and collect your thoughts.
Team Ozzy Clue 1 (located in the Team Collection Bag): Tutoring requires a lot of general knowledge; research
librarians are great at this sort of thing!
Team Ozzy Clue 2(located at the librarian’s desk): HD70.U5 C59 1994
Team Ozzy Clue 3 (Tucked into the book titled The Oz Principle along with the music notation for the first
line of “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath) : Check It Out! Another Clue, but what is it about this book that is
important? Maybe you need to ask the Information Desk.
Team Ozzy Clue 4 (located at the Information Desk with a fairy wand): You have collected some clues (and
found some gold!) Put the clues together and collect your photo from the Edison Photo Club display.
Team Ozzy Clue 5 (located on the photo club wall with the portrait): Like this morning, tutoring can lead us in
weird directions… Advisors are good for helping with these sorts of things.
Team Ozzy Clue 6 (located at the Advising Welcome Desk): All of this lugging gold around can make a person
tired. Perhaps you should take a break and do some fishing.
Team Masai Mara Clue 1 (located in the Team Collection Bag): Tutors end up doing odd jobs when things are
slow; Could you gather the scrap paper from the cashiers’ office please?
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Team Masai Mara Clue 2 (located at the cashiers’ office scrap paper box): While you are out, Betty has a print
job that needs picked up.
Team Masai Mara Clue 3 (located on Betty’s counter, being held by a toy stuffed monkey): Isn’t that a cute
note holder! Oh well, time to get back to work. Note taking is essential to studying, where can you learn to take
notes?
Team Masai Mara Clue 4 (located on the handouts shelf in The Learning Center): Make a note! 45778-45334
takes notes in many languages.
Team Masai Mara Clue 5 (located on room 444, the answer to the prior clue’s math problem): Speaking of
notes, have you noted the clues as you go along? Put them together and collect your photo from the Edison Photo
Club display.
Team Masai Mara Clue 6 (located on the photo club wall with the portrait): Now that you know who you are,
find out where you should be… or at least where you were at this time last year.
Team Hollywood Squares Clue 1 (located in the Team Collection Bag): As tutors, you end up with a lot of
different jobs, like picking up scrap paper from Faculty Support.
Team Hollywood Squares Clue 2 (located in the scrap paper box along with a giant sucker): No, you are not
suckers, but you are being led along. You have met a student who needs to enroll.
Team Hollywood Squares Clue 3 (located at the Advising Welcome Desk): Being a good tutor means responding
positively to change. There is a machine just for making change next to the Art Museum
Team Hollywood Squares Clue 4 (located at the change machine by the Art Museum): You have collected
some clues (and found some gold!) Put the clues together and collect your photo from the Edison Photo Club
display.
Team Hollywood Squares Clue 5(located on the photo club wall with the portrait): You’ve collected your
photo, now it is time to collect your thoughts. Head back to the Learning Center to organize your selves.
Team Hollywood Squares Clue 6 (located on the handouts shelf in The Learning Center): Now that you’ve
gotten your thoughts in line, go back to where it all started, back to where we had lunch last fall.
7. At this point, all teams will arrive in one spot.
a. There is only one clue in this spot, a cross-word puzzle.
b. The teams must learn to reorganize themselves based on need.
1. They are not aware but only by joining all teams together will
they have all the information to answer the puzzle.
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8. After completing the puzzle
a. They must sort the letters that are in bold squares into a logical order.
1. They form the location of the room where lunch is waiting.
a. This lunch location is decorated as The Emerald City.
9. Once tutors have gotten their lunch and their seats
a. Begin discussion over activity
1. How did you figure out what team you were on?
2. Why did we do this?
3. What was the value?
4. How does this relate to tutoring?
b. Who won the Gold Brick challenge? (collected most bricks)
1. Gold Brick question session
2. Gifts for tutors answering Gold Brick questions
c. Review Learning Center overview presentation
d. Hand out new year’s tutor t-shirts
C. After training
1. E-mail assisting departments with the whole story and a thank you.
2. Retrieve any unfound Gold Bricks
3. Open on-line tutor training evaluation form
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