Input
- What went in
- Five sets of two-page colour worksheets, team-labelled envelopes and stickers and existing WhatsApp group for sharing instructions and voice notes.
- Outside help
- School support for distributing the activity materials.
Activity
Over five weeks at SDPY Boys High School, students explored life skills through games, discussions and hands-on challenges. They practised recognising and managing emotions, thinking creatively, solving problems, communicating and working with others. But what happens when there is no facilitator guiding the activity? Can students recognise when to use these skills and put them into practice themselves?
This is what we wanted to explore next.
During our final LifSkool session, we introduced the SPARK Challenge, a series of weekly team missions designed to help students apply what they have learned to situations in their everyday lives.
The students formed five teams and chose their own names. We also created a WhatsApp group with parents to share the weekly challenges and stay connected with the students.
This week, we began with Mission 1: SPOT IT.
Each team received an envelope containing an illustrated instruction sheet and a worksheet. We also shared a Malayalam voice note to explain the mission.
The students have one week to look around their school, home or community and notice small problems. Each student is encouraged to identify at least one problem independently before sharing their observations with their teammates.
Together, they will then discuss up to three problems, choose one they would like to explore further and explain why they selected it. They can write or draw their responses in Malayalam or English. Each team submits one completed worksheet at the end of the week.
We have deliberately asked them not to find solutions yet. The first step is to observe, listen to different ideas and make a decision together.
Over the coming weeks, the missions will build on one another, giving students opportunities to practise the skills they learned during LifSkool without us directing each step.
Output
- 5 Mission 1 worksheet sets
- 5 Team envelopes and labels
- 5 Student teams
Outcome
Students have been given their first opportunity in the SPARK Challenge to apply their life skills through an independently managed team activity.
We will look at whether they can identify everyday problems, share their observations, consider different ideas and agree on one problem to explore.
The challenge has just begun, so we cannot yet say how successfully students have applied these skills. We will review the completed team worksheets and gather feedback from students about how they worked together and reached their decisions.
Learnings
During LifSkool, students practised life skills through activities guided by facilitators. With SPARK, we want to see how they use those skills on their own, working together as a team.
We started with a simple observation challenge, giving students the freedom to identify problems that matter to them rather than providing examples.
The first mission will help us understand how students organise themselves, share ideas and make decisions without us guiding each step. Their responses and feedback will help us plan the next challenge.
Run this activity yourself. You are free to copy, change and share this write-up, as long as you credit aikyam space. Photos are not included. (Creative Commons licence CC BY 4.0)
