10 DYNAMICS OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION

The dynamics of conflict resolution pose situations in which a conflict appears or, their objective is the analysis and / or resolution of an aspect of the conflict such as communication between the different members of the group, promoting empathy to view the conflict otherwise, etc.

These dynamics are widely used in the educational sector, in working with children and adolescents. They are a great educational resource and feed their critical spirit.

Also, they can be used in other contexts such as working with social minorities or business sectors.

Here are ten dynamics. Keep in mind that, when working with a group, you must be clear about their needs and what objectives they set for you. You can always adapt the dynamics to that context.

1- Personal Motivation

Goals:

a) Show how each person has a series of motivations different from those of the others.

b) Learn to understand the opinion of the rest of the classmates, even if it is not the same as their own and, even, it is totally contrary.

Time needed: approximately 40 minutes.
Group size: medium group size, maximum 30 people.
Place: wide space in which two concentric circles can form.
Materials needed: none in particular.
Steps to follow:

The facilitator asks about 6 or 7 people to volunteer to carry out the activity. It is very important that the group is motivated so that they are the ones who make the decision to volunteer.
He asks them to sit in a circle so that everyone can see each other's faces. Then their classmates will form another circle around them so that they can hear them well.
The facilitator introduces a topic for discussion. It can be a conflictive situation that has happened in that group or that has generated some type of tension or an invented one.
The volunteers discuss the situation.

Evaluation: when the volunteers have finished the conversation, a debate will take place with the whole group in which the following factors are analyzed:

a) Why the volunteers volunteered to go out and why their peers did not. What was your motivation for the activity.

b) How they felt when their opinion did not coincide with the rest of their classmates. Has there been respect between the different opinions? Have they empathized with their colleagues? Has someone changed their point of view after listening to other people?

Notes: during the debate and in the evaluation, it is very important that the facilitator knows how to conduct it properly, not to change the subject, or to take a violent or negative character.

2- Spider web

Goals:

a) Resolve a conflict in a group way.

b) Promote trust and cooperation among group members.

Time needed: about 20 minutes.
Group size: about 15 people maximum. The ideal age is from 12 years.
Location: large space, preferably outdoors. There must be two posts or trees between which to put the spider web.
Materials needed: string long enough to recreate the spider web.
Steps to follow:

The person who guides the group explains what the activity consists of, which is to cross from one side of the spider web to the other without touching or moving it. It can be recreated by telling a story about being in a cave and this is the only way out they have to get outside.

Discussion: when all the members of the group have been able to move to one side, there will be a debate in which the development of the activity is analyzed: what cooperation and help mechanisms have been developed, how they have felt throughout the activity, if they thought they were going to get it from the first moment, etc.
Variants: if we want to complicate the activity, we can add a series of variants. One of them is the time they have to carry out the activity (for example, 10 minutes), this will vary depending on the number of people. Another variant is that they cannot communicate verbally throughout the activity, in this way, they would be offered a few minutes after explaining the dynamics to develop a strategy that helps them pass through the spider web.

3- The referee

Goals:

a) Resolve a conflict situation between all members of a group.

b) Promote understanding and empathy.

Time needed: about 40 minutes.
Group size: class group size (between 20-30 people). This dynamic is very useful in educational contexts.
Place: classroom.
Materials needed: blackboard, pen, papers.
Steps to follow:

There is a problematic or conflictive situation that affects the development of the group. The group facilitator, who in these contexts is usually the teacher, raises the situation in class and that, together, they will resolve the conflict.
One person begins by stating the situation. If required, the facts or the people involved are noted on the board to later return to those points.
The facilitator will have to encourage all interested people to intervene and express their point of view.
Together, a solution must be taken to resolve the problem.

Notes: the facilitator plays an important role by leading the discussion and encouraging the participation of the whole group. In the same way, in making decisions to solve the conflict, you must do it so that everyone acquires a commitment.

You can add to return to the subject after a few days to evaluate if the measures that have been decided are effective.

4- Role play

Goals:

a) Dramatize the situation that occurred or a hypothetical one.

b) Develop empathy.

Time needed: about 30 minutes.
Group size: medium group size, about 20 participants.
Place: large space in which to recreate a situation or, if it does not require movement, space in which they can sit in a circle.
Materials needed: none in particular.
Steps to follow:

The facilitator raises the conflictive situation that has taken place or a hypothetical one.
If the group size is large and there are not that many people involved, some people will volunteer.
The people who are going to change the role will have a few minutes to get to know the person they are going to play. For this it is recommended that the situation and the characters are in writing. They are allowed a few minutes to learn the story and take notes. Also, they will be able to ask questions.
The activity passes. Peers observe, they can also take notes.
When it is finished, a debate is held involving the people who have changed roles and those who have not to reach a point of common understanding and agreement.

5- Piranhas in the river

Goals:

a) Exit gracefully after solving a conflicting solution.

b) Promote cooperation and help among the different members of the group.

Time needed: about 20 minutes.
Group size: about 15 people.
Location: large space, preferably outdoors.
Materials needed: cloth or wide line (can be chalked on the floor), books or other objects.
Steps to follow:

The facilitator explains that they have to cross the river (marked path) without leaving it. In addition, they have to transport a series of objects from one place to another. One on the way out and another, different, on the way back. Each person will be assigned their object and cannot be carried by any of the companions.
The person who gets out of the way must start the activity from the beginning.
The activity does not end until all the people have made their way back and forth.

Discussion: there will be time to discuss the activity, what strategies have been developed so that all people have been able to carry out the activity satisfactorily, which objects have been easier to transport and which ones more difficult, etc.

6- Cooperative Chairs

Goals:

a) Promote cooperation and help among group members.

b) Solve a problem situation jointly.

Time needed: about 20 minutes.
Group size: medium-sized group, about 15 people. If there are more, the dynamics will take longer.
Place: large space in which a circle of chairs can be created and in which members can move comfortably.
Materials needed: a chair for each participant, a device to reproduce music and make it audible by all participants.
Steps to follow:

The facilitator of the activity will explain that they are going to play the chair game, but in a different version from the classic one. To do this, they should form a circle of chairs with the seats facing them. The difficulty of this game will not be explained to you yet.
The music plays and when it stops, everyone should take a seat.
For the next round, a chair is removed. Once again, the music plays and all participants must be seated. No one can stand.
This is the difficulty, no member can stand. As more chairs are missing, it will be more difficult to find a solution among all.
The game ends when it is impossible for everyone to be seated in the chairs.

Discussion: the important thing about this game is that everyone helps each other and that no one is discriminated against.

7- Turn the sheet over

Goals:

a) Encourage work and collaboration between colleagues.

b) To stimulate the search for solutions to a conflictive situation.

Time needed: about 45 minutes.
Group size: between 10 and 15 people.
Place: wide space, can be outdoors.
Materials needed: a large sheet, can be replaced by a piece of continuous paper.
Steps to follow:

The person leading the activity will put a sheet on the floor and ask all the members to stand on top of it. They should occupy half the space, if they do not fit, the activity will be carried out in subgroups or the size of the sheet will have to be larger.
When they are in place, they are explained that together they must turn the sheet over without anyone getting off it, or stepping on the ground.

Discussion: at the end, a debate will be promoted in which the strategy (s) they have followed is identified, how they have reached the solution, if they have had to change the plan throughout the activity, etc.
Variation: if we want to give an extra difficulty to the activity, we can add the guideline that they have a certain time to complete the activity or, as in other dynamics, that they cannot speak during the execution of it.

8- Fantasy of a conflict

Goals:

a) Allow each person to express their way of resolving the conflict freely.

b) Identify different strategies and develop a common one.

c) Promote understanding and respect among group members through negotiation.

Time required: about 60 minutes.
Group size: group of 20-25 people.
Place: the classroom or a space in which all participants are seated and have a place to support them to write.
Materials needed: paper and pen for each one. Also, a blackboard.
Steps to follow:

All the people are seated and the instructor introduces the following fantasy:

“You find yourself walking down the street and you see, in the distance, a person who is familiar to you. Suddenly, you realize that this person is the one with whom you have the greatest conflicts. Every time you get closer and you don't know how to react when you come across her, different alternatives occur to you… Decide now which one you choose and take a few minutes to recreate in your imagination how the action would unfold. "

After a few minutes, the instructor returns with these words: “It has passed, this person has left. How do you feel? What is your level of satisfaction with the way you have behaved?
They are then allowed 15-20 minutes to reflect on the following:
The alternatives they considered to act.
Which one did they choose and why.
The level of satisfaction they achieved with the fantasy result.
A few minutes are allowed for, in groups of 3 people, to discuss the activity and one of those people will act as spokesperson for the whole group discussion.
We proceed to the large group debate, we can proceed to divide the alternatives into different groups.

9- The Yes and the No

Goals:

a) Promote the approach of different positions on an issue.

b) Develop flexibility of opinions.

Time required: approximately 40 minutes.
Group size: about 30 people. If the group is smaller, the activity will take less time.
Place: classroom or large space in which participants can move.
Materials needed: two large cards with “YES” written on one and “NO” on the other.
Steps to follow:

The YES and NO posters are placed in the classroom facing each other. It is important that the classroom is clear.
All participants are placed in the center of the room. Next, the facilitator will say a phrase and each person must go to a point in the classroom depending on whether or not they agree with the phrase.
When all people are situated, they must, one by one, argue their motivations for having positioned themselves in that place.
It is repeated again with another phrase and so on until the time that has been reserved for the performance of the dynamic is exhausted.

Notes: throughout the activity, if people change their minds, they will be able to move freely around the classroom and change places. The sentences must be adapted to the level and age of the participants.

Evaluation: the person who directs the dynamics can evaluate different criteria in the evolution of the participants, among them, the following: the degree of flexibility, the capacity for dialogue and conciliation of different positions, etc.

10- Inflate like balloons

Objective: to learn to calm down in a conflict situation.
Time needed: about 15 minutes.
Group size: unlimited.
Place: wide space in which the participants can be forming a circle.
Materials needed: none.
Steps to follow:

It is explained that when we are faced with a conflictive or problematic situation, this produces an emotional reaction that activates us physiologically. The explanation must be adapted to the level and age of the participants.
Next, it will be explained that we are going to inflate like balloons.
To begin, you will take deep breaths, standing up and with your eyes closed. As they fill their lungs with air, they raise their arms, as if they were balloons. This step is repeated several times, enough so that everyone has done the exercise correctly.
Then they release the air and begin to pucker up like balloons and deflate until they hit the ground. This exercise is also repeated.

Discussion: When they have finished and after a few minutes to enjoy the sensation of relaxation, they are asked if they think that doing these exercises can help them when they are angry.

Other dynamics of interest

Group dynamics for young people.

Assertive communication dynamics.

Motivational dynamics.

Dynamics of self-esteem.

Dynamics of emotional intelligence.

Group integration dynamics.

Dynamics of creativity.

Trust dynamics.

Leadership dynamics.

Dynamics of values.

Presentation dynamics.

Teamwork dynamics.

References

Group dynamics applied to conflict resolution.
Conflict resolution games. Ideas room. Education and Creativity Portal.
Main dynamics of conflict resolution in the classroom. University of Valencia.
Sessions to work on the conflict in the classroom. Challenges in multicultural contexts. Gitanos.org.
Does it sound familiar to you? Dynamics and Games. Unicef.

10 DYNAMICS OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION - GEOGRAFÍA - 2025