Group Management

Since I wasn't here for the Blind Egg experiment, here's a copy/paste of the fort exercise as an example:


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The class was instructed to separate all the chairs from the desks in the classroom in an entertaining way by working as a team instead of merely a group...the difference of course being our teamwork working towards a common goal rather than just a collection of people with the class in common.  The plan of how to go about solving the problem was rough at first, full of soft spoken individuals and indecision, but once we got started we figured it out as we went.  By the end, we had worked together to make a fort from the desks and a throne from all the stacked chairs!  It was glorious.

1. Do you think it was a team or a group experience?
Definitely it was a team experience.  It was a little slow going at the start, but once we found our rhythm things picked up and we had people communicating and cooperating to achieve the solution to our posed problem.

2. What was your contribution to the exercise?
At the start, I was mostly involved with moving desks.  I helped push the desks toward the back of the room while a portion of my peers arranged them to make a fort.  When we had to dismantle our creation at the end of class I multitasked where I saw openings to help out, switching between moving desks and chairs back where they belonged.

3. How effective do you think the exercise was?
Very - and fun too.  We fulfilled the project's criteria and in time, too.  Everyone did their share and because of it, cleanup went really fast by the end of it.

4. What would you have changed about the exercise?
Personally I would have liked to keep the fort standing, but that's just me.___________________

Of this experience we focused on the task and each other.  First we separated the tables and chairs, then, to fulfill the interesting criteria, we split off into two groups, one in charge of tables and one in charge of chairs.  Not much clarification was needed in the project.  The first part was simple and easily accomplished and the other was thought up and executed without flaw.  "The mouse", now, I would say there were some who fit into that rank and they were the ones who simply went along with the ideas others threw out.  On the other hand I didn't hear anything inappropriate from the class to simulate the loudmouth.  Since this was done in the last ten minutes of class there was no written record other than our class notes and blog entries.  There was no negative feedback but there was plenty of positive feedback once we were done.  Our fort and throne were very creative, fun, and fulfilled the mission of the assignment.  Handling failure is an important skill, but not one immediately relevant to the experience of this exercise.  Handling deadlock could be exemplified when we first didn't know how to start and the first ideas voiced weren't well responded to.  That is, there was silence.  People were too shy to respond which implied disfavor but didn't offer up any ideas of their own.  Only when things got moving did they feel they could express themselves.  Again, sign posting doesn't really apply here because the class and project was so short, but for projects it is important to deal with the big picture and details equally.  Avoid single solutions - the first idea may not always be best.  Active communication was important to fashion the chairs and tables into something fun, a demanding task during construction!  Guidance for relocating the objects was important as well.

What I would change...

In the future, given the time for it, I would start with focus and appointing a leader or two who can inspire the group and possesses a set of skills that promotes balance and participation (especially to the mouse of the group)...and, if needed, veto ideas from the loudmouth.  Clarification and active communication would happen here along with a written record of all ideas and the final decision regarding the path to achieving the project goal.  Sign posting would keep us on check with the big picture and finer details and would be supervised by the group leader/s.  Avoiding single solutions, handling failure and deadlock would be among the issues possibly risen from the active phase of completing the project which requires adaptation and further communication to move forward.  Looking back on the project there were no group leaders, no loudmouths, and many mice.  Though this wasn't particularly an issue with this project, being as simple as it was, future projects are bound to be more complex and require a formula such as this for a higher rate of success.

The Blind Egg

I guess I'll start out this entry with a confession, I was absent from our last class.  I'm not proud of it, but migraines know no mercy.  It is for this sad fact I will be defaulting to the second option of this blog's required content: discussing five things I learned from the assigned reading.

1.  The Stages of Group Development
Well, first I learned the stages of group development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning.  First you form the group, then comes the trial of appointing jobs, the agreement is reached, everyone performs his or her role, and finally the group adjourns after the project is done.

2.  Risks and Decision Making
Risks are assessed differently in a group vs. individual basis, though it is not fully understood and differs from person to person.  Some people believe that responsibility is shared and are therefore more likely to take risks in a group project whereas others are more cautious when taking others' welfare into consideration.  Decision making in groups can put strain on the dynamic if they are self-authorized or imposing or any other number of risks.

3.  What Should Determine a Leader
Sometimes the leader in a group is the person who's loudest and pushiest, but according to the reading that type of behavior is unqualified for the position.  (Surprise, surprise.) Now, what a leader should be is someone who can bring about action and goal-orientation in the group's members, someone who promotes cooperation over competition, and someone who builds trust and resolves conflicts.

4.  Communication
Communication involves both the said and the unsaid, silent cues such as body language, and is essential for the organization, understanding, and execution of a group project.  Communication calls for speaking up as well as active listening skills and giving proper feedback.  To communicate efficiently revolves around balance.  Proper seating so that everyone can see each other (with the two most contributive members spaced apart so they're not talking in just one direction) is most beneficial to group meetings.  Also, knowing when to talk and when to listen, taking turns and speaking up in a fair and even sequence is cooperative and respectful to all present.

5.  Teambuilding is...
"...a big subject with more definitions than we have room to list."
And, to me, teambuilding is as unique as the individuals making up the group.  Each person has their own learning style, strengths, weaknesses, and ways they grow to change those traits.  Although certain strategies are helpful to apply when working in a group to make it a team, it requires original thinking each time for each project.

Flying High : A Kite's Journey

Meet Team Sky Pirate!~

Shawn Gwyn & yours truly, Allison Schwein

I can't tell you how many times I've been put in the position to build a functional kite to save my grade...okay, one.  But you didn't hear it from me...

This assignment for Teambuilding in Technology split the class into groups with that objective: build a kite - without buying one or using a kit - that is functional and flyable.  Our kite was constructed of the following:  recycled string and spine from a broken kite, plastic party table cloth, stickers, and colored duct tape.  We also drew a rather dashing rainbow skull and cross bones with colored Sharpies.  All this for under ten bucks!! - and we got to keep the sharpies and kite, so you know, for an artist and experienced flyer like ourselves, win/win.

Objective 2: flying.  Did it really fly?  That's for the class to decide.  See, the term fly gets thrown around a lot these days, who among us can say for sure?  Such is the prisoner's dilemma.  If just one member of the class says a kite didn't fly, even if all the others attest it did, it gets graded in the negative.  We test flew the kite the night of its construction and it flew beautifully, but the day we flew it as a class was a little less than spectacular.  Still, true to our words everyone agreed everyone's kite flew.  Since we're all in the same boat anyway it'd be silly not to in this case, but I don't think this is the last we've seen of our prisoner's dilemma.

More on the process and working as a team, we split the cost of the supplies and effort.  I did the formal research beforehand but Shawn had flown kites more than me so he had the experience to contribute.  He supplied the kite's spine and string and stickers and we split the funding for the other supplies.  When making the kite itself we first folded the skin material (for thickness and durability when flying) as many times as it could and put the spine on it.  We used a ruler and traced straight lines around the spine for the shape of the kite.  We taped the edges together so they stayed put and combined experience with printed instructions in fastening the spine in place and threading the string through.  All n' all I'd say we were not only a team, but THE BEST team!  Working with Shawn was fun, awesome, and easy.  Now, for all you aspiring kite builders, there were A LOT of kite building tutorials online, but omg, for something fun and simple, I wouldn't recommend it.  In my experience get an awesome friend, do a bit of forethought, and just dive in.

...and now I say...


GO FLY A KITE!~