Month: September 2018

Group and Leadership

As I was absent from the den building task I will be giving an im-put on what I feel like the task would have been from a collection of reports from a few of my fellow BA1 students. In some groups there was a group leader but few groups preferred to all work together collaboratively. The group leaders would naturally take charge and not be appointed by their groups. Whilst working in the group many people felt like they weren’t being listened to which made communication between the other members of the group.

Explaining 

As communication was thought to be a problem as many people were said to have been running around looking for materials and not taking into consideration other peoples thoughts and opinions then the task could have became very unclear very quickly.  A few people felt like the Planning stage of the 5Ps was missed out as they weren’t being listened to and that others had their own plan whilst not sharing them with the group.

Environment 

As the surrounding environment to the group would have been very busy and very noisy it made the communication very difficult however not impossible as many groups were successful in creating a den.  It was very challenging to both speak to and hear people but it was all about changing the tone in your voice and how you spoke to that specific person. It was not about something over the noise but it was about being able to make yourself heard in the noise which is a vital skill to have in a classroom environment. As the environment was very different to what BA students are used to so it made the communication more difficult but everyone adapted very well and were able to make themselves heard whilst not screaming and shouting at one another.

Negotiation 

Many groups were successful in their negotiations as they were able to swap and trade materials with others groups in order to make their dens more stable and practical. I can imagine that two different groups trying to agree on different materials to swap and trade would have been the most difficult part to agree on as both groups would have wanted the best materials for their den.

 

Group and Leadership

On the 24^th of September we completed a group den building task. As soon as I gathered with my group we quickly began sharing our ideas. It was mentioned that one member of our team had experience in carrying out these kinds of tasks before, as well as leading them, due to her experience with the Guides. She naturally took on the role of the leader of the group due to this. She explained the methods that had worked well for her before and which areas of the environment were best used in her previous attempts at similar tasks. We then followed her lead agreeing with all the advice she provided us with, as well as pitching in our own suggestions. Within our group everyone was included as we ensured that everyone had a part to play. I enjoyed working with this group. The only slight challenge I faced working in this group was getting to know everyone at first, as most of the group were individuals who I hadn’t really spoken to before. However, through working closely with them all in this activity and asking questions I got to know them better.

 

Explaining

I believe that my group worked very well in explaining clearly to each other what their initial ideas were as well as letting everyone know what role they were taking on and when they needed extra materials such as tape. It was this clear communication through both verbal means and visual cues such as gesture, which lead to the easy sharing of materials and effective teamwork. One stage of the 5Ps of explaining which may have been missed out by my group would be the planning stage. Although we did talk to each other about our ideas whilst participating in the activity, we never took the time before hand to discuss and plan how we were going to use the materials or what everyone’s role would be. The only thing that we planned before hand was what space we were going to use.

 

Environment

The environment impacted our communication in that, as the space was open and there were many other groups talking to each other at the same time, we had to ensure that we were usuing more visual cues within our communication for example when we needed someone to pass a piece of tape we would not only ask but use hand gestures towards the tape in order to be fully understood. When explaining to others we had to be in a closer proximity to them that would not have been necessary if we were in a classroom environment. It was challenging to speak above the sound of the environment. We had to ensure that we were listening carefully and not talking or discussing things at the same time. We had to use a louder volume in our voice to ensure we were being heard over the background noises of the environment. When working in this type of environment there were many possible distractions. The best way to overcome this was to ensure that these distractions had passed before delivering any important information or instructions.

 

Negotiation

Our assigned negotiation task was not successful. We had to attempt to swap one member of our team for one member of another. We believe this was unsuccessful as we tried to attempt this closer to the end of the task and all groups were halfway through the set task already, they had got to know their teammates and were working well as groups and therefore it was challenging to get them to swap as they believed switching a team member may have thrown this off. However, we did negotiate with other groups in the sharing of materials, so these skills were still being used during this task.

This week, one of our workshops for Situated Communication was outdoors! We were split into teams and tasked with building a den outside. The teams were split by surname which I liked as it meant that we were grouped with people that we may not yet have had the chance to work with.

My group worked well as a team and everyone contributed by giving ideas and working hard so it was difficult to pinpoint one group leader. Our group didn’t explicitly choose a leader, however, one emerged naturally. As most members of our group seemed quite confident and eager to have their ideas heard all we needed in a group leader was someone to guide us in making a collective decision and narrowing down everyone’s ideas into one final design. The group leader did this well, without ever being strict or bossy, and ensured everyone’s ideas were listened to and considered.

I think the group that explained their design to us did so very well. Only a few members of their team explained their design while the rest of their team finished physically making the den or explaining to another group. This made their explanation clearer as it meant that there were not several people trying to talk at once. Alternatively, all members of the team could have explained as long as they had discussed who was going to say what in advance. The team seemed to have completed all stages of the 5Ps. They had clearly planned and prepared both the design of their den and their explanation and had a very concise, clear and well thought out presentation.

The outdoor area was very different to the type of environment that we were used to working in at university and therefore, was quite exciting. However, I think my group managed to both get the task done and have fun. With regards to both listening and speaking there are challenges that one must consider outdoors that they would not need to think about inside a classroom. For example, it can be quite a noisy environment, thus, gathering round in a tight group can make it easier to listen and be heard. As the outdoors is very different to a traditional learning environment it is be easy to get distracted so it is important to ensure that everyone always has a job to do. This is something that we would have to be conscious of as teachers to make sure that everyone stays on task. Furthermore, instructions should be clear and concise to ensure that minds (and eyes) don’t wander and the task is understood fully.

Our group was tasked with negotiating something from another group which seemed vital to the design of their den. We were successful in our negotiations, however, it was challenging to decide who would be the best negotiators in the team and there was definitely a certain element of guilt from taking something away from your classmates.

Overall, I thought the task was very fun and I enjoyed the opportunity to work as part of a team. I felt the team worked very well together and we managed to create a den that we were all proud of: Casa De Tipi.

Group and Leadership

Our workshop was based on a den building challenge where we had to work as a team to create a suitable den with a roof and three sides. Everyone in my group worked as a team to collect resources and to put our ideas together to create this den, therefore I don’t feel that our group had a leader as everyone played their own role. The most challenging part about working in this group was some ideas weren’t conveyed very clearly therefore it left some people unaware of what was going on.

Explaining

When we joined up with another group to explain to each other about how we created our dens, I feel the group explained their process to us very clearly therefore I was able to understand how they found their ideas. The had two main spokespeople therefore this made it more clear as not everyone was jumping in the conversation.

Environment

Being in an outdoor environment made it slightly more difficult to communicate within the group. This is because we had to speak louder than what we would indoors and also using different resources than what we would normally use. The wind was slightly distracting therefore I had to pay close attention when trying to listen to someone speaking. I also had to speak more clearly in order for my peers to fully understand what I was saying.

Negotiation

We were not successful in our negotiation task as it was a very difficult task. We had to convince someone from another team to join our team. This was difficult because no one was willing to give up their hard work in their own group. We tried different bribing tecniques such as ” we’ll give your group this pole if we can have you in return”. Our materials didn’t excite anyone therefore we didn’t succeed.

Group and Leadership

• For my group, I felt that there was a group leader in my group.
• For the way in which the leader was chosen in my group, I felt that the group leader just took charge of the activity which was essential so we could  get the task completed.
• The group leader gave everyone a job so even if it was a more minor job than others, they still had a part to play and were not left out.

Explaining

• Personally,  I felt that my group explained everything perfectly for me, I was not unsure at any point of the activity and I always felt that I knew what I was doing.
• If any part of the 5 Ps were missed out I would have to say it was the Presentation part. I think it would of been done better if the entire group had been there to do it instead of just 3 of us.

Environment

• Initially, I thought the change of environment to outside would be a challenge to our communication in our group. However I feel as if my group handled the change of environment well.  Being outside did bring more distractions than inside the classroom which could affect our communication but our group managed to keep the task as our main focus.

Negotiation

• Our teams negation was to persuade someone from another team to join us. It did not work as no one wanted really wanted to leave their own team midway through the activity.

For this workshop we went outdoors. We were randomly placed into teams of about 7/8 and tasked to build a Den that could stand on it’s own, have at least 3 sides and that could fit all of the team inside while sitting down.

Group & Leadership

Although there was no designated group leader, there was a few stronger personalities within the group which did influence some decisions made throughout the task. In saying this, every member of the team contributed equally with ideas and thoughts on all aspects and decisions that were being made. The most challenging thing about the task for me was working with some people I had not yet had the chance to fully meet and work with, however this was not an issue for long.

Explaining

I thought the team that explained to us were very thorough in their description. They look the time to go through why they had chosen certain materials, for example, because it was waterproof/sturdy. They went through different ideas they had considered in the beginning and why they dismissed them. When it came to explaining how our den was built, we decided as a group that one person would speak and that would make it easier for the others to listen to one person rather than 7 people all chipping in. We made sure that we discussed all aspects of the material selection process and how we came up with the tipi shape for our den. Afterwards we answered any questions the other team had.

Environment

When my group were out in the afternoon the weather had become slightly more windy and there was a slight bit of rain on and off and so due to the nature of the task, it did make it slightly difficult to secure some materials in place. I can see how the environment could easily be a big distraction, especially in the explaining part of the task. We were out in an area near to the university, open to the public where there were people walking dogs, taking pictures and talking and therefore not everyone was giving their full attention at all times. Carrying out this task with primary school children, as much as they would find it fun and exciting, I would imagine the explanation part might not be as successful outside due to the natural distractions, and so it might be better to do this part indoors possibly in the form of a poster for example.

Negotiation

For this part of the task we had to approach another group and negotiate to obtain an essential piece of their den. As a team we came together to discuss how we might go about this as it was quite difficult. At this stage in the task everyone’s den was more or less complete and so no one was really willing to part with a now essential item. We decided we would send a few people from our team we thought could be the most persuasive. In the end our team cam back with a large wooden block, which we used as part of our entrance, however in order to acquire this we had to trade some our flooring. It was fun but by no means easy!

During our lesson on situated communication we were assigned a task to build a den using some materials that were provided as well as any materials we could find in the natural environment.  Within this task we did not strictly appoint a leader of the group as we all had different ideas of how and where we could build our den.  Naturally some of the group went to collect resources we could use to build our den and the other half of us found an area to start building.  I feel like everyone had a role to play during this task even though no one was actually assigned specific roles this ensured that nobody was excluded.  I personally believe the most challenging aspect of working in this group of 7 was that it was quite hard to communicate ideas once we had started building as we were never all in the same place due to finding more resources and trying to complete our negotiation challenge.

When the other group came over to explain their thoughts on how they were going to do the task I believe they explained their view very clearly.  They explained in detail how they had to adapt their original idea and how easy they found it to change.  When the group were speaking they all took turns to explain their ideas loudly and clearly.

 

Group and Leadership

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Was there a Group Leader?

A couple of people took charge at different points throughout the session.

How was this Chosen?

The group leaders weren’t really chosen as people would naturally take charge in certain situations.

If informal, how did you know? What were the actions that marked them as a leader?

When someone would take charge they would tell you what to do and would ask what other group members thought. They tended to speak clearly and made sure everyone knew what was happening.

How did this impact on the rest of the group?

This made sure that everyone in the group knew what was happening and had the chance to share their thoughts and suggestions as to how we would build our den.

What was most challenging for you about working in this group?

The most challenging thing about working in this group was that since a few people were off it meant there was less people in our group which made it harder to come up with more ideas and solutions to problems that arose. Also, since I had never really built a den like this I found it hard to help come up with ideas of how to build it and help provide options as to what to do.

Explaining

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How clearly did you think the group explained to you? What made this clear or unclear?

The group explained their method of how they built their den very clearly as each member of the group had something to say and used clear and projected voices. They also used hand gestures and eye contact when presenting their den which helped keep us interested in heir explanation. The group also let us see inside their den which gave as a better understanding of the method they used to build it. They also made sure they didn’t digress from what they were saying which made sure we understood what they were talking about and also didn’t get bored.

Environment

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What was the impact of the environment on your communication?

Since we were outside and it was quite windy we had to make sure we spoke louder than we would inside to make sure that we all heard each other. Due to the wind the trees would move quite loudly so you had to concentrate on others when they were talking to make sure you understood what was going on.

What changes did you make when explaining to others that you might not have considered in a typical classroom?

We had to speak louder as the wind was quite loud and it was a more open space. We also had to make sure the wind wasn’t distracting if it started to become stronger and move the trees, our hair or the bin bags on our den.

How challenging was it so speak above the sounds in the environment? How can we make this communication easier on both speaker and listener?

It was challenging at times as the wind was sometimes stronger and louder than at other times which made the speaker have to speak louder and the listener had to concentrate more on what was being said. This communication could be made easier for the listener if the speaker spoke louder.

When listening, did the environment distract you? How can we overcome this?

At certain times the environment did distract me as it was windy and if people were talking and walking at the same time it was harder to concentrate as we ha to be careful not to trip over sticks on the ground or even the uneven surface. We overcame this by either talking louder or waiting for the wind to calm down, we also made sure to talk when we weren’t walking so that we could make sure we were paying attention to what was being said.

Negotiation

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Were your negotiations successful? Why/Why not?

Our negotiation was to try and convince another group to let us have something that was a vital part to their den. It was successful as, a member of our group was able to convince another group that what we wanted wasn’t vital to their den. Since she used clear points as to why we should have it and why they don’t need it meant we were able to be successful in our negotiation.

What was most challenging about these?

The most challenging part about our negotiation task was that we had to get something that was vital to another group which we thought would be really hard because we didn’t think we’d be able to convince anybody to give us something that was important. Since it had to be vital we also had to wait a bit before we could start our negotiation task and we also had to have a look around to see what would also be useful to our group.

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Workshop: Communication in Other Environments

Reflective Questions 

• Group and leadership 
  • Was there a group leader? And How was this chosen? 

Yes and no, we were put into groups by our lecturer, Louise, and the first person in the group took on the responsibility of collecting the information sheets we needed to complete this task. That person initially took on the role of the leader in the group. However, the further into the task we got the more the role of leader was shared out between a number of people instead of one leader. 

• • If informal, how did you know?  What were the actions that marked them as a leader?

-They collected the information sheets. 

-Took control of the group when assembling the dens. 

-Were there to ask questions if need be. 

• • How did this impact on the rest of the group e.g. was there some underlying resentment/ did anyone feel excluded?

As the role of leader became shared out, it meant that everyone in the group felt that they played an important part in the group and that the project was equally split with everyone having a responsibility in the group.

• • What was most challenging for you about working in this group? (personal reflection)

Personally, I felt that the most challenging thing about working in the group was making sure that everyone’s ideas were listened to and that they were well considered. I tried to take role in this and talk to other people and listen to their ideas whilst weighing up the different ideas and coming to a group consensus. 

• Explaining
  • How clearly did you think the group explained to you?

I feel that the I was clearly given all the information I needed to complete this task in sufficient time and be done to a good standard. 

• • What made this clear or unclear?

Clear. All the information we needed was on information sheets given to each group-which was good to refer back to and to have in general. If we needed more information we could ask other group members or our lecturer, Louise. 

• • What stage of the 5Ps might have been missed out?

Pre-assessment, Planning, Preparation, Presentation and Postmortem. I feel that our group possibly left out the ‘plan’ as we didn’t make an initial plan, however, we planned it as we went along. I feel that ‘Presentation’ also wasn’t visited as much is the other ‘P’s’ as we didn’t discuss the overall process to all groups only 1 other group and our lecturer, Louise.

• Environment
  • What was the impact of the environment on your communication?

Members of the group would get distracted by the bugs surrounding our den area as they didn’t like them or had a genuine fear of them. Additionally, the area we selected was slightly sloped so we had ensure we balanced out our den well.

• • What changes did you make when explaining to others that you might not have considered in a typical classroom?

Holding a prop/material which related to what I was talking about (where we could use it in our den) as this helped give a good visual aid and helped incorporate my ideas into the project. This also helped the whole group get their ideas into the den. 

• • How challenging was it so speak above the sounds in the environment?  

Personally, I don’t feel that the sounds of the environment was challenging or distracting in any way as where we were was fairly quiet and hidden. 

The only distraction I found was the bugs including wasps and spiders which distracted a majority of our group. 

• • How can we make this communication easier on both speaker and listener?

I feel that if we met as a group in a classroom or personal space where we would be able to make sure we were well informed and make an initial plan before going out to build the den, would be effective. I feel this would make the communication easier for the speaker and the listener as it means that everyone has an initial plan so that if the listener is unable to hear the speaker for any reason or is distracted they would still be able to continue with the initial plan agreed by the group. 

• • When listening, did the environment distract you? How can we overcome this?

Personally, I don’t feel that the environment was distracting in terms of listening due to the well selected building space. 

• Negotiation
  • Were your negotiations successful?  Why/Why not? And 
  • What was most challenging about these?

I feel that some of the negotiations were successful. My group was given the task to try and recruit another member from a different group. This was rather hard to do as the other people from other groups wanted to stay and help their own group. However, typically, negotiating items including scissors, tape, string etc. was fairly easy to do.