15.5 Enrichment
Discussion Questions
- Think back to a recent time when you have had to problem-solve or perform a task in a small group. What went well for your group? What did not go well for your group? How can you use this knowledge to make your small group speech as smooth as possible?
- Which type of small group from Section 15.2: Understanding Small Groups best describes your group for the small group speech?
- How can your group use the knowledge of small group development (forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning) to better understand and improve your group communication?
- Think back to previous groups again and discuss your experience regarding group climate and socialization? Can you think of specific types of communication that created a positive group climate? How might you use this knowledge to encourage positive group socialization prior to your small group speech?
Activities
- Small groups work to create a group contract that includes the following information:
- How will you ensure that each group member has mutual concern for the topic?
- How will you divide the small group speech to ensure task cohesion? Equitable division of responsibilities?
- How will you all communicate with each other to ensure group cohesion?
- How will you ensure group members respond/reply in a timely manner? Provide the minimum number of sources?
- How will you handle the three types of group conflict?
- Finally, list important dates (meeting times), specific project requirements, and member responsibilities before signing the contract.
- With your assigned small group members, create a word tree with “small group work” as the root word. Assign one group member to be the notetaker and to identify key words from the comments of all group members (including the notetaker). These key words should be added to the tree. The branches of the tree could include concepts such as: (1) some of the advantages of working with a small group; (2) some of the disadvantages of working with a small group; (3) the role of group cohesion; (4) the impact of groupthink; and (5) any other topics that are important to your group. As you conclude this exercise together, talk about how past experiences of group members can benefit the upcoming small group speech project.
- With your assigned small group members, organize a series of emojis to represent a movie, book, television show, or song. Be creative and make your solution challenging. Submit your “emoji illustration,” (or “emoji quiz”) to a Canvas Dropbox. As your instructor shares each group’s emoji sequence, work together to interpret each group’s solution as quickly as possible. The first group to correctly decipher all the “emoji illustrations” wins.
- As a newly formed problem-solving group, create a list of 10 criteria that make for an amazing group/team member. Which one is most/least important? Why did you select these criteria? Present your list to the class.
- With your assigned small group members, your instructor will hand out the list of photos required to win the photo scavenger hunt. Groups must stay together and every member must be present in the pictures. You can take a group selfie or you can ask someone from outside the group to take it. The group that gets back to the classroom with the most photos from the list in the required time frame wins. Group members will then write about the group member roles and assign one to each member of the group based on their communication during the exercise.
