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DISCUSSION 2: Teamwork

(Referencing ORGL-502, ORGL-504, & COML-512)

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Within the second discussion, we focused more on the idea of teamwork and why it was important in each of their successes as individuals. We started out by talking about what we liked about teamwork, in academic settings, work settings, and athletic settings. This was easy to relate to and allowed all of the athletes to contribute their own thoughts. We then moved on to things we didn't like about teamwork in the same regard. Many people weren't as willing to talk about these ideas as it often related back to specific individuals that they didn't always feel the most connected with. This was a good opportunity about speaking on the benefits of group diversity in many possible ways and how this can sometimes benefit the group in a way that showed how we can learn from different perspectives. We talked about the personal ideas of what we felt like we could improve on as a current team of people and how we felt this would benefit our future teamwork goals.

 

To keep things interactive, I decided to add the idea of using teamwork instead of simply discussing it. I split the group of students into four different groups with about 3 students in each group. The exercise that we performed was the "Marshmallow Challenge." (This is further detailed in the link below, and you can also view the full video in the following window expressing the ideas and benefits of this exercise.) Essentially, each group had 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of string, one yard of tape, and a jumbo marshmallow. Their goal was to work together to create the tallest structure they could with the spaghetti, tape, and string while still being able to balance and support the marshmallow on top, all in a time of 18 minutes. This was not easy for all groups, and they certainly had to work together at problem solving while keeping a competitive spirit. 

 

The results were fascinating, as three out of the four groups were unable to create a structure at all that would support the marshmallow. The groups either waited until the last minute to try and support their marshmallow (unsuccessfully), or they didn't allocate enough time to properly execute their plan. This left one winning group, which showed that some groups got too competitive and went for high risk structures that ultimately were unsuccessful. We did a follow up discussion to talk about the different ways that groups worked together, strategized, communicated, and decided on a plan of action to start their structures. This led to a better idea of how to successfully work as a team and give them a quick example of the importance of teamwork and working with others toward a common goal.