Another group activity for extra credit! Amazing! I love these in-class experiments that we periodically do. This time, it was about saving an egg from total demolition when dropped at arms height while braced by only a couple of straws and tape!
When we got into our groups, we already knew what our goal was, as explained by the professor, so “Step 1” of the planning process was basically provided to us. I did, however ask my group members if anybody had any previous experience with this activity since it was a popular one. Unfortunately, no one had the familiarity to propose a possible design that would guarantee the prevention of the egg cracking, so we proceeded to “Step 2.” We knew we had a limited supply of tape and straws so it was obvious they needed to be used wisely and thoughtfully. I told my fellow members to jot down any ideas that came to mind that would serve as a promising solution so that we can later combine these thoughts and come up with an ultimate plan. I guess this part can be considered the alternatives…we then came up with a final outline of how the straws will be applied to the egg in attempt to brace the fall and protect it from cracking. Unfortunately our strategy did not work out the way we thought it would’ve and the egg ended up breaking. We didn’t evaluate or take corrective action due to lack of time and since this was only a temporary in-class activity.
For this activity, I believe we planned on a mediocre level. More organization could have been applied to the planning instead of all of us not knowing where to go next with the activity. Some members were also shy and did not want to speak their mind. It is pertinent to obtain as much information as possible even if it may sound stupid because a greater idea can emerge from that thought. Although we failed in saving the egg, I believe we succeeded in actually coming up with a plan and implementing it!
I agree Francis, I do think my group was successful in "planning" however our egg broke as well. I also think whether or not our team members are shy, we somehow have to get their imput, in the begining of the planning process having more info is always better than less. So maybe next time you can volunteer the shy members, by asking "what do you think" or "what would you say are the positives and negatives of other members ideas" it might help you help them to get involve.
ReplyDeleteI had the same feeling that the environment contributed to the breaking of our egg. Our group members including myself were not used to each other and I am not talking about being shy but we were not used to working together as a group. I also wondered what if we had five chances each, would have our eggs broken again or survived and for those whose eggs survived would it have broken on the 2nd, 3rd , 4th or 5th try?.
ReplyDeleteI think all groups had a member thats "too shy" and didnt speak their minds. While some other expressed their ideas too much. i believe all groups always have the quiet one and the loud one. If all member expressed what they thought it would have been too chaotic to get any ideas down. Also, many people have the same ideas, so it would get repeative if everyone repeated that same thing. I'm sorry your contraption didn't work out, but i agree with what the professor said about its okay if the contraption wasn't successful because the point of the activity was to learn the planning process. Wouldnt you agree that this way of learning was a million times more exciting that learning from slides, and textbook?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Carolyn about the "too shy" group members. I think good planing will somehow incorporate those shy members. I'm still trying to figure out how. I too feel my group planning could have improved. This exercise let me see first hand a lot of things I would not want to repeat in planning other things. This hands on learning experience was more exiting to me because we actually had to do rather then sit listen, read and take notes. I believe we where all successful in creating and implementing a plans.
ReplyDeleteWell, the true objective of the whole experiment is to build leadership and planning skills. Learning how to work in groups is ultimately the most important goal of the egg drop.
ReplyDeleteThere's always going to be people that don't feel comfortable participating. I think this is the best time for you to develop your leadership and human skills. When these situations arise try to take advantage of them, it will benefit you in the long run.
I agree with Ismael, the whole purpose of the experiment was to get together as a group, build on our planning skills and to think on our toes. It is not always easy working in a group because people have different ways of expressing themselves and if they don't feel comfortable it might take them sometime to speak their mind. Maybe if you take the leadership role and throw ideas out their, maybe they will do the same. I do agree with you that you should always try to participate and brainstorm together because what might sound silly to you could in the end combined with others input result in the right solution.
ReplyDeleteWell I think the main reason that so many of the experiments failed was due to the very limited time constraint. Perhaps given a little more time to not only plan our contraption, but in order to put it together, then maybe I think the end result would be better.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how the egg dropping activity may sound easy and meaningless but once you start the planning process and try to reach the objective, the whole perceived thought becomes a challeging experiment.Also, i do agree with you that some group members don't realy participate to a full capacity which restricts potential ideas and designs.
ReplyDeleteI think it is also very important to bring those shy individuals into the mix of things. Some of these people have great ideas, but unfortunately lack some social skills. I think group projects are good because it allows everyone to get a different perspective and open up to new ideas.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting how all of the usual personalities are displayed when ever we do these group projects. The leaders always come through, as well as the pessimist who never agrees with anything. I try to be the leader if the situation has any kind of relevance to me, but if I am clueless I will usually not voice my own opinions. I still try to participate as much I can even if I am not the leader.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like most of the groups had some kind of plan and believed that it was going to work. However,only couple of groups saved their eggs.
ReplyDeleteI do agree on you that some people did not share their ideas because they were shy or did not want to bother. If we considered everyone's ideas and combined it all together, maybe all of us could have save the egg and gottend the extra point.
I agree, I think its vital that everyone speak up, cause sometimes it is the little details that can make the biggest difference. But I think sometimes even if you want to speak up, it's really hard if you aren't acknowledged, It can really lower the esteem of the person who tried to get their idea across, that was what happened in our group (minus the esteem). But I'm glad there are still some open mindedness out there.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Simon. Some people may feel that if they try to contribute any idea at all they might not be taken seriously. But people need to learn to put that aside. When working in a group, an individual needs to take the initiative to make themselves heard. There's no room to be shy in group work, every contribution no matter how small may be vital im formulating the final plan.
ReplyDeleteI see that a lot of the comments reflect on the behavior of the individual members, something that I can relate to as well. Other than for two people in my group, no one else new each other. This made it a little awkward for everyone to jump in quickly and start sharing thoughts. I think that, as everyone else has said, it is very important to feel comfortable with the other members of a group in order to function efficiently. Think about a real world situation and if you were to be making a plan that could cost a company thousands of dollars. Keep in mind that our class project was an extreme case with very limited time. But it also demonstrates what happens in the real world.
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