Suggested Activities for Chapter 20

1. Break the class into groups, or use preexisting groups if you have already assigned a group speech. If you have the classroom space to move students into separate rooms, consider doing so. Give each group a stack of newspapers and a roll of masking tape. Inform each group that they have ten minutes to build the tallest freestanding tower they can, using only the materials you provided.
   Questions:
   1. How did you come to decide on the design for the tower?
   2. What kinds of maintenance and task roles did the members of your group perform?
   3. Did your group follow the reflective-thinking process?
   4. Are you pleased with your solution and how you got there?

2. Find a “survival scenario” group decision-making exercise on the Internet. The search term “lost on the moon” yields several useful scenarios. Break the students into groups or use preexisting groups and run the exercise.
   Questions:
   1. How did you manage conflict?
   2. What kinds of maintenance and task roles did the members of your group perform?
   3. Did your group follow the reflective-thinking process?
   4. Did your group suffer from groupthink?
   5. Are you pleased with your solution and how you got there?

3. Search the Internet for “paper airplane designs” or “origami patterns.” Print out a pattern or instructions. Break the students into groups, hand each group a single set of instructions and a few pieces of paper for folding. Ask students to work together to follow the directions and create the requested object.
   Questions:
   1. How did you manage conflict?
   2. How did you decide which group members got to do the folding?
   3. How did you decide which group members got to read the directions?
   4. Did your group follow the reflective-thinking process?
   5. Are you pleased with your solution and how you got there?

4. Gather a pile of miscellaneous office supplies. Break students into groups or use preexisting groups, and give each group a pile of supplies (it is best if you can make an even number of groups if you also want to assign activity 5). Be sure to give each group a different variety of supplies. Assign each group to use their materials to invent or design a product and to present their product to the whole class in the form of a sales pitch.
   Questions:
   1. How did you come to decide on the design, invention, or product?
   2. How did you decide what sales presentation style to use?
   3. Did your group follow the reflective-thinking process?
   4. Are you pleased with your solution and how you got there?

5. As a follow-up to activity 4, pair groups together to make larger groups. These groups must accomplish the same task as in 4, but now they must combine their designs. They must alter what their products do and/or look like to create a hybrid of what both original groups initially created. Finally, each large group must create a sales pitch for their new product and present it to the class as a whole.
   Questions:
   1. What did you learn from the first round of this activity that helped you make an improved sales pitch the second time?
   2. Did one small group dominate the other when you merged the groups? If so, how did that happen?
   3. Were there cases of two people serving the same role when the groups were separate, but then having to negotiate their role in the new, larger group? What happened?
   4. Was it easier doing this task the first time or the second time? Why?
   5. Note on Ready-to-Print Activity: The “Panel Discussion” activity has two pages. The first page sets up the activity for all students. The second page consists of the individual roles you will assign to the students in the group. Instruct the students to keep their role assignments secret until the exercise is over. After the class completes the activity, have students evaluate their group communication and try to identify the roles filled by other members of the group.