1. Team Proposal Presentation
Working in Small Groups

2. Overview of Team Presentation Assignment
15-25 minutes (i.e. 4-6 mins/team member)
Intro/Background (Leader)
Laboratory Design
Academic/Office Technology
Design
LEED Design
Conclusion (Leader)
10 minutes for Q & A (audience
will roleplay committees)

3. Speaker Responsibilities
Individual Speakers:
Intro with preview
Relate section to the audience
Body with transitions between main points
Conclusion
Everyone must use Visual Aids
Leader:
Introduction
Team transitions
Conclusion/Q&A

4. Small Group Communication

5. Propositions about Group Communication
Advantages
Disadvantages
Access to more resources
Better retention of concepts
Diversity
Creativity
Scheduling
Social loafing
Conflict
Coping with misbehavior
Blame for error is shared
Decisions = higher quality
Higher commitment to group decisions
Pitfalls and hazards are regularly uncovered
Morale is higher
Increased responsibility for the task
Blame for errors is shared

6. Functioning Group Behaviors
Participants know each other by name or role.
There is a generous amount of interaction.
Each participant has some influence on the others.
Each participant defines him/herself as a member of the group and is also defined by outsiders as a member.
There is a common goal, interest or benefit in holding membership in the group.
There is leadership.

7. Building an effective group takes planning.
1) Selecting a Leader 2) Sharing Leadership Roles 3) Communicating Effectively 4) Problem-Solving Efficiently

8. Types of Leaders Shared or No Specific Leader Implied Leader
Emergent Leader
Designated Leader

9. 1. Selecting a Leader
Select a leader able to handle the responsibility.
Authority
Pressure for uniformity
Status differentiation
Disruptive behavior
Incompatibility between individual and collective goals
Leadership style should vary with climate of the group.
Directive if task is ambiguous
Supportive if unsatisfying
Participative if group needs control
Achievement-oriented if no motivation

10. 2. Sharing Leadership
Leadership-- A group may not always have a leader but it always has leadership.
Group members can share the three leadership functions.
Procedural Needs– “housekeeping”
Task Needs– “focus”
Maintenance Needs– “relationships”

11. Procedural needs involve “housekeeping tasks”.
Place and Agenda
Notes and Handouts
Summarizing progress

12. Task needs provide “focus”.
Analyze
Delegate
Collect info
Solicit views
Focus
Devil's advocate
Criteria
Reach consensus

13. Maintenance Needs involve “interpersonal relations”.
Getting along
Contributing
Supporting
Satisfaction about accomplishments
Satisfaction about roles

14. 3. Effective Communication
Effective group discussion takes time.
Balance between emotional and rational
Sincere skepticism is encouraged
Group norms are clearly identified
Some topics not appropriate
3. Effective Communication

15. Ineffective Communication
Ineffective group discussion is more common.
Failure to contribute
Conformity
Poor Environment
Control
Rigid
Lack of Patience
Too much leadership or wrong type

16. Groupthink Conditions
Being out of touch
Being out of order
Being overruled
Being out of resources

17. Groupthink Symptoms Group’s tendency to view itself as powerful
Closed-mindedness
Pressure toward uniformity
Minimizing Techniques
Question self/actions
Divide into subgroups
Involve outsiders
Add diversity

18. 4. Efficient Problem-Solving
Dewey’s Reflective Thinking Method
Define and narrow the problem
Analyze the problem
Establish criteria for solutions
Generate potential solutions
Select the best solution/s
I.   Define the Problem
Identification of problem area, including such questions as:
What is the situation in which the problem is occurring?
What, in general, is the difficulty?
How did this difficulty arise?
What is the importance of the difficulty?
What limitations, if any, are there on the area of our concern?
What is the meaning of any term that needs clarifying?
Analyze the Causes of the problem and its Limits
Analysis of the difficulty
What, specifically, are the facts of the situation?
What, specifically, are the difficulties?
B.  Analysis of causes
What is causing the difficulties?
What is causing the causes?
Identify Criteria for an acceptable Solution
What are the principal requirements of the solution?
What limitations must be placed on the solution?
What is the relative importance of the criteria?
Generate potential Solutions
What are the possible solutions?
What is the exact nature of each solution?
How would it remedy the difficulty? By eliminating the cause? By offsetting the effect? By a combination of both?
B.  How good is each solution?
How well would it remedy the difficulty?
How well would it satisfy the criteria? Are there any that it would not satisfy?
would there by any unfavorable consequences? Any extra benefits?
Select the Best Solution
How would you rank the solution(s)?
Would some combination of solutions be best?
Implement Solution
What steps would need to be taken to put the solution into effect?
What steps would be the most difficult?  Least difficult?  How would you overcome these?

19. 1. Define the Problem
Specific
Open
Avoid Bias
2. Analyze the Problem
How Severe?
How many people are affected?
What if the problem is not resolved?
What are the Causes?

20. 3. Establish Criteria for the Solutions
What must solution achieve?
What might limit the choice of solutions?
4. Generate Potential Solutions
Avoid judging while brainstorming
Individuals record their own
5. Select the Best Solution
Compare to established Criteria
Evaluate all solutions

21. Review: Small group communication takes planning.
Selecting a Leader
Shared Leadership
Discussion
Problem-Solving