EXAMINING COMPETITION AND COLLABORATION

Goals

^? To offer the participants an opportunity to experience and explore both intragroup collaboration and intergroup competition.

^? To encourage the participants’ creativity.

^? To facilitate team building within individual subgroups through the completion of a collaborative task.

Group Size

Three to six subgroups of three to five members each.

Time Required

One hour and fifteen to thirty minutes.

Materials

^? A copy of the Whirlybird Assembly Instructions for each participant.

^? A pencil for each participant.

^? Assorted paper: newsprint, card stock, tissue, bond, glossy, wrapping, and so on (enough so that each subgroup can experiment more than once with each type of paper).

^? A ruler for each subgroup, plus several extra rulers to be displayed on the supply table.

^? A pair of scissors for each subgroup, plus several extra pairs to be displayed on the supply table.

^? A roll of transparent tape for each subgroup, plus several extra rolls to be displayed on the supply table.

^? Several different colors of felt-tipped markers for each subgroup.

^? A stopwatch for timing the drop of each whirlybird. (The stopwatch may or may not be necessary, depending on the method of competition chosen. See step 4.)

Physical Setting

A large room in which each subgroup can work comfortably. A table and movable chairs should be provided for each subgroup. In addition, there should be a table on which to display the paper and extra supplies. The setting should include access to an open stairwell or other elevated area to serve as the site from which whirlybirds will
be dropped.

Process

1. The facilitator asks the participants to assemble into subgroups of approximately equal size (three to five members each), and each subgroup is asked to be seated at one of the tables.

2. Each subgroup is given a ruler, a pair of scissors, a roll of transparent tape, several different colors of felt-tipped markers, and enough copies of the Whirlybird Assembly Instructions and pencils to accommodate all subgroup members.

3. The facilitator explains that the subgroups will be using the distributed materials and the paper and extra materials on the supply table to construct whirlybirds, that at the end of the construction period the subgroups will drop their whirlybirds from the “drop site,” and that the subgroup whose whirlybird takes the longest time to drop to the floor will win the competition. The subgroups are encouraged (a) to experiment with paper and design modifications (different wing lengths, different numbers of wings, different weights, and other modifications), (b) to test the various models they construct before selecting one for competition, and (c) to decorate their competition models with colorful designs if they wish. The facilitator tells the subgroups that they have forty-five minutes to come up with competition models and then asks them to begin; several times during the construction period the facilitator reminds the participants of the remaining time.

4. After forty-five minutes the facilitator calls time and announces the beginning of the competition at the drop site. The competition may take any of several forms (chosen by the facilitator or by the participants): for example, a single race with all subgroups competing at once, a “best of five” series for each subgroup, or several “heats” after which the two best-timed whirlybirds compete against each other. Ultimately, the subgroup whose whirlybird has the longest drop time is declared the winner. (Ten to fifteen minutes.)

5. The facilitator reassembles the total group and leads a concluding discussion by asking the following questions:

^? How do you feel about your subgroup right now? Would you describe your subgroup as a team? If so, how?

^? How would you describe the way in which you and the other members of your subgroup worked together as you constructed your whirlybird? What were some indications of creativity in your subgroup? Of collaboration? Of competition?

^? How did you feel about the other members of your subgroup during the construction period? How do you account for those feelings?

^? How did you feel during the competition? How did you feel about the other subgroups?

^? On the basis of this activity, how would you define the “good news” and the “bad news” about collaborative efforts? How would you define the “good news” and the “bad news” about competition? Which of the two—collaboration or competition—is more likely to lead to a “team” feeling and why?

^? What have you learned about collaboration and competition that you can apply at work? What is one thing that you might do differently in the future?

^? Different kinds of winners may be declared, for example, the subgroup with the most colorful whirlybird or the subgroup with the greatest number of design modifications.

^? Individual participants may be instructed to build their own designs; subsequently the individuals join subgroups to collaborate with others.

^? The subgroups may be set up to operate in different ways (one subgroup with an assigned leader, another with the members assigned to different construction items, another whose members work individually before they work together, and so on). Afterward the facilitator processes how these differences affected the competition.

EXAMINING COMPETITION AND COLLABORATION