Ah, Physics! I'm in college and I am required to make a kite from anything and fly it? Besides this being the best assignment ever, it was a great process to see come together. My partner Paige and I, first had the idea to fly a kite with fire like a lantern kite you see in movies like "Tangled." Obviously an open flame on campus had to be cleared by the head of the IT department and when I mentioned the words "fire extinguisher" they promptly said no, which was fine because we had assembled other ideas and plans just in case we didn't get the okay from school.
Researching kites I found that the more materials you use the less likely it is to fly. We wanted to keep the design simple, but with one goal......it has to fly and we want the full 10 points. Browsing YouTube, believe it or not the comments at the bottom of the videos were extremely helpful! You can watch a 10 minute video of someone making a kite, but they don't show it flying, so reading the majority of the comments say "Yeah, this didn't fly" or "Does it even Fly???" was an easy give away that the design might not have been a good one.
I found a sled kite video that was very simple and at the beginning and ending of the video there was proof that his design flew, and the comments were supportive and informative opposed to the other videos. I went ahead and gathered the materials which were found around the house and went in Thursday and built the kite, which would become Cup!
The group aspect of this project worked, but almost too well. All of the groups weren't taking this as a competition, we used this time to help and aid each other because we all had the same goal. What I learned from this was, compromise! Paige and I knew that the lantern was probably a long shot but we shot for the stars, but all we needed was to be in the sky.......or rather the kite be in the sky.....flying, so we went with what was simple and doable and made it our own.
I feel like if all of us would of made one kite it would have been better. I understood the assignment but it was awesome how it transcended the groups because we have already become close as a team and it was evident during the kite building process on Thursday. When someone was getting frustrated, someone was always there to lend a hand. I can't wait to see what we all accomplish together with KIB.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Monday, September 16, 2013
Group Development Comparison
During my time in N250, it's been an amazing process learning group roles and what they do for a team. What I didn't expect was learning what role would be best for me based on my personality.
The personality test that placed me in the ESFJ category was fascinating. Everyone knows who they are but not everyone understands why they are who they are. I have been in situations where I have seen classifications of personalities with the four letter types, but I never understood it and frankly felt that it was all rubbish. Well I am happy to say that I was wrong, when we had the conversation in class about what each personality meant and if it pertained to our daily lives. When I explained my extroverted-ness until I get home where I become introverted-ness, I never felt more okay with who I was because I fit into a category where people such as Dick Clark and Barbara Walters.
The personality test where we are ranked percentage wise also made a lot of sense because it ranked me as a chairman and a team player. My parents both are chairman's at their respective jobs and are heavily supportive of the team player mentality that it only makes sense I would be in both categories. I think it's a bit more difficult to see who you are in this test though because they throw a lot at you from 25 questions I think it could be a lot less accurate. It still has relevance and can be used to better a group, but I don't think it is as effective as the previous one.
Of all the stages of group development I most agree with Tuckman's Stages Model. The idea that there are two aspects of a group being interpersonal relationships and task behaviors. In all of my time at IUPUI, I have found that to be the case. It is important that the conversations stay moving and each member remembers their role. In the end Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning is the structure that seems to work the most when I have been in a team that succeeds.
In my opinion, what it all comes down to is each member of the team to put in their best effort and make sacrifices if it means not doing what you ultimately want but getting the job done. In this class, I have a feeling by getting to know each other from these tests and theories, we will do a great job!
The personality test that placed me in the ESFJ category was fascinating. Everyone knows who they are but not everyone understands why they are who they are. I have been in situations where I have seen classifications of personalities with the four letter types, but I never understood it and frankly felt that it was all rubbish. Well I am happy to say that I was wrong, when we had the conversation in class about what each personality meant and if it pertained to our daily lives. When I explained my extroverted-ness until I get home where I become introverted-ness, I never felt more okay with who I was because I fit into a category where people such as Dick Clark and Barbara Walters.
The personality test where we are ranked percentage wise also made a lot of sense because it ranked me as a chairman and a team player. My parents both are chairman's at their respective jobs and are heavily supportive of the team player mentality that it only makes sense I would be in both categories. I think it's a bit more difficult to see who you are in this test though because they throw a lot at you from 25 questions I think it could be a lot less accurate. It still has relevance and can be used to better a group, but I don't think it is as effective as the previous one.
Of all the stages of group development I most agree with Tuckman's Stages Model. The idea that there are two aspects of a group being interpersonal relationships and task behaviors. In all of my time at IUPUI, I have found that to be the case. It is important that the conversations stay moving and each member remembers their role. In the end Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning is the structure that seems to work the most when I have been in a team that succeeds.
In my opinion, what it all comes down to is each member of the team to put in their best effort and make sacrifices if it means not doing what you ultimately want but getting the job done. In this class, I have a feeling by getting to know each other from these tests and theories, we will do a great job!
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