New Start

One of the greatest aspects of college teaching is the regular fresh starts. Every quarter I meet new people. Every quarter offers the opportunity for me to learn new things. At the end of every quarter I say goodbye to people, some of whom I have enjoyed and some of whom have been huge pains in the tookus. But I learn from everyone. I sometimes learn about the world of young people: its relational stresses, its constant connection, its inability to step away from the irony, yes, just put the irony down and step away! Sometimes I learn about media that I'll enjoy consuming -- music groups, movies, television. I learn about the work people do and don't do. And I learn from watching people interact. And it all happens in short, easy-to-manage doses in a controlled setting, so my deep introversion is not overtaxed.

Except for the cheating issue (which, in its way, was also a learning experience) I enjoyed reading my small group Individual Final Analyses. I'm always fascinated by perceptual differences. What's especially interesting to me is the way controversial characters are depicted.

For example, in one team there was a character who was labeled as disruptive by three team members and supportive by another two members. The same set of behaviors was perceived and labeled differently by different people. Now, there was a time in my life, in my twenties, say, when I would have sought "the truth" of the situation, believing that such a thing existed. But now I know that, while there is a material reality, "you can't get there from here." Meaning that we can't ever completely get "beyond" our perceptual filters. So therefore it's all true that this one person was both egotistical and selfless, pushy and yielding, helpful and harmful.

So it seems I am capable of seeing the world as a novelist. Now, if I could only get myself to write a world -- my retirement would be set.

Cheating

Sigh.

I thought I'd designed an assignment that couldn't be plagiarized. I was wrong. I've pasted below the report I sent to Gordon Price at Student Life. The names have been changed to protect the privacy of both innocent and guilty.

Task: Final Analysis, worth 25% of course grade. A mix of course text and personal observations of a classroom team.

Proof of cheating: Wolverine and Flame, both members of the classroom team, The Superheroes, turned in analyses that used the same phrasing of entire paragraphs. Some of the sentences included the misuse of the same words, including “form” for “from” and “defiant” for “definite.” On Wolverine's paper he talked about himself in the third person. After comparing it with Flame’s, I tended to suspect Wolverine of doing the cheating.

Action taken: I made the discovery on Saturday afternoon while reading my stacks of papers. I decided that I would call both students, explain that one of them stole from the other and I would have to take action and flunk the cheater. I called Flame first and left a message to call me back. I then called Wolverine. He was there. Without using Flame’s name, I explained that his work was the same as another student’s, that the phrasing was the same, and that I’d have to flunk someone on the assignment. He immediately confessed. I told him that I would give him an “F” on the assignment and report the issue to Student Life. When Flame called me back right after my call to Wolverine, I told her about the two papers and told her that “the other student” had confessed and would flunk the assignment. I didn’t have the presence of mind at the moment to ask her if she had assisted in the cheating.

Consequences: Wolverine will take an “F” on an assignment that is 25% of his final grade. He will also have his name in a file at Student Life.

Final Thought: If Flame did help Wolverine cheat, I hope she pays for it in some way.

Does anyone read this?

Probably not, I'm thinking. That's why I'm going to do a little experiment. I'm going to post one of my final exam questions below and if anyone is reading this, they will have a head start on Friday's test.

6. Richie Cheney, once a government worker, has joined a local group of sportsman who plan trips to exotic places for bird hunting. He wants to be the team’s leader. He makes a variety of behavioral choices the hurt his chances for leadership. Which are the behaviors that created problems?
a. He gets really upset with another member and says, “&*#!@ you, you stupid %#$@(*& %^$)(@#!”
b. He gets involved with every group discussion.
c. When a meeting was called for 5 a.m. on a Monday morning he was there right on time, like he is for every meeting.
d. The current leader says, “Hey, Richie, I’m concerned that we’re making decisions too fast,” and Richie responds to his comment with, “As I was saying, I think Peru has some great bird hunting. We could get a condor.”
e. When Beverly interrupted him he got quiet and let her talk. He usually lets other people have plenty of time to talk.

(Dr. Evil image is borrowed from the blog Soxfirst.com)

I Slack While My Small Groups Work Like a Border Collie with a Hundred Sheep

I've been gone so long because I got a horrible sinus infection from my wonderful two day Team Skills Class. At least that's my story. So you didn't get a chance to hear about how some of the groups in my regular Small Group Communication classes fell apart and put themselves back together again. But I'm better now, back to plain allergies -- the constant drip of my response to Central Oregon. So it's time to give out some awards.

The small groups in my two classes have performed their major oral reports and I want to give some special shout outs to teams that had a little something extra.

The award for . . .

Most Artistic Team Video goes to The Dominators
In my afternoon class, this team created a truly amazing and professional looking video, with excellent editing and sound on. They used it to display both situational and task conflict. It opened their presentation and it's fancy opening image displayed throughout. I also enjoyed this team's use of specially printed team t-shirts, even though they said, "The Denominators." Certainly not the common denominators!

Most Creative Study Tools goes to The Out-of-Towners
This morning group printed study notes on the backs of packets of seeds and put the packets in a little pot, putting a pot on each person's desk. They ended their presentation with a return to the seed/growth metaphor as a way of understanding the different methods of negotiation.

Most Lively Presentation goes to Sunshine Posse
These folks started off the quarter with their eye-catching use of yellow shirts as a team solidarity symbol. They kept their shirts and added a tweed sports jacket with a large yellow patch sporting the team name on the back. They took turns shared for the role of "Used Car Dealer" in skits about methods of negotiation. They even had little cut outs of the cars. They combined the skits with a well organized powerpoint that gave a solid overview of the content.

Best Integrated Team Video goes to Just Seven
Ah, the Magic Bullet Blender! This morning team taught us about methods of conflict management using a very fun video focused on making smoothies. The video'd skits were contained within a PowerPoint presentation. I hope to see the skits someday being used as a sales tool for the product (and the team members can remember the class for the $$ it brought them). This team also did a fine job with showing their team solidarity through the use of the bandana. Each team member wore one above a white shirt.

Best Use of Hollywood's Conflicts goes to The Comm. Group
Wow. This afternoon team used clips from The Office, You've Got Mail, and other tinsel town products to illustrate the methods of conflict management. Each speaker wore something that represented Hollywood (dark glasses, pink feather boas, or a t-shirt with the picture of a star). They took so much care with their PowerPoint that the bullets were little film reels. The team showed both solidarity, knowledge, and a desire to keep the audience interested.

Cleverest Management of PowerPoint Animation goes to Team 5
I loved the use of the various types of slide change and line movement used by this team. I was especially amused by the bouncing titles that jumped in from a space outside the frame.

Most Friendly Group goes to Thundercats
This group adapted well to a last minute change and was very willing to go first when a member of the team that was supposed to go first was late. They chose to get ready early in order to save another team from losing points.

Most Thorough Coverage of Important Course Material and Best Use of the Web goes to Conflict Island
I know this group worked hard to learn the material and deliver it with thoroughness and skill. Their presentation was well organized and had everything we might want to know about what conflict is and how it's situational variables impact it. During the quarter they also used a blog to contact each other. They also had a mug made for each team member. It says, I survived Conflict Island. I got one too! So, THANK YOU Conflict Island!