The class

Group Dynamics, Spring 2008

The Task

The class is basically a study of group dynamics using itself as a case study. In some ways it followed typical class structure - we had readings, tests, homework, etc. But in other ways it was an entirely unique experience. We were given the task of creating a project as a group. We had to figure out how to reach a decision, actually reach one, and then continue on to create the project of our own design. Needless to say, it was messy, crazy, frustrating, but overall educational.

The Process

You can check out the process by looking through the wiki Steph created for our class. It's how we kept up on assignments, figured out where we were going and where we had been. We also always had our refresh button on Steph's Wordpress.com Blog, and those of our class members.

The Product

The class was made up of a diverse group of Umass students. Though many of us are communication majors, we were of different years, tastes, and interests. Finding common ground on which to base our project was a challenge. During one class period Steph broke us up into two groups: one to decide what to make (The Content Group) and the other to decide how to make it (The Process Group). The content group decided that we needed to focus on what we did have in common: Umass, and this class. It was a slow, at times painful process from there honing in on exactly what we wanted to do. But it's basically this. We split up into groups based on our interests and focussed on making pages for the umass wiki that either related to the UMASS/Pioneer Valley community or to our class specifically. Then we compiled them into a home page.