“Ideal Organization” Case Study Group PresentationHDF 413

Connelly CliffordDavid Keach Lauren Miller

Political Student Advocates

What does the group to do on campus/ off campus? We hold information booths about local legislations organize student press conferences with local politicians and hold more voter registration booths to encourage the URI community (Rhode island residents) to vote.

Executive Board: President: In charge of the direction of the group- Delegation of tasks- Conducts all meetings for both general and executive boardVice President: Direct overseer of events- General second in commandPR Rep: Promoting the group - Information boothsSecretary: Distribute weekly emails of “minutes” to executive board and to the general members

- In charge of general group communicationsTreasurer: Manages our funds from Senate for booths 

Members• Students of URI • Share same concerns and have same goals of

organization• want to make an impact on the URI community

Roles• Help executive council with planning • Promote organization

BudgetFunded by senate the organization is given $20,000 a year to use for: • Executive Board training• Flyers• Booths• Unforeseen costs• Cost of communication between public

representatives 

How the meetings will go • Old business • New business • Executive members discuss their plans • Read suggestions from suggestion box

Group Traditions• holding voter registration groups • Having local politicians come and speak to students• Set a yearly goal on how many students to get to register.

PSA Political Student Advocates

Retreat with SOLC December 10th 12-4pm

Memorial Union Ballroom Facilitators

Connelly Clifford, David Keach, Lauren Miller

Political Student AdvocatesThis group came to us requesting to work on thefollowing skills: Communication Patience Team Building Event Planning

Schedule for the retreat

Explanation and debrief of the activities that are being used at

this retreat

Space Bot  - one volunteer is blindfolded- all other participants are in a circle around the blindfolded individual - 1 structure is built and placed away from blindfolded volunteer             - Can be made out of things such as pipes, big legos. Anything that will stay together to form a structure- Matching pieces to the structure are scattered around the blindfolded volunteer

Space bot - The blindfolded volunteer has the privilege to talk as much as they want- All other team members have only a certain number of words each (facilitator's choice)- Goal: to build the exact same structure from the loose, scattered pieces as the previous built one by having the team members instruct the blindfolded volunteer to construct an identical structure in a specific (sometimes flexible) timed period 

Snowflake-• Group breaks into partners• One person has scissors and begins to cut a

snowflake • They tell their partner exactly how they cut

and let their partner do that on their paper• The goal of this activity to to improve

communication between members

Snowflake debriefAfter they are finished with this activity we will talk about its importance and discuss these topics. • Did both of your snowflakes turn out the same?• If they did not how are the different• Why are they different• How does this happen in real life • How can you work to avoid miscommunication, or have

as little as possible • What happens when there is miscommunication and how

will you deal with it?

Group Juggle • The group stands in a circle• One item is tossed around the circle in a

pattern • The item will be labeled with an issue

their group faces or a positive thing their group has

• The item continues to get thrown around in a pattern

• More items will be added in and thrown in the same pattern

• The object of the game is to balance as many objects as possible

Group Juggle debriefWhen they are finished we will discuss-• Was it hard to juggle all the objects • Were any objects dropped and if so what were

they • Would you be able to drop an issue in real life • For example what if communication was

disregarded how would your group function • How do you plan to balance things out in your

group

Apocalypse Library List Have 5 to 8 volunteers sit at a table or in a circle, with the remainder of the group looking on. The volunteers are given this scenario:“If mankind were to collapse and by some miracle you were the only survivors, what knowledge contained with three books would you need?” All other books and records have been wiped out. The survivors must all agree on only three books and each survivor who has an idea explains their own choice. The survivors must all agree on the list to rebuild humanity.

The main objectives of this exercise are……• Allow the remainder of the group to watch other members have a

healthy debate• Improve Communication• Teach teams to compromise

Decision Reached so It’s Time to DebriefNow the remaining members of the group take an active role in the discussion. The consultant may start by asking any onlookerI. How did volunteers handled the decision

making? II. Describe each volunteer figuratively as a part of

an airplane. Volunteers may do this as wellIII. Which volunteers were more introverted or

extroverted?IV. How does an on looker feel about a particular

book choice?V. Did any volunteers exhibit great ideas,

explanations or mediation?

Ships and SailorsThe facilitator of this game is the Captain who calls out actions and dismisses players who don’t do actions quick enough. Players have until the count of 3 to find groups and perform actions or they are out.ACTIONS

Captains coming= players stands and salutes, must wait for “At Ease” to move

Ships= players move to the right Sailors= players move to the left Man Overboard= one player drops to a knee with another behind, both scan Crow’s Nest= three players link arms back to back and circle Mermaid= all players waive with other hand on hip while shouting hey sailors! Walk the Plank= five players stand in a row with their hands on each back Mealtime= four players crouch in a circle and pretend to eat

An instructor is coming around with an anonymous survey asking for how you rate this retreat. Please offer any advice, compliments, concerns and comments that you’d like to share. We’re open to suggestions and always developing.

The PSA was having issues communicating effectively, resolving conflict, and showcasing empathy. After traditional name games and energizers, the group focuses on communication. Snowflake is a one on one communication exercise requiring precise description and thorough listening. Successful communication creates two identical snowflakes. Ships and Sailors is a light hearted game works on listening skills and message recognition. The Apocalypse Library List creates group discussion that begins with a few members and expands to entire group.