Communication

Handball is a group sport that we played in two teams against the other half of the class and the overall goal is to score moe points than the other team.

It was very important to communicate during this game as it is a team sport and without talking the team would not be able to successfully achieve our goals. Using communication allowed the team to work together to score as many goals as we could. It also allowed us to included everyone in the game as we could only have 7 members on the court at one time so we had to communicate when to sub people off and on etc and in and out of goal as that position was unwanted. 

Communication positively impacted the groups dynamics as it allowed us to gain a closer relationship with one another as we were constructively communicating as a team and in smaller groups also. This allowed us to also work better together as we were closer and felt more comfortable contributing in team discussions etc. 

I think our group is in stage four as we have started working efficiently as a team and are more comfortable around each other, therefore we contribute more ideas to the discussion and also trust each others actions more. 

Yes, I believe we all benefited from using this group process, as communication is a vital part of a team sport and the team cannot function effectively without it. Our use of communication during handball allowed the team to grow closer as we were constructively working towards our goals as a team using communication. Therefore communication benefited from using our group process as were grew closer which will aid us in future activities. 

In order to increase the effectiveness of our group process i believe we should not only communicate during the activity but also before and after. Doing this will allow us to discuss our goals and plan how we are going to achieve them as a team, as well as reflect on how we worked and what we need to work on together. 

I think we need to get to know one another a bit better in order to progress onto Stage 5. We are now comfortable as a team and around each other which is important, however if we get to know each other more and become more like a group of friends rather than peers, then we will be able to perform better as a team as we will trust each other more than we already do which will allow us to work moe effectively.

The group went through a series of activities and had to race the opposing team in order to complete the activity first. We worked together as a team by communicating with each other and figuring out the best way to complete the activity. When we started with each activity we all shared our ideas on how we could approach it so that everyone was incorporated and involved. 

The race between group 1 and group 2 made our group work faster and more efficiently.  Working together impacted our group by allowing us to complete activities more effectively and quicker as we were all communicating and making decisions together that made the activity work better. 

Working faster made our group rush straight into the task before planning out tactics. This made our group slow because we had to keep going back to the beginning at some of the tasks like the hula hoop task when we didn’t know a strategy and that wasted a lot of time.  

Our group is at the polite stage of the COG’s ladder, we know the girls in our group but we are not all fully comfortable around each other. 

Did the group benefit from using this group process? How? 

Yes, because even though we did not win we got different strategies from everyone in the group that helped us complete the task we were doing. Through working together our group learnt more about each other and we learnt more strategies and how to work together well. 

Next time, our group could try planning out our tactics, so that every group member was aware of how we were planning on achieving our goal (winning). Our group could have explained a plan to everyone so we could all talk about the best way to pass the activity. 

To progress to the next stage of the COG’s ladder, our group needs to focus on our goal and forming a plan. To reach the ‘why are we here stage’ our group needs to collectively discuss the goal of the activity, and what is the best way to achieve it.

Making decisions.

Our goal as a team was either to run through a channel and back to collect various objects, while the other team used dodgeball rules to get us out and prevent us from retrieving those objects, OR we would be the team defending the objects against the other team. The goal was to get a faster time retrieving the objects faster than the other team. Our team was not successful at beating the other teams time however we did achieve person bests as a team.

We used decision making to generate an effective strategy in order to achieve our goal to beat the other team and what we can do as a team and individually to do this. This group process impacted the group by allowing us to work more as a team and trust each others skills and feel confident in our teams abilities. We used this group process to discuss an effective strategy which involved majority of people throwing the balls while others collecting them so we had a constant flow, we also used this process to decide when each group member would throw their ball as we figured out that instinct caused us to all throw at the same time, at the same person meaning that once said person had gotten out then would we not have enough balls to keep up with the new players running out. 

I believe making decisions impacted the groups dynamics positively, as we were inclusive and trustworthy in order to make the final decisions that allowed us to use the best strategies possible. This was because we were all sharing our ideas on best ways to improve as a team as we all had different perspectives and we all needed each other in order to play at our best capability.

I think out group is still in stage 4 as we are still working very well together as a team, and we are still productively sharing our thoughts and ideas on the activity, however we are still not as close as we could be, we have definitely gotten closer, however, after a couple of weeks we will naturally become more comfortable around each other.

Yes, I believe we benefited from using this group process because we all got a little bit closer which helps us progress into the next stage of COG's ladder. It allowed us to get closer by causing us to collaborate on effective strategies and involve everyone as everyones ideas and views are different and useful. 

I do not think there is much we can do to improve this group process as we had a productive talk before the game in order to establish a strong strategy, however, maybe we could talk more in depth which would involve more time and would allow us to plan everything more in depth and allow us to further improve our group decision making.

Ways of becoming interdependent.

Handball is a group sport that we played in two teams against the other half of the class and the overall goal is to score moe points than the other team.

 This group process impacted the group positively as we were all got closer throughout the activity as we were all needed to work together and all needed each other, which made us realise how dependant we are on each other because if one person we doing everything and the rest of the team stood around, the teams function would not work. This helped us gain a closer relationship with each other as we realised how important each player is. 

I believe the groups dynamics were affect positively as we were all using each other skills and ideas during this activity in order to improve as a team. Handball is a team sport and as we were playing on a small court than we are used to it was important to use each others ideas to use the space wisely such as spreading out and communicating more. This allowed us to become more interdependent as we were all working together and without each person in the team we would not be able to work effectively as everyone had their own perspectives and skills that helped the team.

I believe our group is in-between stage 4 and 5 as we have all gained a closer relationship through this activity partially influenced by our group process as it allowed us to become dependant on each others skills and ideas. However, I don' t think we are quite at stage 5 as while we are working well as a team and are accepted by one another I still think we can improve a bit. 

Yes we did benefit from using this group process as it made us closer as we were all dependant on each other and understood how helpful each others skills and ideas are. Understanding this helps us get closer as a group but allowing us to respect each other more and more which will later help us progress into stage 5 of COG's ladder. 

I think my group could get more close which would allow us to respect each other more, and therefore be more dependant on each other. This would also allow us to progress on COG's ladder which is very helpful into out teams development and effectiveness our our teams function.  

We need to get closer, similar to progressing into stage 4, so we can work more effectively as a group which involves being more interdependent. Getting closer will allows us to progress into stage 5 because because we will be more comfortable around each other and sharing ideas which will ultimately make our teams function better as we can be more confident to share ideas ons strategies etc.

Roles in the group. 

Tapu Ae is a maori game which is played on a basketball or netball court which consists of two teams where players pass the ball using netball rules, and the goal is to knock over the other teams cone which is guarded by the other teams defenders. On each team there are several attackers and defenders on opposites sides of the court with one player from each team on a central channel that the team must pass to in order to get the ball to the opposite side. There are 2 balls alive at once.

The group was impacted positively as we all gained a closer relationship because we were working together with less planning and more instinctively due to our chosen positions. As we had strategically placed everyone in positions based on their strengths, everyone felt and was useful and comfortable therefore felt closer to each teammate as we were effectively working together in a less forced way. therefore this group process positively impacted our group.

Roles in the group impacted the group dynamics positively as it allowed us to function more affectively as we had planned what everyone was going to do and strategies to make the most out of everyones skills. We discussed each persons biggest skills and what they are best at in this kind of situation, and that allowed us to split the team up into attackers, defenders and the one person in the middle based on our strengths. This allowed us to work better as a team as we were all comfortable in our positions and were using our strengths. Overall this group process allowed the group to work more efficiently as we were all doing something we were used to doing (our positions) and so we all instinctively knew how and where to position ourselves when being an option for the player holding the ball which ultimately made our group work better and more effectively. This is how the group process positively impacted the group dynamics.

I would say that we have progressed into the fifth stage of COG's ladder as we are working very well as a team and do not have to communicate as much when playing as we instinctively know how each other plays and generally what they are going to do. We still use communication as it is a key aspect of any sport, we do not need to do it as much as we are closer (partially through this group process) and so we are more comfortable to do and say more things such as possible strategies and new passing patterns which could improve our chances of scoring a goal.

Yes we did benefit from using this process as we all got closer as a team because we all felt and were included and useful. This made everyone feel comfortable which ultimately made people communicate easier and better because we we working better at a team. Because of discusses and organising our roles in the group we were all comfortable where we were during the game and therefore were enjoying ourselves which leads to multiple positive outcomes such as trying harder and being more supportive etc. As we were trying hard to achieve our goal as a team and giving supportive comments allows us to get closer as a group which is very important.

I would say that we used this group process very well as a team, however, all I would think could be improved is our rolling subs, and change of positions. This is because some people like two different positions and want to change half way through the game but we forgot most of the time so some people do not get to play all the positions they want. Also when people are subbed off first, they do not always get as much game time as others because there is no timer so we generally forget to sub in enough time, so that is something we could work on.

We are on the final stage of the COG's ladder but to improve on our current stage I would just say get closer as a team, but also with each player individually then we can be ever more comfortable and possible improve our game techniques all together as we can work in pairs and small groups.

Relationships of group members.

Ultimate Frisbee is similar to netball. It is played on a court with two rectangular channels at both  ends, which are the scoring zones. Players are not allowed to move with the frisbee and must score by throwing it to someone who is in the scoring zone. If the frisbee is knocked down during a pass, it is turn over. 

Relationships of group members impacted the group because we were all working better together as we were more friendly and inclusive. We worked better together by communicating better and working almost in a pattern with each other to get the frisbee to the scoring zone. We would pass and move to get on an angle of one another in order to be open for another pass. Having a closer relationship with each other helps us achieve this as we were more comfortable with each other and we were used to playing with each other and therefore could suss out what each other would do next without extensive communication. 

I would say that it did impact the groups dynamics positively as we were working on being closer to each other which allowed us to play better as a team and in smaller group. It didn't change the way we play but it helped us improve how we did play which also impacted the score. In previous activities our team was had fallen quite far bellow the other team, score wise. However, for part of this activity we were winning and and even after they began to over take us, we kept the score relatively close.

The group is in the fifth stage of COG's ladder as we are working very well as a team and are all much closer than we were at the start of the term. We are all accepted by one another and everyone is included.

Yes we did because as were more inclusive and supportive as a team which allowed us to work more efficiently as a team because we were more comfortable and happy in the team which made us more involved individually as we were enjoying the game.

There is not much we could work on as we are already very closer and comfortable within the team but I would say that we could work on the communication aspect of the group process a bit more. This would involve more support during and after the game so more everyone felt even more included and accepted in the team.

As we are on the final stage of COG's ladder, we cannot progress any further, but in order to improve more in this stage I would say we needed to work on communication before, during and after the games. Discussing strategies and positions as well as supporting each other and reflecting as a team after the game would bring the team much closer and allow us to improve on the final stage of COG's ladder.