Page 331 - Foundations of Learning, 4th Edition (Revised)

“And,” added Jennifer, “That we used SII Assessment to improve our ability to work as a team.”

Fred grinned and said, “Well, correct me if I’m wrong, but the five of us getting this presentation
put together will be proof of all of those things...?”

Sandra agreed but added, “I think we need to make sure we do incorporate assessment along the
way; we shouldn’t just wait until the end.”

Everyone agreed that this made sense.

Step 4—Gather Information

Prepare to construct your message by gathering information relevant to the topic. Begin with identifying
what you already know and then determine what information you still must obtain. It is very helpful to
use the Information Processing Methodology to increase your knowledge of the subject area and enhance
understanding of the language used to communicate effectively.

Over pizza, our team had a brainstorming session led by Sam. Books were kept closed as he quizzed
them about what they had learned about teamwork over the semester.

“Our knowledge now represents our baseline,” he said, “Most people in class will know as much as
we do. Now, how can we push our knowledge of teamwork further?”

Fred laid his half-chewed pizza crust down on his oily paper plate. “Urr Edmuffd Hlurm,” he said,
around a mouthful of crust.

Everyone looked at Fred and waited for him to explain.

He swallowed and continued,“You know, Sir Edmund Hillary, the guy who climbed Mt. Everest first.
Everyone knows who HE is, but he was really part of a team, right? You have Edmund but you also have
Tenzig Norgay, the sherpa, who made it possible. Ed didn’t make the climb alone.”

Jennifer raised an eyebrow.

“Look, surfing the web doesn’t just mean watching YouTube...it’s amazing the stuff you could learn...
like maybe how that eyebrow thing you do is actually a silent plea for help.”

Ken cleared his throat. “I think Fred’s got an excellent idea. We have to come up with a list of ten
instances where teamwork is more useful than people working alone. What if we do a bit of research
on people like Hillary—people who are maybe the famous name or the front-man, but who were really
part of a team and it was the TEAM that made the success possible?”

Fred grinned broadly, feeling good. Sandra smiled at him and gave a brief thumbs-up.

Sam whistled under his breath and said, “Fred, Sam, that’s great...really great. Why don’t you and
Jennifer see if you can chase down ten people who fit the criteria Ken shared? You have the midas touch
for finding information and Jennifer our journalist could probably rattle off twenty“famous”front-men
like Edmund Hillary. Will you two spearhead that effort?”

Fred turned to Jennifer and did an excellent impression of her, raising his own eyebrow.

“Sure, Sam, that’ll be fun” said Jennifer. “And Fred will make an perfect sherpa for this research trek.
Let’s get started. Fred, I’ll let you warm up to your new role by carrying my backpack.”

Fred shook his head, chuckling, but picked up her backpack as they began walking towards the
parking lot, deep in discussion about what names would make their list of people to investigate further.

Chapter 12 — Communication and Teamwork 325