Real-Life Communication
Your food preparation class meets every Tuesday afternoon for several
weeks. The class consists of 15 students, whom you have arranged into four
teams. The teams prepare a different food item every week.
The same
team members work together regularly, but you notice a problem. They spend
a lot of time deciding who will do what, and sometimes the same people end
up doing the same task every week. Time is being wasted and some people are
not getting their turn doing the full range of tasks. You decide to draw up
a schedule for the teams so that all tasks are rotated and every team member
gets a turn.
After some thought, you decide there are basically four
different jobs to be done in each team. Someone must do the "setup" -- assembling
ingredients, finding the recipe, and laying out the utensils and bowls that
will be used.
Someone must be the "head cook" and take responsibility
for preparing the food item. A third person must be "assistant cook." This
person assists the head cook by washing vegetables and chopping food.
The
fourth job is "cleanup." This person must wash towels, potholders and dishcloths,
wash up bowls and utensils after use, and ensure that the counters are wiped
down when class ends.
When there are only three to a group, the setup
person also takes care of cleanup responsibilities.
Make up an easy-to-read
schedule for four weeks. Remember that the group members remain the same,
but each member's job should rotate so that by the end of four weeks, each
person has had a chance to do each role. (Make up your own names for the students
in each group).