This activity encourages team members to recognize and appreciate each other’s strengths and skills. It fosters an inclusive environment by ensuring that everyone’s ideas and contributions are valued and promotes collaboration and creativity by integrating different perspectives into the design process. Furthermore, it will set a positive foundation for team dynamics and establishes a sense of belonging and ownership within the team.
Adapt the activity to suit the specific needs and goals of your team. Encourage open communication, active listening, and respect throughout the activity to create a supportive and inclusive environment.
Objective: The objective of this activity is to promote team building, foster an inclusive and creative environment, and encourage collaboration among new EMDC teams.
Time: 45± minutes
Materials:
- Sticky notes or index cards
- Markers or pens
- Large poster paper or whiteboard
Instructions:
- Introduction (10 minutes):
- Gather the team members in a comfortable space and introduce the activity.
- Explain the importance of teamwork, collaboration, and inclusivity in the engineering design process.
- Emphasize that all team member’s unique skills and perspectives contribute to the overall success of the project.
- Team Skill Inventory (10 minutes):
- Provide each team member with sticky notes or index cards and markers.
- Ask them to write down their individual strengths, skills, and interests related to engineering and problem-solving.
- Encourage them to think about both technical and non-technical abilities, such as creativity, communication, organization, and leadership.
- After a few minutes, have the team members share their strengths and place their sticky notes or cards on a large poster paper or whiteboard.
- Designing the Perfect Team Machine (15 minutes):
- Explain that the team will now work together to design the “Perfect Team Machine” that incorporates everyone’s strengths and skills.
- Divide the large poster paper or whiteboard into sections, each representing a component or stage of the chain reaction machine.
- Assign each team member a specific section and ask them to brainstorm ideas for their assigned component based on their strengths and skills.
- Encourage creative thinking, innovation, and collaboration within the team as they design their ideal machine.
- Machine Presentation and Reflection (10 minutes):
- Once the team members have completed their component designs, have them present their ideas to the rest of the team.
- Each team member should explain how their component utilizes their strengths and skills and how it contributes to the overall machine.
- Encourage feedback and discussion among team members about how their ideas can be integrated to create a cohesive machine design.
- Wrap up the activity by facilitating a group reflection on the importance of collaboration and inclusivity in the design process.