Learning Outcome #1

“Honors College graduates should be able to work effectively in groups, demonstrating an ability to consult with others, reach consensus, and collaborate to create solutions to a given problem.”

I will take all my artifacts from one honors class not only because I worked in a group the entire semester (and thus had a lot of artifacts to choose from), but because it was the best group I’ve ever been in and I learned a lot from my interactions with my fellow groupmates.

The class was PSYCH101H with Professor Trent. I took it in the fall semester of 2019. The class was almost immediately split up into groups and most assignments were completed with group collaborations. There were four other people in my group: John, Ashli, Jordan, and Stephanie. Our team name was “Zen Waffles.” I got to know all of them throughout the course of the semester and enjoyed working with them through our assignments. The first “assignment” we completed was a simple team charter. We entered in our contact information and created several different goals for our group. Timely completion of assignments, equal workload, and effective communication were some of the main goals highlighted. This simple document helped solidify our group. Our texting group especially helped all of us communicate with each other and create rapport between all of us. See Artifact 1.

There were three main projects that we worked on through the course of the semester. The first project challenged us to come up with potential new programs that the YMCA could implement into their program. This project helped each individual in our group to stand out with their individual strengths. Each of us drew up a program and researched it. I especially loved how we all helped out each other. Sometimes a group member would send their program idea to the group and those stronger in the English department would help edit and suggest new ideas. John was especially good at researching and would sometimes offer some extra sources or bring up a new viewpoint to investigate. The result was a PowerPoint highlighting our individually created programs, each emphasizing each person’s own strengths. This first assignment really brought us together and gave me hope for the assignments ahead. See Artifact 2.

The second project was a five-page paper on battlemind resilience training. This project went beautifully, and once again, I was impressed by how each member of Zen Waffles stepped up to the plate and chose a different aspect to research and write. I was responsible for compiling everyone’s paragraphs into one paper and editing the content to make everything coherent and consistent. See Artifact 3.

Our third and final project was another presentation. It involved researching the different team members in a hostage negotiation situation and describing the attributes and training required for each member. We each chose a team member to research and created our own slides for each one. Our group especially came together toward the end of the semester. We called several times to rehearse our presentation and made sure that everyone knew what they were doing. There wasn’t one person who dragged their feet or didn’t do as much work as anyone else, which has been common in previous groups I’ve been in. I was very proud of the work we did for this presentation. See Artifact 4.

The reason I chose to focus on this one honors class is because no group has made me as proud as Zen Waffles. I believe a big reason for this (besides the great people I was grouped with) was because we had 16 weeks together to really get to know each other. We talked almost every day in our texting group and brought our best strengths to the table. While previous groups I’d been in taught me simply to bear the weight of several people and hold my tongue, Zen Waffles taught me to help out the other people in my group and accept help from others. It strengthened my leadership abilities when I had ideas to improve our presentation and helped me become a better team player when other members were struggling with their work. This honors class was a challenging, fun ride and I couldn’t have been happier with the experience I shared with my wonderful group.