Reflection and evaluation: Shelter Project

How did your group approach the concept of shelter?  Was it successful? Why?

Our group approached the word shelter in more of a literal sense, making a solid structure that one could actually survive in, but at the same time, we set out to make it a calming place, which is why we used the blue fabrics. I think it was successful because of the responses people have given us about the finished product, along with the fact that I find it a nice place to just relax in.

What was the group budget for the project? Where did you source your materials and how much did they cost?

The group budget was around $30 for everything, and the total did not exceed that. We got everything from either Jackie’s house, or from Home Depot.

Was the workload equal? Explain.

I feel like the workload was equal, with no one person doing more than another. Jackie was able to design the actual structure, and gather the materials; Tyra also helped gather some of the materials, and did much of the painting; I cut the wood to size, and did some of the construction of the shelter with a lot of help from both of them.

What was the strength that you added to the group, your weakness?

I brought my familiarity with power tools and experience working with wood as a strength, but was limited slightly by my problem of slowly grasping concepts sometimes.

What role did you find you played in the group dynamic:

• Leader: This student is in charge of organizing the final product of the project, be it a paper, a presentation, etc. That doesn’t mean technical details, but of making sure that the project meets the standards set out by the instructor (often as a rubric), plus any extras stipulated by the group. These standards generally include punctuality and completeness.
• Recorder/Secretary: This person takes notes whenever the group meets and keeps track of group data/sources/etc. This person distributes these notes to the rest of the group highlighting sections relevant for their parts of the project.
• Spokesperson/Press Secretary/Webmaster: This person would be responsible for the technical details of the final product and would be ready to summarize the group’s progress and findings to the instructor and to other groups.

I felt that I was more of the spokesperson of the project, as I felt I knew most of the technical side of the project.

What advice would you give to the next group that must complete this project?

Just to make sure that you have as concrete and thorough design plans as you can get before trying to figure out what you will need to do the project.