Learn to work together as a team.

This exercise is to develop team building and communication skills, and show how members must work together.

Divide into teams of 4-7. Each team will have been given one package of uncooked spaghetti and 1 package of gummy-style candy. Each team will elect one member to be the official recorder of the team.

Observe the interactions of your team members during the project, taking notes on how they interact. List both positive and negative interactions. Record only the interaction – not team member names.

Teams will be given five minutes to come up with a plan to build the highest structure with the supplies given. Once the planning phase is complete, the leader may say GO and start a timer for 15 minutes for teams to build their structures. Recorders for each team will observe how their team is working together. Recorders should identify what roles team members have taken (such as leader, worker, and designer). When the timer stops, the teams will step away from their buildings. The leader will measure each building to determine the highest.

Each team recorder should share the following information:

• How did your team function together?
• Did the team members designate specific roles? If so, how were these roles chosen?
• Was communication used  effectively?
• Have each team share what they felt were their team’s strengths and what improvement might be made?