Day Two: Activity 4: Organising and Planning for the Project

Out of role we then assigned six different projects that were mentioned in the email to groups of team members. In these groups we read outlines of the projects and wrote some key research questions. We also discussed why we need research questions.

“We need to know what to look for”
Sally

We then began exploring our fictional website, deciding on which links were going to be the most useful starting point for the different projects. As we read we wrote questions we wanted to ask to help us understand what we were reading, and made notes of words, terms, and types of equipment we were unsure of and needed to find out more about.

We also considered how much time we would need to complete the project. We decided on three days with 4 x 45 minute blocks of time available each day. We made project plans in our groups about how many blocks of time we would be likely to spend on the different aspects of the project, which had to include research time, writing time, poster design time, making a clay model to go with the display, and using drama to present the information in an interesting and interactive way. Our plans are flexible but will help guide us and make sure we cover everything. We have time sheets to record what we do in each block as we go.

Next week we will be ready to begin our projects, armed with our own research questions, an idea of where to start looking for some answers, a project plan, and time sheets to help us keep on track. We are going to be busy, Sarah from management will be visiting us at the end of three weeks to see our displays and they will have to be of a high standard!

Day Two: Activity 3: Getting A Commission

Ms Gain, in role as our team leader Gina, shared an email from Sarah in NZ COSSA management asking the team to consider a new project to redesign the foyer of the NZ COSSA building. The aims of the project were outlined as:

• To make an informative and attractive display about some current research projects, being done on the research vessel The Aumoana, in order to attract more public interest in the work we do.

• To support schools wanting to teach children about science in the waters around New Zealand.

• To help convince funding authorities to continue supporting our work.


As we read through our email from management some of us opened up keynote on the laptops and wrote down some concerns about taking on such a big project. On newsprint others recorded what the key criteria for the foyer displays were. As a team we discussed our concerns, including money to pay for the display and having time to do our own research. In the end however, we decided as a group that it was important that we do this project because people should know about the science work we do and we need to get funding to keep our jobs.

“we need to do this because what would happen to our wives and kids….we’d have no job!”
Louis

This is the email we wrote back to Sarah:

Kia Ora Sarah,

The team has discussed doing the project. We are supportive of the idea but we have some concerns.

We are going to need a budget to pay for equipment. We are also concerned about having time to do our reserach as well. We may have to get an extension on some of our current research deadlines. Georgia may have to re-schedule her trip to France, do you think it would be okay if she went next month instead?

Max has agreed to look at some figures for the budget.

Could you please get back to us for our next meeting about whether you can help us with these things. In the meantime we will start to plan towards starting the project.

Cheers.
Gina and the team.

Day Two: Activity 2: Getting Into Role

Today we got into role as a team of scientists who work for NZ COSSA and have been doing research on the research vessel, The Aumoana. We pretended we were in a morning meeting in one of the meeting rooms in the NZ COSSA building. We changed our faces, the way we sat, moved, made gestures, and spoke, to show who we were pretending to be. In the photos you can see that our faces and the way we sat showed that we were a table of adult scientists ready for a meeting.

Some of the comments made as we thought about getting into role:

“You might be wearing a suit that is tight”
Mia

“What kind of degree would we have?” (some of the degrees the team decided on: botany, biology, zoology, geology, marine science)
Louis

“We would need a high degree…lots of A+s!”
Lucy

Some of the comments made as we shifted into role:

“As you can see I’ve discovered a new ocean depth…..(showing a colleague some ‘work’ on one of the laptops)”
Max

“This new suit is quite tight and uncomfortable”
Julius

“I’m off to France soon for 2 weeks to study sea animals”
Georgia

Day Two: Activity 1: Continuing to add detail to our imaginary workplace

Today we continued to add detail to our imaginary workplace by putting drawings around the room, which we agreed to believe represented the real thing. We added computers, vases of flowers, paintings, a fish tank, bowls of chocolate chip cookies, and a coffee machine!