Goals:  To teach students various types of communication, and the  importance of communication and shared goals. To demonstrate the effects of different perceptions through group development and cooperation.

Abstract:  The Mystery Monster is a cooperative learning experience that enables students to work together towards a common goal.  Within each group the members work together through various means of communication to construct a “monster” that resembles one constructed by the teacher using the foam building toys called Toobers And Zots.  Each group member has a specific role with specific rules they must follow in order to achieve their common goal of constructing the monster in a cohesive manner.

Materials:  Foam building toys Toobers and Zots.  These can be purchased at most toy stores, particularly educational toy stores.  In order to have enough materials for a classroom, several boxes may be required.  Paper and pencil for each group should also be provided.

Procedures:
1.  The students in the classroom should be divided into groups of five.  In order to promote group heterogeneity the students could count off from 1 to 5.

2.  Once in groups of 5, the teacher should number the group members 1 through 5 once again.  This time the teacher should then explain that these numbers represent the roles the members will have in their groups.

3.  The teacher will then inform the students that #1’s will be the “looker”, #2’ will be the “drawer”, #3’s will be the “buyer”, #4’s will be the “builder”, and #5’s (and any extra group members) will be the “walker.”

4.  The teacher will then explain what each role entails, including the rules that accompany each role.
5.  The looker is the only group member who can view the Mystery Monster created by the teacher, which will be kept in a secluded area hidden from the rest of the members in the different groups (e.g. hallway).

The walker(s) will go between the looker and the drawer.  The walker(s) will verbally communicate with the looker who will describe what the Mystery Monster looks like explaining the shapes and colors of the pieces and how they are put together.  The looker and the walker(s) will engage in two-way communication in order for the looker to explain what the Mystery Monster looks like to the walker(s).

The walker(s) will then go to the drawer and explain how the looker described the Mystery Monster.  The walker(s) and the drawer will engage in a one-way communication process.  The walker(s) will relay the information from the looker to the drawer so the drawer can sketch the Mystery Monster on the piece of paper based on the description.  The drawer may not talk to the walker(s).  The walker(s) may make suggestions or verbal corrections to the drawer based on how the drawer is sketching the Mystery Monster.

The drawer will then engage in non-verbal communication with the buyer.  The buyer will look at the drawer’s sketch of the Mystery Monster and go to a table that is set up with the Toobers and Zots from the building kits.  The buyer will choose the pieces he/she perceives as necessary to construct the Mystery Monster.  The drawer and the buyer cannot talk to each other.

The buyer will bring the pieces to the builder and explain how the builder should construct the Mystery Monster.  The buyer and the builder will engage in two-way communication. The builder and the buyer can talk to each other but only the builder can construct the Mystery Monster.

6.  Once the rules are explained, the students should be set up at various stations around the room.  The lookers should each be positioned near the doorway so that they can go in and out of the hallway to look at the Mystery Monster and then meet with the walker(s) to describe the Mystery Monster.  The lookers should be separated enough so their explanations to their walker(s) cannot be heard by the other lookers and walkers.  The looker can view the Mystery Monster as many times as they want.
The walker(s) can go back and forth between the looker and the drawer as many times as they feel necessary to communicate the construction of the Mystery Monster.  The drawers should be positioned separately throughout the room, and separate from their own builders so that the buyer can go back and forth between the drawer and the builder to view the drawing, make trips to the buying table, and communicate to the builder.

7.  Once all of the rules are explained the teacher should make sure all of the students understand the directions.  The class should then be instructed to begin the activity.  The groups can engage in continuous communication processes until the teacher informs the class that it is time to reconvene.  The activity should go on for about 15 to 20 minutes depending on the age level and skill of the students.  Each group will then share their own monster with the rest of the class.  The teacher will then bring in the real Mystery Monster so the groups can see how much their monsters resemble the Mystery Monster.

8.  The teacher should then facilitate a discussion with the class on the activity dealing with the methods of communication, as well as successes and challenges within the group process, and how perceptions affect the process.

Positive Interdependence:  The students must each play a role and directly depend on each other in order to achieve their goal in a communicative and productive manner.

Individual Accountability:  This is built into the activity in that each individual group member contributes to the construction of his or her group’s monster.  If one individual does not effectively fulfill his or her role, than the success of the entire group could be jeopardized.

Social Skills:  The group members must use various social skills in order to communicate with each other throughout the activity.  The students use different types of communication including two-way, one-way, and non-verbal communication.  The students must use social skills to productively engage in these forms of communication to work together towards their common goal.

Face-to-Face Interaction:  The students engage in this type of interaction in each step of this activity.  Each group member engages in face-to-face interaction with another group member in the communicative processes involved in the construction of the monster.

Heterogeneous Grouping:  This is achieved by the students counting off by 5 in the beginning of the activity in order to divide into groups.  Through this method, students will be encouraged to work with classmates who they may not typically choose to work with.

Evaluation:  The students will be evaluated on an individual basis and as a group by the permanent product of their group’s monster and its resemblance to the teacher’s Mystery Monster.  If the group worked effectively together, then their monster should look like the Mystery Monster.

Processing:  This activity will be processed by the class as a whole through an open discussion facilitated by the teacher at the end of the activity.  The class should discuss issues such as the communication processes that took place within each group, and the challenges that the groups faced.  The students should also discuss positive aspects of their group experiences and what they have learned from the Mystery Monster activity.  The students should also discuss how the concept of perception played into the activity and influenced communication and the construction of their group’s monster.

Considerations:  The age level of the students as well as social skills should be taken into consideration when implementing this cooperative learning lesson.

The Schmucks’ concepts of leadership, expectations, group development, and especially communication relate to the Mystery Monster cooperative learning lesson.  Within the individual groups, although each member had a different role, the group members may find that one particular member took on a leadership role.  Also, across groups, students may find that one particular role took on a leadership position within all of the groups.

In terms of expectations, each group member had the expectation that their fellow group members were fulfilling their role in the best interest of the group.  In addition, individuals will have self-expectations about how they should perform in the lesson.  Hopefully the lesson will contribute positively to the student’s self-efficacy.

The concepts of group development and communication are directly involved in the Mystery Monster lesson.  Group development occurs naturally throughout this activity from the time the groups are established and roles assigned, to the completion of the monster and the follow-up discussion.  The various methods of communication that are employed in this activity contribute to group development as well as the discovery of the effects of communication in a group process.
Sapon-Shevin’s concepts of communities, setting goals, and working together to learn relate to the Mystery Monster cooperative learning lesson.  The groups are established as communities in and of themselves within the classroom community.  The group communities must then embrace their goal of building their own monster to resemble the Mystery Monster, and engage in the separate communication processes that occur to achieve this goal.

Throughout the entire lesson the group works together to achieve their goal, and in doing so the students learn how to engage in various methods of communication and learn how perceptions can influence communication and the achievement of a group goal.  The follow-up discussion at the end of the lesson should also serve as a forum for the students to discuss how their groups worked together to achieve their goal.