Group Communication Analysis with Apollo 13

In the speech text our district uses there is a unit on group communication. In classrooms around the nation, teachers are using group projects, group discussions, and other group activities to give variety to what is being taught. As I worked my way through the unit and the various group activities, I realized that my students were having difficulty understanding the concepts presented. They also had difficulty working in groups and accomplishing the tasks given to the group. I decided that they needed to see examples of group work outside the classroom, and to be able to analyze how the group was functioning.

When the movie Apollo 13 was released, I saw an opportunity to bring in a film and have the students analyze the group communication used by ground control and the astronauts in the space ship.

I began the unit by going through the different roles taken by members in a group, the steps in group problem solving, effective listening skills, and responsibilities of members in a group.

I then presented the students with the concept of a film that shows group communication in action, and distributed the following handout.

You will be watching the movie Apollo 13. As you watch the movie, you need to focus on how the two groups involved are functioning, and take notes that relate to the following questions. After the movie has finished, you will need to write a 5-paragraph essay that analyzes the group communications in the movie.

1. What group communication errors occur in the area of listening?

2. What group communication errors occur in the area of speaking?

3. Describe the difficulty that the ground crew had in explaining to the space crew what they needed to build?

4. How is stress evident in both the ground crew and the space crew?

5. Explain how the following roles were utilized both positively and negatively? (expert, supporters, questioners, compromisers, challengers, moderators, tension relievers)

6. Who were the leaders in the ground crew and the space crew?

7. Explain the feelings presented when the original crew is altered?

8. How is stress dealt with in the different groups?

9. Identify the problems encountered as the ground crew attempted to get the spacecraft and crew safely back to earth.

The essay that the students wrote needed to explore both the positive and negative aspects of group communication that they observed and how the group members could have made things go more smoothly. The essay was graded both on content as well as mechanics.

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