CONGRATULATIONS! Your first job after graduating from college and you have landed a position in Human Resources working for P&G (Protein & Genome). Protein & Genomeis the top company in the areas of health care products and health education resources. They are one of the big up-and-coming blue chip stocks on the Fortune 500. You continually pinch yourself to make sure you are not dreaming about this amazing job opportunity. You are excited to put the expertise gained from your awesome education at RaymondWaltersCollege to excellent use. And to think, you will be working in Human Resources, which is such an incredible link to all that terrific stuff you learned in Psychology. Life is good. You are sitting on top of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Pyramid!!!
On your third day of work, you are relaxing in your cubicle, counting the number of ceiling tiles you have above your cubicle compared to that loser in the smaller cubicle next to you who also just graduated. You’re feeling pretty smug, realizing how many of your needs will now be actualized with your sweet paycheck, when your boss, J.E., steps into your cubicle. She motions to the “loser” in the neighboring cubicle to join you. J.E. looks at both of you and then motions to a couple of people from the other cubicles to join in this conversation.
“Ladies and Gentlemen”, she says, in that very authoritarian boss-like voice. “I have a project in which we need your expert assistance. It has come to my attention, that although P&G is a top-notch health care products business, many of our employees are suffering from a health condition that is impacting their productivity. This is serious business. As in all Fortune 500 companies, the bottom line is paramount. At P&G, we believe the bottom line is our people and their productivity. We can’t have our people’s productivity being compromised, especially by a health condition. Why, we would be the laughing stock of Wall Street! So, that is why I am here, to give you this enormously important project. Now, I know that some of you are rookies to the organization,” as she points to you and the loser, “but I expect all of you to contribute equally to this project. Any questions?”
Ah, Duh, you have like a hundred million questions, but your heart is pounding, you are starting to sweat, your breathing is rapid. Clearly your sympathetic nervous system has kicked into high gear. Suddenly, your awesome new job looks like it’s going to be really stressful. Just when you thought the stress of going to school and working part-time was over with graduation and you would be able to coast by only having to go to work, BAM, the boss lays this project on you. Life stinks. And really, what is this mysterious health condition? Just as you start thinking about different types of health conditions, you hearthe loser ask, “What health condition is affecting the productivity of the employees?” You think to yourself, what a loser, can’t he think of any health conditions on his own? The boss replies, “I’m glad you asked. I like employees who take charge and ask questions to gain more information. Well done. The health condition that is affecting so many of our employees is stress.” Stress? Stress, you think. That’s the serious health condition??!! Give me a break. Stress is life. You have experienced so much stress in your life, you’re practically an expert. You could write a book. This project will be a piece of cake. Stress is not that bad. What is J.E. thinking? Your parasympathetic nervous system has come back on line. You take a deep breath.
J.E.’s voice breaks through your thoughts, “In addition to our top-of-the-line health care products, P&G also produces well researched and user friendly health care information. I expect the same high quality of health education to be used on this ‘stress’ project within our organization. I don’t want any personal anecdotes about your stressful lives. I want you to educate our employees with solid research about the causes and results of stress. I also want you to tell the employees what is going on within their bodies when they are stressed and obviously, I want you to give them coping mechanisms; ideas and behaviors that can reduce their stress and thereby improve the productivity of P&G. I want some preliminary information about stress on my desk promptly at noon on Wednesday, May 24. The company-wide presentations of your stress education for the employees will be Wednesday, May 31 and Friday, June 2. O.K. go to it!”
Your sympathetic nervous system has just fired-up again and you’re feeling, in a word, STRESSED. How are we going to get all this information? How are we going to find all the latest research about stress? Who knows what goes on in the body? And coping mechanisms, how do we know that any of them will work? HELP! Maybe hanging out in Muntz lobby
in-between classes wasn’t so bad after all.
“You know,” says the loser, “we could get started on this project by using concept mapping. Concept mapping would help us organize the information we have been gathering and help us understand how these numerous concepts on stress are related and connected. We can download theconcept mapping program from We can insert weblinks from sites that are relevant to the concept. I think it is just the type of preliminary information that would impress J.E. You know, it is the latest in knowledge models.”
Yah, I heard about some classes at Raymond Walters that were using concept mapping. I seem to recall that most of my friends who took classes with concept mapping really liked it. In fact, I think some of them liked it so much they used it outside of class to study for exams. Maybe that guy in the cubicle next door is not such a loser afterall. O.K., I’ll give concept mapping a try for this stress project. I don’t have any better ideas and if J.E. will like it, isn’t that the bottom line?!
GROUP CONSIDERATION QUESTIONS
What do we know?
What do we need to know?
What is the project asking us to do?
END OF QUARTER DATES
Monday 5/15 Computer Room
Wednesday 5/17 Muntz 157
Friday 5/19 Computer Room
Monday 5/22Computer Room
Wednesday 5/24 Muntz 157 (Concept Map Due)
Friday 5/26 Computer Room
Wednesday 5/31 Muntz 157 (Presentations)
Friday 6/2 Muntz 157 (Presentations) LAST DAY!
Concept Map Grading Rubric
The descriptors on the top are based on a 4-point scale and are used to classify various characteristics of your map. The text beneath each descriptor identifies the general characteristics of submissions that fit within each descriptor. While it's unlikely that your submission will match these characteristics exactly, the rubric should give you some idea of what an "Excellent" submission looks like as opposed to one that is "Good," "Progressing," or even one that "Needs Attention."
In some cases your grade could fall between the descriptors. For example, if the Concept Identification and Annotation aspect of your map is somewhere between Good and Excellent, I could assign a point value of 12, or even 12.5, for that characteristic.
Concept Identification and Annotation / (13 points) Map is accurate and reflects evidence of careful thought and analysis. Map is detailed and includes specific examples when appropriate. Map identifies and annotates all key concepts discussed as part of the project. / (10 points) Map is accurate. Specific examples are provided, although they do not always indicate ability to apply knowledge correctly. Map identifies and annotates most concepts discussed as part of the project. / (7 points) Map requires more detail. Examples are present but do not reflect full understanding of subject matter. Many concepts discussed during the project are omitted from the map. / (4 points) Map is limited and reflects serious misunderstanding relative to concepts discussed as part of the project.
Connections and Relationships Among Concepts / (12 points) Direct connections among concepts are readily apparent. Connections demonstrate understanding of how concepts discussed as part of the project are related. / (9 points) Connections are readily apparent, but in some cases they reflect misunderstanding of how course content is related. / (6 points) Some connections are missing. In many cases, connections reflect misunderstanding about how course content is related. / (3 points) No attempt is made to connect concepts. No effort is made to demonstrate how course content is related.
Overall Submission / (5 points) Map is free of mechanical errors. Cmap Tools is used to prepare the map. / (4 points) Map includes a few mechanical or grammatical errors, but overall submission reflects careful proofreading effort. Cmap Tools is used to prepare the map. / (3 points) Submission includes several mechanical errors. Cmap Tools is used to prepare the map, but the software is not used effectively. / (2 points) Submission is marginal in terms of the "college-level effort" standard and offers no evidence of proofreading effort.
Points available: / 30