:School Canteen
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Approach: Team Level: Year 8 
Focus: Addressing organisational problems and developing rules
Resources: Video recording on laptop computer, 3 letters, answer sheet, agenda

Questions/instructions:
video script:

Morning break at school; students crowded in around the canteen counter, pushing to get to the front. Canteen manager is stressed and angry.
Terry makes it to the front of the queue and orders his lunch but a teacher pushes in. The canteen manager is much more pleasant to the teacher and forgets to record Terry’s order. Later in the day during the lunch break, after finishing his class monitor’s duties, Terry makes his way to the canteen to collect his pie. The canteen manager tells him there are none left and insists that he never placed an order. She checks her list and his name and order are not recorded. She unfairly implies that it is Terry’s fault and he is left with nothing to eat.

This activity uses the computer.
We’ll start this activity by watching a short video which shows that things are not going well at the school canteen.
Click the School Canteen button to start the video.
Some children have written letters to the school council complaining about the canteen. Imagine that you people are the school council, and you have been given the job of sorting out this problem. You have four things to do, which are listed on this card. I’ll read them through to you:
Show and read the agenda.
School Canteen Meeting Agenda
1. Read the letters and decide on the problems.
2. Talk about how the problems could be fixed.
3. Work out how you could let other students at the school have a say about how the problem should be fixed.
4. Agree on three good reasons why the council thinks there should be some rules.
During your meeting, you will need to write down what you have decided. At the end of the meeting I will act as a newspaper reporter. I’ll ask you to tell me what you have decided for the four things on the card. Each person in the team should help to tell me about your decisions. You have about 10 minutes for your meeting. Here are copies of letters to the school council, and paper for writing down your meeting notes.

Give students copies of the letters and the answer sheet.
Allow about 10 minutes for discussion.

Now imagine that I am a reporter for the school newspaper. I’m going to interview the school council. I’ll ask you to tell me about the four items on your card. You are to take turns in telling me what you have decided.


% responses
2005 (01)
-
y8
Involvement:
all members contributed substantially
55 (51)
  
all except one member contributed substantially
 
38 (42)
at least two members did not contribute substantially
 
7 (7)
Nature of decision-making:
most decisions made by consensus
 
40 (37)
  
some decisions made by consensus, others by acquiescence
(agreeing without protest)
  
57 (61)
many decisions left at least one member unhappy
 
3 (2)
Rejection of ideas and put-downs:
no unpleasant rejections
 
90 (88)
  
one or a few unpleasant rejections
 
8 (12)
quite a lot of unpleasant rejections
 
2 (0)
1. What were the problems at the canteen?  

How many of these issues have been clearly identified in the answer:

  

– orders not kept for people
– serving person not friendly
– people pushing in
– no good queueing arrangement
– teachers given priority/pushing in
– insufficient supply

  
 
4–5
 
31 (39)
2-3
 
67 (54)
1
 
2 (5)
none
 
0 (2)
2. How did you think the problems could be fixed?    
 
good ideas for most listed problems
 
49 (47)
good ideas for 2-3 problems
 
41 (41)
good ideas for 1 problem
 
8 (10)
no good ideas for solutions
 
2 (2)
3. How would you let the other students have a say about how the problems should be fixed?    

Overall merit of suggestions:
excellent/very good
 
15 (11)
 
good
 
20 (29)
moderate
 
53 (48)
poor
 
12 (12)
4. What are your 3 good reasons for having some rules?  

Overall merit of set of reasons:
excellent/very good
 
21 (23)
 
good
 
22 (19)
moderate
 
46 (51)
poor
 
11 (7)
Total score:
10–12
 
21 (21)
 
8–9
 
27 (23)
6–7
 
39 (42)
4–5
 
10 (10)
2–3
 
3 (4)
0–1
 
0 (0)
Commentary:
In general, the teams of year 8 students worked quite collaboratively, without significant conflict. The teams were much more effective in identifying problems and their solutions than in suggesting how other students could be involved in developing solutions. There was no meaningful change in performance between 2001 and 2005.
  
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