2.00b Toy Product Design

Care Bear Connection

A team is a collection of individuals with varied skills, knowledge, resources, and life experiences. Being dependent on each other presents challenges as well as opportunities for collaboration, efficiency, and creativity. Studies suggest that when teammates feel safe and supported they are likely to engage in more creative problem-solving, which can strengthen collaboration and innovation (references 1 and 2). In turn, a compassionate team environment may not only help improve wellbeing, but make the design experience more innovative and successful. To help foster compassion, creativity, and success in your team, we invite you to be a 2.00b Care Bear!

What is a Care Bear?

Being a Care Bear means making yourself available to support your teammates. Each team member will serve as an official Care Bear for one week this term. This is an important part of the 2.00b experience. Each Care Bear week starts at the beginning of a lab meeting.

How do I sign up for my Care Bear week?

During your lab on February 14-16, each team member will select a week. Be sure to add your selected week to your calendar.

What do I do as a Care Bear?

At the start of your week, after your lab, post a message of support for your teammates on your team's Slack channel. The content (words/images) and length of the post are entirely up to you. Be sure to include "@channel" to make sure all your teammates see your post. After posting to Slack, a teammate might ask for your support. Whether they are experiencing academic or emotional struggles, you will likely not be able to solve their challenges, but you can listen, brainstorm together, and/or suggest resources on campus. If no one responds to your post, that's okay too! They'll know that you're available, and hopefully your post will make them feel supported. At the end of your assigned week, pass the Care Bear stuffie on to your team's next Care Bear at the beginning of the lab session.

What if I don't know my teammates very well?

You'll be getting to know your teammates better throughout the semester. Although you might not know your teammates' lived experiences, you're going through a shared experience together at MIT. This is an important connection, and there is strength in solidarity. Keep in mind that some of your teammates may be hesitant about reaching out to a teammate and sharing their struggles. This discomfort may also serve as a point of connection, as you might feel anxious about offering support to your teammates, particularly those you don't know very well.

Helpful Tips:

• Being a Care Bear is all about you and your teammates; this is not about pleasing the instructors.
• Be authentic in your Slack post; don't be concerned with "academic" or "formal" language.
• As with any electronic communication, assume that your post may be shared with others.
• There is absolutely no requirement to respond to a Care Bear's offer of support.

Questions?

If you have any questions about being a Care Bear, please contact our communication instructor Jared for help.