I would like to thank all of you who have participated in our blog assignments. I have found them to be uplifting, insightful, and inspiring. The collaborative learning process that we have been going through has taught me many valuable lessons. I have gained a great deal of knowledge from reading my colleagues blog posts, comments, and discussions throughout this semester. Thank you for your input and sharing your professional knowledge with me. It’s been a pleasure learning with you!

"Once children learn how to learn, nothing is going to narrow their mind. The essence of teaching is to make learning contagious, to have one idea spark another." - Marva Collins

Week Six Blog Assignment

For this week’s blog assignment I have been given several questions to answer. Below are those questions combined with my answers.

Are high-performing groups hardest to leave?

I am not sure how to answer this question. I think it would be difficult to leave a high-performing group. Accomplishing things give you a feeling of pleasure and importance.  Leaving a group like that would be hard because you would also be leaving behind that feeling of accomplishment.

Groups with the clearest established norms?

I think that groups that already have established norms in place would be easier to leave. They already have a “normal” way of adjourning and therefore, it is easy to leave. It is likely that you would feel closure leaving a group like this because you have already gone through the steps.  

Which of the groups that you participated in was hardest to leave? Why?

I would say that the playgroup that I attend is the hardest to leave. I feel this way because my son really enjoys being there and does not like to leave. He always gets upset when it’s time to go. He’s only one so I can’t really explain that we’ll be back next week.

What sorts of closing rituals have you experienced or wish you had experienced?

In a group setting, the closing rituals that I have experienced are pretty similar. The leader usually goes over the results of the meeting. Next they go over the things that should be accomplished before the next meeting. She/he then asks if anyone has any comments or concerns.  Finally they say something along the lines of “ok, see you guys next time”.

How do you imagine that you will adjourn from the group of colleagues you have formed while working on your master's degree in this program?

Getting a degree online is very different from getting a degree on campus. Because of this I will probably write some farewells on my colleague’s blog sites. I will thank them for their insights and how they have helped my grow professionally and personally through their stories and comments.

Why is adjourning an essential stage of teamwork?

Projects as well as conversations need closure for people to feel good or complete about them. Adjourning is a necessary phase of all meetings so that the team members know what is expected of them. 

In the past few weeks I have learned a lot about my personal communication styles. I have also learned how to be a more effective communicator. This week the focus was on conflict resolution. I explored several useful websites that were full of great tips and strategies on how best to resolve conflict. Some strategies I have learned in helping to resolve conflicts are:

o   Be aware of the whole picture

o   Try to understand the other person’s perspective

o   Think before you speak

o   Try to find more than one way to solve the issue

o   Take time to respond

o   Utilize empathetic listening

Here are two of the websites that I found to be the most helpful:

The Center for Nonviolent Communication:

https://www.cnvc.org

The Third Side website:

http://www.thirdside.org/

Do any of you have any suggestions or insights you gained this week pertaining to conflict resolution?