Essay On Reflective Reflection

2.2 Explain how you prepare an environment that is conducive to the functioning of the group

First of all, to be put in a group of individuals that I had never met or interacted with before was always going to be difficult. The process of getting to know them better and finding the strengths and weaknesses of each team member was hard at first but the more we worked on the presentation, the better we became at communicating and getting the

The five stages of developing groups is an important part of the position. In many cases it is the relationships that a person will have with other individuals who will determine the best members to put into the different groups. As well, the different skill sets that individuals have are also an important part in placing group members together. The observation of the first groups placed together will be a good gauge in learning how some of the individuals work and observing how others work well together. The group size should be eight to 10 people to facilitate greater ease of equal participation among the individuals.

Working in a group to achieve a high quality group project can be one of people’s most difficult school experiences. Working in a group is tough because there is often someone who does not pull their own weight. “There are five stages to group development, adjourning, forming, storming, performing, and norming” (John & Wiley pg 166). Christine’s group from the Case Study the Forgotten Group Member is in between the Storming and Norming Stages. The Storming Stage “is dealing with tensions and defining group tasks,” while the Norming Stage is dealing with high emotionality and tension among the group members” (John & Wiley pg. 166). Christine and her group could have had better

However, if we spent a few moments to get to know each other a bit better, we might find that bonding a positive component in working together in this group and completing assignments. Individuals in group G have expressed their concern with another class group they have and how the communication is not flowing as it does in this group. They are frustrated and overwhelmed with the issues that are problematic in the other groups. There has been descriptions of social loafing and levels of conflict in discussing some of the issues the individual group members have expressed. One of the main complaints is based on how they communicate which is a slow process if only done via email, which one of the group mates has express of how they

We made sure to stay onto of our work and were able to go back and help other group member who worked after us with their parts as well. Because we worked through Google Drive, we were able to all work on the project equally at the same time. We all logged in, created our slides, added our information and picture, and left comments for one another on there. Bhavik introduced me to a new meaning to the quote, ”I don’t want to see you—die—trying not to suffer,” which I was able to later use in my presentation (Baldwin 264). I set up a group text message so we were able to ask each other questions and stay connected at anytime. Our group also met up in the library the morning before presenting so we could discus how we would present to the class. Working in the group setting was very important because we were able to hear each other’s different interpretations of scenes we did not understand or scenes we analyzed

Reflecting on experience is an important capability for an individual to be able to move forward. As (SOURCE) said, “(CONTEXT”). Moreover, individuals ought to be able to work not only individually, but also to work together in a group. Working with other people, especially whom you have not known is not as easy as it seems. In fact, it is quite difficult to develop an effective team. Through this reflection essay on the group presentation that I did last Monday, I have become more aware of useful strategies to deal with issues and understand what could be improved for future presentations. Developing teamwork skills is am important benefit for me as future professional workers.

Barker, L. L., Kathy,J., Wahler, K. W., Watson, R and Kibler, J ( 1987) Groups in Process: Introduction to Small Group Communication, 3rd edition. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N J

In this group project, I had a major role in ensuring that it came together in a unified way. Generally, I usually take a leadership role in group projects so I was the central person coordinating group meetings and ensuring sufficient communication. To begin the project, we divided up the work by assigning people to work on the case study, find literature, summarize the textbook, and talk to key informants. My assigned part was to summarize the textbook, which also ended up lending itself to finding some additional sources to build on what the textbook was lacking. In regard to the group literature and informant summary, I ended up writing most

To analyse the presentation and teamwork I need to be able to understand everyone has different experiences and different ways of working and had their own view on teamwork. My confidence grew as I got to know the team. Giving the presentation has helped me with my confidence, which I will need when I am working in the health care. I have also learned to speak up more and encourage others to take part when they where being quiet and not pulling their weight. It was good to do research using the appropriate methods, looking at journals and professional sites. I managed to hold it together during the presentation in front of everyone. I knew the presentation was not going to go as well has it could due to the lack of practice. The reason I was so nervous was

Tuckman proposes that groups develop via five stages; forming, storming, norming, performing and finally adjourning (Archee, Gurney, & Mohan, 2013a). The first stage, known as forming, involves clarifying the task and purpose of the group, and identifying boundaries of both the task and interpersonal behaviour (Archee et al., 2013a). For the presentation task we were randomly allocated into groups. This worried me greatly as I have struggled in the past with group members who do not contribute equally or see the task as important as other group members. To avoid this problem, the group collectively determined and agreed upon a number of ground rules. For example, we decided that all group members were expected to contribute equally to the presentation, all group members were expected to attend and contribute at all group meetings, and all group members would adhere to agreed upon deadlines. Having failed to do this in previous group assignments, this clarification stage

Working in a group can be very difficult at times. Different people with different views may not always agree which one another. Throughout the various task I played the communicator. I made sure everyone was on track on what we wanted to do. I also made sure people was okay and happy in the role they was playing in the group. My group worked together in collecting ideas from one another and making it into one.

The group process was not as smooth as I was expecting it to be. It is humorous how friendships are jeopardized when one’s grade is on the line. I would admit that most of us had research done way ahead of time, however we did not put the presentation together until the night before the due date. Everyone was not on the same page, and everyone was not working at the same pace which stressed people out, and produced an in-subgroup. At first, Christina and I talked about how we were both concerned that we will not do a good job because not everyone was on the same page. Then the first sub-group formed when Diana and Christina were uncertain that Stavros will be able to finish his portion of the presentation. They were irritated because he wanted to finish his work the next morning and everyone wanted to be done the night before. That tension shortly faded away when everyone got really busy. Ironically, Stavros was done before Diana. She was still working on her portion of the presentation up until ten minutes before the class. That was not a problem since she made her part of the presentation look very lively and interactive with the audience as well. We monitored each other’s progress through the use of Google Docs. I was able to see where everyone was at because we were all working on the same file simultaneously. Our performance standards were not strict, since we the only thing we wanted to make sure of is that we did not go over

When this course started, I didn’t know what to expect. Quickly did I learn that it was more than just about a single individual and his or her ideas and behaviours. As the course progressed, I learned that it was very important to understand how small groups work. Reflecting upon my personal journey with my group, I have learnt that working in small groups requires commitment, synergy, communication, listening, conflict resolution and decision making and problem solving. This brings me upon my personal journey with my small group and how I have learned to work in such an environment.

The aim of the reflective essay is to highlight my own personal development skills that I have developed during first semester of my module. However, in this report I will make sure my learning ability phase and what this module has allowed me to work and understand in improving my personal skills and purpose. My major aim is to develop and assess an in depth range of my personal traits as a student in order to endorse my future development plan.