Positive Member Roles In High School

This role has strengthened my leadership skills exponentially. I am responsible for conducting meetings, planning events, and acting as liaison between teachers and students. Contributing to my school is very important to me.

An example of one of my leadership roles was on the first day of class. I was chosen to lead in a group communication. We were presented with an assignment on characteristics of group communication. The assignment involved factors and behavior that contributed to our group. We determined that communication was the most important factor. The skills the group had to establish were a common goal, working together in small groups, and synergy. See Chapter 1. Another example of a leadership role was on the discussion panel project. The project was very challenging and labor intensive. We learned how technology and computer-mediated technology effect communication. See Chapter 15.

| Groups also have members who play certain social roles: * Encourager: Praises the ideas of others. * Harmonizer: Mediates differences between group members. * Compromiser: Moves group to another position that is favored by all group members. * Gatekeeper/expediter: Keeps communication channels open. * Standard Setter: Suggests standards or criteria for the group to achieve. * Group observer: Keeps records of group activities and uses this information to offer feedback to the group. * Follower: Goes along with the group and accepts the group 's ideas (Roles in Groups, 1999).

- There are three main roles that a group member can fill, each with their own variations: task oriented, socioemotional, and destructive.

I personally think I took on the roles of co-ordinator, team leader, monitor-evaluator and completer (Hartly, 2010 p.6), for example, I was the first to comment on the wiki and continue with the groups week to week activities to keep the group moving forward. I also kept the wiki up to date, while also making sure everyone was on task with the assessment. Even though it was a long drawn out process, I tried to get everyone collaborating on the group wiki provided and also took the lead to keep in contact with our eLA about the progress of a team, due to complications with team members not showing or disappearing through the

Group Members & Responsibilities/Work (What was each person responsible for/what did they do? Include yourself.)

In some of the other activities, I was working as a member however, I have to take control of the situation as I built a general understanding of the group work and do take leadership role in the group whenever required. (Belbin, 2010, pp 65)(Henny, 2008, pp501)

As shadow president, I assisted the president in the various duties they had, so I could learn what goes on at board meetings and what it really takes to run the program. My duties mainly included creating buddy friendly activities for each meeting, finding and printing coloring pages for when the members are completed with the activity, and going around and making sure no one was sitting alone at any time. As social media chair, I sent out all of the messages from the board to all of the members. This included the dates and locations of our monthly chapter meetings, reminding peer buddies to submit their friendship updates, as well as informing members of our upcoming group trips, whether it was to go bowling or to the school sports games.

The 10 I got in this category accurately describes me, because I tend to be actively involved in discussions and trying to get everyone's ideas heard. As a gatekeeper, I encourage and facilitate participation within the group to ensure all team members contribute to the project. I feel the 12 that I got in this category accurately represents me because I am always trying to get everyone involved. As a harmonizer, I manage the group discussions and mediate conflicts while reducing tension. The 12 I got in this category is accurate of me because I manage the group discussion while ensuring conflicts do not erupt. As an initiator, I am efficient in setting group goals and looking for ways to work on these goals. This leadership role describes me somewhat because I do like to take charge when possible. As a summarizer with a 12, I feel that taking notes and summarizing meetings fits me well. I found this to be a surprise because summarizers usually tend to be non-leaders. I generally opt for a more leadership oriented position.

When we first started this assignment, the member roles were not very clear. But after a few weeks, everyone started to fill in most of the 12 roles provided in the "Interpersonal and Group Dynamics" textbook. Bjorkquist, B. (2011). Chapter 10 Evaluation: Improving Your Group's Performance. In <i>Interpersonal and Group Dynamics</i> (Second Edition ed., pp. 149-151). Toronto. Benjamin's role of the group was in my opinion, the leader role. He most of the time came up with the meetings, how to get involved with our project ect.

The group I was part of first was the simulation group. The role I was suppose to play was Coordinator. Although I wasn't sure I played the part well, as I wasn't sure how play as one to be quite frank.

According to the Common Core of Leading CT School Leadership Standards, “Education leaders ensure the success of achievement of all students by managing organizational systems and resources for a safe, high-performing learning environment.” Safety takes on a variety of roles and it is important for school leaders to ensure that the students feel safe in the school environment. This includes emotional safety as well as physical safety. According to Expectation 3, leaders should believe in, value, and be committed to “A physically and emotionally safe and supportive learning environment.” As a future leader, safety is something I take very seriously and am honored to have had the opportunity to become part of the team that trains North Haven staff on how to handle

In my opinion, it is important to be able to play a variety of roles in a group dynamic. Throughout preparing for Homecoming, as well as at Homecoming event, a multitude of teamwork settings will arise. In each instance, there will be individuals who are more experienced or knowledgeable about the situation; it is important for these individuals to lead the group and ensure that everyone is informed about how to best approach the task at hand. Having experience in many group settings, I am comfortable with a variety of roles in a group dynamic. I know when I have the knowledge to lead a group, and I also know when I am less experienced and need guidance from a leader. This balance in a group provides for efficiency and success.

For example, some teachers use an interactive chant that incorporates positive affirmation with physical movement and unique sounds. A teacher after watching the movie the “300” about an army of Spartans who overcame overwhelming odds, came into class one morning and told his inner city high school class that they are modern day Spartans and showed a clip from the movie. He told the students that they too have to overcome odds daily to survive and one way of surviving is through education. So each morning he had them engage in a warrior chant:

I experienced most of the positive member roles when I joined a course in modern teaching methods.