Collaborative Learning Community

During these past 8 weeks I feel like my collegues have greatly supported me, through their constructive comments, and criticism as they have analyzed my work in all of the assignments. I too hope that I have helped in supporting and assisting their own growth during assignments by providing questions, dialogue, and new insights on thier work throughout the course. By collaborating together on assignments we have provided additional unique perspectives beyond just the professors commentary that I know for me personally has given me a broader view on the issues and concepts in this course.

It is my wish for my collegues as they entered into their specializations and continue down their professional path to truly incorporate all of the vital knowledge throughout these courses into thier lives and careers. Concepts of communication, collaboration and cultural competency skills are needed in our profession and in our world more then ever, so utilizing what we have learned and teaching others is so important.

Good luck to everyone in their future endeavors both personally and professionally!

I wish to keep in contact so here is my personal email ashav11@msn.com

The Adjourning Phase

Several groups that I have had the opportunity to be involved have a bittersweet aftermath when it comes to adjourning. The majority of my classmates that were within my major when I was completing my B.S, had accomplished success in umany projects together including the full operations of a mentoring program with a neighboring inner city high school and fashion shows for inner city youth. One of the hardest parts about saying goodbye upon graduation was knowing that many of the friendships I had made and people I had seen on a daily basis would be lessened. Fortunately, I was able to maintain many of the friendships that I had made, and continue to do so today. "Members may also opt yo maintain friendships even if they will no longer be working together. " (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2012 p.258) I think that high performance groups are definitely harder to leave as the positive cohesion of the group, and efficiency in accomplishment can create a comfortable climate, in which the group members may feel wary about leaving such a functional group. "Cohesion is a important factor in generating a positive group temperament or climate in which members take pride in the group, treat each other with respect, feel confident about their abilities and achieve higher success in accomplishing goals." (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2012 p.269) The Closing rituals I have been a part of include, graduations, dinners, and even parties that were celebratory towards the successful end of an endeavor. I would imagine the adjourning of this particular group of collegues to end via our blogs due to the online capacity of this school. However, I would like to think that I may meet some of my fellow collegues during the final graduation ceremony for those who are in the same state as me, and would be a perfect finish to the program.

The aspect of adjourning provides an opportunity for closure and the ability for the group to be able to reflect on positive accompliments, or mishaps that may have occurred.  Although bittersweet, it gives everyone in the group to be positive in their reflections, as well as their own contributions that had been made to the group.

References

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Conflict Resolution

I can think of many conflicts that could be resolved with strategies learned this week towards solving issues more effectively. Recently, I had a small disagreement with a parent regarding their behavior in my classroom, humoursly the mom had an issue with her 4 year old son, playing in housekeeping with dolls, and barbies. She preceded to yell at him and take the toy from him each time she entered the classroom. Upon speaking with her after school privately she stated that she did not want her child playing with "girl toys", and became angry that I replied that all children including boys play with many different gender toys/roles as they explore the world around them. The conversation was not really resolved at the end and although she refrained from the yelling and aggression within the classroom, I could still tell she was upset by the situation. One strategy that might be helpful in this situation is to take some tips from the "third side" in viewing other's perspectives. I think that listening from the "third side" would be helpful towards really understanding and considering the mothers point of view. "Listening allows us on opportunity to see from multiple vantage points and allows us to see the whole. Listening is a simple way to show respect. Watch your intention in your listening. If your intention to listen is to find a way to convince them of "your way" , to prove them "wrong" or "convert the right side," you will not create an opportunity for a solution that supports each side and the surrounding community." (The Third Side. nd.)

Another strategy that could have been helpful is to seek understanding first before relaying my own point of view. "If we encourage others to explain their side first, they will be more apt to listen to ours."(Billikopf, G. 2009)

References

Billikopf, G. (2009, August). Conflict management skills. Retrieved from http://cnr.berkeley.edu/ucce50/ag-labor/7labor/13.htm

Website: The Third Side. (n.d.). The third side. Retrieved from http://www.thirdside.org/