A note of Thanks: EDUC: 6165-7

Hello friends and colleagues of mine. I just wanted to post a little message of thanks and let you know how much I have appreciated your messages/posts. I have most certainly enjoyed reading your blogs as much as you have enjoyed reading mine. I have learned a lot from each of you and I plan to take my knowledge and apply it to my daily life in order to be a more effective listener, communicator, and to be the greatest future teacher I can be. Thanks again for making time to read my blogs! I wish you the best in your endeavors.

Team Development

Are high-performing groups hardest to leave? Groups with the clearest established norms? Which of the groups that you participated in was hardest to leave? Why? What sorts of closing rituals have you experienced or wish you had experienced? 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? Why is adjourning an essential stage of teamwork?

Forming, adjourning, performing, storming, and norming all play an important role in team work and working with others. I feel that each of the above are so important when working in teams and that they are critical in making effective decisions. I have participated in many types of groups. The hardest for me to leave was when I got together with a bunch of people from my job (I was working at a preschool at the time) and once a year we put together a HUGE indoor clothing sale. We took all types of donated items from parents (Clothes, toys, blankets, baby shoes, anything for a baby...) and we tagged every item to be sold. It was a lot of work but it definitely took team work. We made it fun. The way I will adjourn from the group of colleagues I have formed while working on my Masters degree in this program is just wishing them the best. I can/will also keep in touch with a few via facebook. "
Project teams exist only for a fixed period, and even permanent teams may be disbanded through organizational restructuring. As team leader, your concern is both for the team's goal and the team members. Breaking up a team can be stressful for all concerned and the "adjourning" or "mourning" stage is important in reaching both team goal and personal conclusions. The break up of the team can be hard for members who like routine or who have developed close working relationships with other team members, particularly if their future roles or even jobs look uncertain." (Manktelow, 2013) Adjourning is so essential in team work because it's the closing of togetherness. Seperating and breaking up is hard for some people who have worked closely with team members. Some people have a hard time saying goodbye.

Reference

Manktelow, J. (2013). Forming, storming, norming, and performing. Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_86.htm

Disagreements/Conflicts

• Think about any disagreements, or conflicts, you have recently experienced or are currently experiencing at work with a supervisor or colleague, or someone in your personal life. Share at least two strategies you have learned about that might help you manage or resolve the conflict more productively, and why these strategies might be effective. For example, could you suggest a compromise? Could you look for a broader range of solutions to your disagreement? Could you use some of the principles of nonviolent communication or the 3 R's to better help you resolve this conflict? I recently had a disagreement with a friend of mine about religion. She is very into religion, considers herself a "Christian" and attends church. My husband and I don't believe in God or practice religion in anyway, shape, or form. We ended up having a heated discussion about this topic. Two strategies that I have learned that might help manage or solve the conflict more productively are: 1.) Change the environment: Create an environment where people can express their feelings and concerns. High emotions will just make the situation worse. 2.) Be a good listener: Be open minded and listen to all parties point of view even if you don't agree. Take in what they are saying, even if you don't agree. Reassure the other party that they have been heard. Compromising is always a good alternative to resolving conflicts but not everyone knows how to compromise or likes to do that. Every individual is different. Some people are not up for compromising because they feel that they always have to be right so they tend to argue, get loud in dicussion in order to try and get there point across. Personally, I'm all for compromise. I think it's a positive way to resolve conflict. In this situation regarding religion it just didn't work out. In order to compromise both parties need to argree and be on the same page and my friend wasn't willing to do that with me. We continue to disagree on the topic and always will.
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