WK8 Blog

My colleagues have supported me throughout this course by leaving positive feedback on my blog assignments. Another way my colleagues have supported me was that some of them left questions as feedback on my blogs and this helps me to look up more information on what I wrote and become more knowledgeable. I think that I have supported them the same way as well by leaving feedback. I wish all my colleagues the best of luck with their future courses. 

Week 6

This week you read about the five stages of team development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. Consider the adjourning phase for several of the groups in which you have been involved. Think about which aspects of the groups made for the hardest good-bye.

 Are high-performing groups hardest to leave?

            I think that high performing groups are hardest to leave because the people in the groups start to form a strong bond with each other. It shows that they are all committed to their work and because they are committed they would rather stay with other. High performing groups also share a bond that goes beyond working with each other it goes into hanging out together. They build friendships that will last for a long time so this is why high-performing groups are hardest to leave I think. Groups with the clearest established norms are the ones that hardest to say goodbye because they all have the same ideas which makes it easy for them to establish a relationship.

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

            The group that I participated in that was the hardest to leave was the high performing group. This group was the hardest to leave because I felt that I had a bond with these people that went beyond a friendship. I felt that we built friendship that made us feel like we were close like family and that we could tell each other everything.

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

            The only closing ritual that I have experienced is everybody in the group meeting up together and just talking about how we enjoyed working with each other. The ritual that I would have liked to experience is for everyone to go out together and eat and get to know each other more outside of the group.      

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?

            I think that I will adjourn from the group of colleagues I have formed while working on my master’s degree in this program is that we will all build a strong relationship with each other and have more than just being colleagues.

Why is adjourning an essential stage of teamwork?

            Adjourning is an essential stage of teamwork because in order to do well in a group I think that everyone must get a long so that everyone can do great in the group.

Week 5

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 am a pretty outgoing person and one who does not really have any disagreements or conflicts. I have not recently or are currently experiencing any conflicts or disagreements at work with anybody. I remember having a conflict before at work and when I did it was because one of the employees was not doing work and I felt like I was doing all the work. My colleague did not want to do any work because she felt like she was new on the job so she didn’t have to do anything. I started to get frustrated because she only had one task to do was put up clothes. She had already been there for a few days and I think that she knew what to do by then. Although I knew nothing about the 3 R’s at the time I did stop and think to make sure I respect her because I wanted the same in reciprocal. I already had a relationship with her because she was my colleague.

Also, if appropriate, ask your colleagues for their input and advice regarding, if not specific problems, how they have learned to be more effective communicators as it relates to conflict resolution skills.

            How would you have handled this situation using the nonviolent communication?

My CommunicationSkills

After taking the assessments that were given for this week the two people that I got to evaluate me was my twin sister Myisha and my best friend Natasha. During the assessment I was not so surprised  how both of them perceived me because the way I perceived myself was the way they did as well. I know that for a fact I am not as great of a communicator as I would like to be. One reason that I am not as great of a communicator that I would like to be is because I take a very long time to get my point across sometimes. I always make a short story long and I lack in self confidence in some areas of communication. One being job interviews and another is talking in big groups. Natasha and Myisha tells me this all the time and I think that it is because they want me to gain those things and believe that I can make a long story short, do great in groups, and go into an interview being confident but not overly confident. As far as my verbal aggressiveness goes I tend to not say much to others around me when I need to.

One thing that I have learned during this week is that I need to make sure I get my point across when talking to others and be confident when doing so. Another thing that I have learned is that no matter what I need to  make sure I understand that practices makes perfect and I just need to effectively communicate with others and in certain situations. I think that when it comes to being verbally aggressive I always think about others before I say anything even if I am right and they are wrong in whatever situation it may be. I think it’s just because I don’t like confrontation.

Assgn 3 Week 3

Do you find yourself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures?

            No, I do not communicate differently with people from different groups and cultures. It does not matter about the different groups and cultures as long as we have a connection we are communicating on the same level. For example, I have a friend who is from Ethiopia and although her beliefs and religion is different from mine we communicate with each other just fine. I learn things about her background and she learns things from mine without either one of us passing judgment. We may disagree here and there but we are still friends who are learning. This goes for all people that I interact with whether it’s those of a different sexual orientation or varying abilities.

Based on what you have learned this week, share at least three strategies you could use to help you communicate more effectively with the people or groups you have identified.

            One strategy I could use to help me effectively communicate with people or groups I have identified is to use the Platinum Rule. Another strategy is for me to recognize that I am a cultural being and understand that I see cultures as being different. By doing this I would realize that it is okay to see other cultures as different as long as I am not putting anyone else culture down because of the way I feel about it. The last strategy that I could use to help me communicate more effectively with people or groups I have identified is to relate to others when I communicate with them.

Assgn 2 Week 2

Mob Wives

What do you think the characters' relationships are based on the ways in which they are communicating?

            I think that the characters relationships are not so good. Some of the characters seem to have a good relationship while the others seem to have a horrible relationship based on the way they are communicating. They seem to be yelling at one another based on how some of the women are using hand gestures and based on their facial expressions.

What are they feeling and expressing based on the nonverbal behavior you are observing?

            Based on the women nonverbal behavior they are upset and expressing anger towards each other.

What assumptions did you make about the characters and plot based on the ways in which you interpreted the communication you observed?

            Based on the assumptions that I have made I am correct about the character and plot. My assumptions were that they were upset with each other and that some got along with each other.

Would your assumptions have been more correct if you had been watching a show you know well?

            No because after watching this show I seem to have to gotten this show correct.

Write about your experience in your blog, including what you learned about communication from this experience and insights or "aha" moments you believe would be helpful to your colleague

            What I have learned about communication from this experience and insights is that you can tell a lot about how people communicate and feel based on their body language.

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that you have when you think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds (any format and any length)
 

            The hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds are that I would like them to learn about diversity all over the world and what it means to be diverse. I hope that I can teach them what it means to be diverse and that they will understand that diversity is something to be proud of.  I also hope that when working with these families and children I hope that we keep an open communication and that they are willing to learn open up with me and tell me all there is to know about their diverse background.

 One goal you would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice (any format and any length)

           
           One goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity is to meet more people around the world and learn about their diverse background. The goal I have for equity is that everyone I come in contact with treats me fairly and I will do the same in return. The goal I have for social justice is that whenever I teach children I would like to let them know that social justice is something we should all have more knowledge about and let children know that we all have rights and should be treated according to them.

 A brief note of thanks to your colleagues

            I would like to thank all of my colleagues for their post. I enjoyed reading them all. I also like the comments you guys post to my blog it shows that you took the time out to read my blog. I enjoyed reading your post and I wish all you guys the best in your future courses. Good luck!!!