Reflection On Group Dynamics

Learning how to work effectively in a group situation is key to success in many professions as well as in social situations. Groups vary from each other based on the individuals that make up each group, all of us belong to various groups at one time or another. The roles that we fulfill vary from group to

For this reason, I was nervous at the beginning of the semester and I didn’t know what to expect. I had faith that since I am in college now, everyone would be able to get along and act like an adult. I have never been the type to take complete control, but I also have never been the type to not put in any effort while my team does all of the work. I know that I can get along with others and be respectful of everyone’s opinions or corrective criticism, which are both essential traits when dealing with collaborative work.

This project has been a very enlightening experience on how you have to sometimes let go of the control and let someone else take over. My grade will be based on a group effort instead of my own individual work and that really did leave me feeling uncomfortable especially since we were not allowed to choose who was in my group and who shouldn’t be in my group. I am lucky to say that after really speaking and interacting with my group members, Luna and Lasheika, I felt a lot more secure in my grade for this project. That is not to say we did not have any problems. At first, we had some technical difficulties that resulted in Luna not being able to communicate through group text but she

I was reluctant to tackle the amount of group work that was required, but I found it to be most pleasant working with my peers who were excited as I was to investigate the jail system in Dutchess county. Contrarily, I always found that doing assignments myself was always better than the alternative—group projects. I was never usually paired with individuals that had the same work ethic that I had, and often found them difficult to accomplish. However, doing this presentation with the group I was assigned with was a positive experience for me.

Describe how your experience of the leading, participating in, or observing groups have informed or influenced you regarding your own group leadership skills, leadership style, and perception about groups;

An important part of our learning and growing experience must stem from our ability to analyze and reflect upon the groups that we have been members in. This reflection can define our understanding of the weaknesses both in ourselves and in the others within our group; and it can help to shape the way that we act in future groups. Adjusting ourselves to compensate for our weaknesses, based upon an honest and thorough examination of our actions within a group setting, is one of most important thing for any person to do. It is only through this evaluation that we can improve ourselves and our interactions with others. This paper will examine a group that was required to make an important decision about adding a new member

A chairperson needs to understand group dynamics when chairing a meeting simply because of the human condition. People are not robots, they have emotions and sometimes those emotions can cause us to do things disruptive to meetings such as being loud, being quiet, taking control, distracting others, being distracted and showing no respect.

I believe this assignment has been a true learning experience thus far. In my current position, I am assigned to various committees in which we must work together to accomplished established goals and objectives. I have noticed that on occasions group assignments can have a negative impact on moral. I believe that these negative experiences were influencing my opinions as it pertains to group projects and working with teams. As of now, I can honestly say that working in my group has been a pleasant learning experience. I can see how we are going through various stages as the due date for the finalized product comes to fruition. We easily formed an initial group and divided ourselves into two parts with little to no resistance. As we made that shift I did have some preconceived ideas that it may not go as smooth as I

Not sure how to answer the first question, I mean "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink it." considering the keys to success in groups, is strong communication base. Especially online, when we hardly meet in person. Likewise, one of the major challenges is communicating, despite how vital, it is. I comprehend what is expected in this course. The group presentation is great; it helps out with the learning. Nonetheless, maybe have the deadline sooner? possibly it can incentives each person more. Steps that I can proceed, to improve my learning. Could be by asking more questions about topics for the assign chapters. And also, collaborating ideas with fellow student. Perhaps having the cutoff date on Thursday, instead of Sunday?

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

Each individual is categorized into a group from the day they were conceived. According to Kozier et al (2010) a group is “two are more people who have shared need and goals, who taken each other in account in their and who, thus, are held together and set apart from others by virtue of their interaction” (p. 400). The communicate that takes place between members of the group is group dynamic (Kozier et al, 2010). Motivation for participation and similarity of other group members and the goals of the group will affect the group dynamic (Kozier et al, 2010). The type of group that was created was a task group and Kozier et al (2010) stated that “the focus for such group is completion of a specific task, and the format is defined at the

Participations in small in-class groups which purpose was to accomplish a task assigned to us by our Professor, were the most powerful learning experiences for me. In developing common focus, as stated in Gitterman and Germain (2008), members need to establish group rules and also remember to “build on one another’s contributions, identify and focus on salient collective themes, invite expression of differences” (p. 174), as well as welcome opinions which are contradictory or different from the majority.

The nature of this Chemistry course has allowed me to learn not only the content, it has also facilitated extensive personal awareness and growth. At the beginning of the semester, I was wary of the group-learning style of the class as well as working in groups in general. Prior to taking this course, I have struggled to work effectively in groups because I like to have control over my learning. This class has allowed me to practice working in groups every class which has improved my teamwork skills exponentially. The regular feedback that I receive has helped me to become more aware of my strengths and my weaknesses and how to improve.

I used to believe that I did not perform very well in groups. I am an observer who likes to learn alone. I thought I learned best when I worked on my own. Even though I always knew group work had many positive values, I was more comfortable with the lecture-based approach and resisted group work merely because it involved change, not because it had a collaborative learning approach. However, during the learning community project, I came to realize that I learn more effectively when I work in groups. Working in a group was like an adventure for me; there were both exciting and challenging times while preparing for the learning community project.

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.