Thank You!!!!!

I just want to take the time to acknowledge all of my colleagues in EDUC 6165. Thank you for sharing your ideas, insights, and personal experiences. Because of all of you, this course was informative and I have learned a lot about communication. My communication skills have improved tremendously and I plan to use them in my professional and personal life.

Congratulations on being one step closer to completing the program and I wish all of you the best!

Thanks again,
Krista

Group Development (Adjourning)

Before reading about the stages of development, I did not give much thought to the adjourning stage. In most of my group experiences, the adjourning stage consisted of simply saying good-bye. We never really discussed the success of the group or how well we accomplished our goal/s.

However looking back, the groups that are the hardest for me to leave are the ones that are high performing. In these types of groups everyone is committed to the group and completes the tasks assigned to them. These groups are hardest to leave because all of its members function well, making the goal/s easier to accomplish. When a group functions well, everyone benefits from the diversity of ideas, and it decreases the individual work load of its members. During the adjourning stage of one of my high performing groups, the closing ritual consisted of me and another member exchanging numbers and becoming friends. In fact, we are still best friends today. Although that was a good experience for me, I wish that more of my closing rituals consisted of the group discussing how well we thought we accomplished the goal/s of the group. Reflecting over our performance would be a great way to see what improvements our group could make for the next time we have to work together. This is one reason why the adjourning stage is essential to teamwork. It is also essential to teamwork because it gives closure to the group and allows others to express their thanks and appreciation to other members of the group.

I imagine that I will adjourn from my colleagues in this program by thanking them for offering their diverse ideas, opinions, and suggestions that enhanced my learning experience. Finally, I plan to congratulate and wish them the best as they continue to serve young children and their families.

Managing Conflcit Effectively

It seems that I am always dealing with conflict situations when it comes to my family. I have learned some great strategies this week that will help me to solve the conflict and make it productive. One strategy that I already use is compromise. I am usually willing to compromise to keep the peace, and because the conflict is not of great importance to me. However, when conflicts do arise that cause major problems, we tend to yell in order to make sure we are heard. I have learned that the best thing to do in these situations is to listen actively. Active listening allows everyone involved to gain control of their emotions. The listener is able to gain an understanding of the other person's feelings, which allows the speaker to feel like they are being heard. This strategy will definitely help me and my family to hear each other and stop yelling.

Conflict resolution skills have helped me to be a better communicator because it teaches strategies that allows one to express their feelings without offending others ("I" statements) and how to listen and understand the feelings of others (asking questions and summarizing their feelings). How have conflict resolution skills helped you to become a better communicator?