Thank all of you in EDUC 6165 Comm & Collab

I wanted to take the time to say a huge thank you to all of you! Many of us have been in all of the same courses throughout our Walden journey. Some of us have had a couple courses together or this was our first course together. Regardless of when or how often we have worked together, your input and support has been invaluable. All of you have helped me look at issues in ways I did not consider or you helped me expand on my current thinking.  I truly appreciate each and every one of you!
Feel free to stop by my blog anytime to say hi, ask a question, or to work on something together. You can also reach me using my email address: trishy0302@gmail.com 

 I hope to see some of you in future courses.

I wish all of you the best!
Trish

Adjourning

Adjourning

Adjourning is the final stage of a group where the group members move off into different directions (Abudi, 2010). Groups that make it to the fourth stage of performing will have formed strong bonds with each other and will feel a sense of sadness before moving on to other things (Abudi, 2010).

Looking back at all the different groups I was a part of, I feel like the hardest thing to do was to move on from the friendships I made during my early college days. Some of my closest friendships are from this time. We did everything together to include studying and hanging out. Through these bonds, we learned how to navigate life together. Because we were all growing into who we are today, I feel like we were a high-performing group. We are like family because we supported each other through the good and the bad and we never judged each other for our mistakes or differences. Each of us moved away to pursue our own paths and we were able to say our goodbyes. I am happy that even though we do not see each other on a regular basis, most of us have been able to keep in touch through phone calls, sending cards, and social media. Regardless of the time that has passed between us, I know this group of friends will always be a part of my foundation. Adjourning is an essential stage of teamwork because it gives us time to reflect on both the positive and the negative things that occurred during that time. It also gives us an opportunity to have a sense of closure of one time or project and an opening to something new.

Many of you have been in every class with me here at Walden University. Although we do not know each other personally, I feel like I have learned so much about each of you and from each of you. The feedback we give one another has been invaluable and I will miss our weekly communications. I hope as we part ways (adjourn) that the experiences we have shared carry all of us into our next adventures! I would love to hear from any of you in the future!

References

Abudi, G. (2010). The five stages of team development: A case study. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.html

Conflict Resolution

Conflict Resolution

My professional conflict has to do with a discussion between my immediate supervisor who is also my co-teacher, my director, and I. Apparently, they had a discussion without me and decided together new ideas regarding classroom management. Instead of collaborating and working to resolve an issue with classroom management, I was told about the changes. Maybe because I am people-oriented, I took this as a personal attack because I was unable to give my input at the time since I was not included in the conversation, just the end result. At the end of the day, my director came to me and thanked me for a good day and that she liked what she heard from our classroom from her office.  My co-teacher and I need to sit down and discuss the changes further than she wants to work with the older children while I work with the younger children. I am okay with each of us teaching to our strengths but I felt a little left out of the loop since we were not able to discuss this as a team.

What I have learned from this week is that this discussion did not resolve the conflict. Rather it was just an attempt to fix a problem instead of following the 3 R’s: respect, response, and relationship (Cheshire, 2007). This conversation did not show any of the 3 R’s because I was not asked for my input, it came from a place of control, and it did not feel like a co-teacher relationship. As this evolves over the next few days, I will have to go against my desire to avoid conflict so my thoughts can be heard while also understanding the needs of my co-teacher so we can come to a mutual agreement (Center for Nonviolent Communication, n.d.).

For my colleagues who are not people-oriented, what suggestions do you have to help me resolve this issue? 

For my colleagues who are people-oriented, what tools have you used to overcome being emotionally charged during times of conflict?

All input is appreciated. Thank you!

Trish

References

The Center for Nonviolent Communication. (n.d.).  The center for nonviolent communication. Retrieved from:  http://www.cnvc.org/

Cheshire, N. (2007). The 3 R’s: Gateway to infant toddler learning. Dimensions of Early Childhood. Volume 35, No. 3.