Team Building and Collaboration

I think that high-performing groups would be a little difficult to leave because you were able to get along well with everyone involved and was actually able to establish a relationship with your team.  Norms may be a hard to leave to because the group was ran as a business and the primary goal was to accomplish the goal.  I have not experienced any closing rituals when completing an assignment with a group.  I guess we should have, we should have gotten refreshements when we completed the assignment;  to kind of celebrate our accomplishement.  Upon completing this master's degree program I imagine I will adjorn from the group by informing my colleagues that it has been a pleasure working and learning with them and I wish them the best in the rest of their life's journey.  Adjourning is an essential stage of teamwork in that it allows each group member to say thank you to one another, it is a way of displaying your appreciation for the others hardwork.  It can also give someone the confidence needed to keep working hard in future team work situations.  Members may also opt to maintain friendships even if they will no longer be working together (O'Hair & Wieman, 2009).

Refrence:
O’Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2009). Real communication. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s

Nonviolent Communication and Conflict Management

 
Well, being married with two young children can always provide an opportunity to form an argument with your spouse.  When my husband and I have a disagreement I try to first approach the situation as kind as I can, then I try  to view it from his perspective.  Using these two strategies helps to diffuse the  problem, if I approached him with a raised voice and using mean words the problem can easily get out of control.  Then viewing it from his perspective allows me to see why he responded the way he did; allowing me to gain valuable insight on the matter that can help prevent future arguments.  The principles that were discussed this week could actually be used in my day-to-day conversations and disagreements that I have in  my personal life. 
 

Who Am I as a Communicator?

 What is the one thing that surprised you the most? Why? What other insights about communication did you gain this week?

One thing that surprised me the most was that two of the closet people in my life indicated that I resort to character attacks when I am not in agreement with the views of others.  I also learned that I have very high anxiety levels when I am faced in situations where I have to speak to small and large crowds of people.  However, others are not able to depict my anxiety while I am engaging in such communication with others.  I thought this was really good because I get really nervous when talking infront of people, whether I know themor not. 

Communication and Culture

Sometimes I do find myself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures because I realize that we are from different backgrounds and would like to ensure that they are fully understanding my intended message.  For an example, I I would not speak to white people, Asians, Hispanics, Puerto Ricans or even people from my own race the same as I would my own family and friends.  Some of the jokes or comments I make to the people in my inner circle may not understand the intended comedy or become offended.  I believe that since we all come from different backgrounds that it is quite difficult to speak to someone from a different background the same way you would speak to people who are personally connected to you.  After I have gotten to know the person it will be a lot easier for me so engage in a conversation that is similar if not identical to the conversations I would have with my family and friends.

Communication Skills: Language, Nonverbal, Listening

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

The show that I watched was "Gun Smoke" with James Arness.  The characters in this TV show were friends and some were enemies.

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

They were expressing feelings of anger in most parts, they were fighting in the saloon because they had too much to drink.  The alcoholic beverage was not severed to their liking.

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

The assumption I made was that when it comes to their quality and price of alcohol that they wanted their monies worth; if their needs were not met a fatal fight will break out.

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

Yes, I would have been familiar with the personalities of the characters and would have been able to be able to explain the TV show throughly; with and without the sound.

What Is Communication?

When I think of someone who demonstrates competent communication within a particular context I think of my best friend Posha Morgan, who I met the first week of undergrad.  When engaging in a conversation with Posha she always maintains eye contact and repeats what you say to make sure that she understood exactly what you said.  She is a great listener and can be very empathetic and sympathetic when need be.  I would like to model some of my on communication behaviors after this person because she is very clear and direct when communicating and as I indicated before, she is a great listener. 

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)

I hope that I will be able to approach each family equally, without displaying biases from by prior personal experiences with individuals from various backgrounds. 

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 I would like to set is to include all children from a variety of backgrounds and disabilities in their programs, as well as to make sure parents are included.  If we were only focusing on improving the children and not the parents it will not be as effective.

A brief note of thanks to your colleagues

This has been one of the hardest courses, however I learned a lot about diversity and it has been great to have support from classmates.  I thank everyone for sharing such positive and honest opinions about the biases they have and or biases that have been displayed towards them.