Thank you!

I want to send a bog Thank You to all my colleagues and professor that I have had the tremendous opportunity to share experiences, comments, and insights with over these past eight weeks. I feel that as I have personally participated in each week's assignments to look deeper into my own communication skills and abilities, I was able to gain more insight about myself and of others. I also thank you for all the feedback and comments! Best of luck to all on your continual path through the ECE program and in your current role in your ECE community!
Caitlin

Adjourning from a Group

The five stages of team development begin with forming a group, followed by storming or generating ideas, then norming group effectiveness, performing a task or goal, and finally adjourning and going off on the individual paths ahead (Abudi, 2010). Often times it's that final step of letting go and saying goodbye that becomes the most difficult challenge when a group becomes so close and involved in comparison to the challenges you may have faced along the way. I have been apart of groups and teams for numerous occasions - sports teams, college friends, study groups, project teams, family events, etc. When I read through the prompt for this week's blog, a couple of group experiences came first to my mind - one was my experience playing on a high school sports team, another was a college undergrad group assignment for a class I was taking, and also an annual occasion with my extended family. My first scenario with my high school field hockey team was probably the most powerful memory of adjourning from a group and also the most diverse at the same time. I played on the team from a sophomore to senior. The first year I was one of the underdog's, but as a group we worked well together on the field, battling through the pinches and sometimes coming down hard on each other, but our leaders portrayed respect of each teammate and an enveloping attitude to all the players, as well as the need for laughs, because when your goal requires closeness that's what you need to do to be successful (Abudi, 2010). It was because of their inclusion and strength in their leadership and direction that being on the team among friends and teammates meant more to me than just playing a sport. It was unfortunate that before during my senior year a second high school was built that I was redistricted to because the team was split and the norms we had developed broke making it difficult to rebuild new norms with strangers in such a short time. By the time the season ended and our concluding team gathering came, I was sad to see those three years of my life go by so quickly, but through all the distress of my final season, I had to let go with an unfortunate bad taste in my mouth. I feel like this personal example shows how when the strength of a group reaches above and beyond the goal of teammates, but delves into friendship, it becomes more than a physical, but also an emotional challenge to adjourn a part of our life that we've become so accustom that we forget how to live with missing pieces. Not that I had a choice because I was graduating, but this group was ironically the most difficult and easiest groups to leave. 
My second experience of working with colleagues to accomplish a goal as part of our coursework involved a lot less hardship. Of course our group was selected by the instructor so I had never personally met either of my group-mates, but we easily set out the group goals and delegated positions and tasks to accomplish. The motivation here was at a professional rather than personal level which made our roles and responsibilities of completing a common goal because we knew that our individual course grade depended on our individual performance. The was actually for a music appreciation class and the professor was very off-the-cuff and energetic so in the end we actually had to perform our assignment to the class which, as my communication anxiety scores concluded, absolutely mortified me, so that was definitely one group I was more than happy to get out of. I think this example proves that when you only get involved within a group at the surface it's easier to make that separation in the end. 
My last thought was of my family's childhood vacations where my father's 5 siblings would come together once a year to rent a beach house for a week and we all cram in with sleeping bags for 6 days. I didn't get so see them very often so this week was a really special time to gather and visit. Most of my family lives close by so I am able to see them from time to time, but it's always difficult to say goodbye to family members I don't see but once a year, especially when you build a close relationship in such a short amount of time. It's very bittersweet. 
Personally, at the finale of my coursework at Walden and the conclusion of the ECE masters program, I know there will be bit of a void, just because I won't be doing homework all the time, but honestly between my life at home and at work I don't think it will be a challenge. Working with colleagues through this program has been very different from my undergrad college experience simply because I don't physically go to a classroom and see the people in my class or the professor. I also took a leave of absence for some time so most of the colleagues that I began the program working with have since moved on to other classes beyond where I am now. I absolutely wish all my peers the best of luck with their future in early childhood!


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

Week 5: Recent Experience

I deal with people on a daily basis, from colleagues, employees, parents, phone calls, and school enrollment inquiries to family members, my spouse and young daughter, so relational conflicts can also have their moments in my day. I can pinpoint two different types of conflict I've had recently with two very different people in my life that I have had to apply two very important communication skills in order to effectively work through the situation. The first scenario involved a work decision that my husband and I had work out based on our needs and financial capabilities of our school and the second scenario involves a school employee that has had some issues in her position for the past few weeks. However, as different as both scenarios are, and as varying as the conflicts I face with others are going to be down the road, I feel that two vital skills that have aided in my communication with others is to consider others and their needs and to listen, listen, and listen. Marriage is certainly one story that takes two 110% efforts to make a relationship and family run smoothly and being able to care for the needs and desires of another requires empathy and understanding for that person's emotions, needs, and characteristics that make them who they are. In the conflict we had to work through regarding a financial business decision, in which we were each on opposite ends of the discussion, I kept in mind that considering both of our viewpoints and listening would help me better understand the situation.
With the employee that has had some complaints recently, I have really had to learn about her as a person to understand what her needs are and, although her concerns and hypochondria stems from her very germaphobic personality, I am beginning to understand her need to simply express her thoughts and opinions. This particular employee works with infants in our youngest classroom and has two young daughters that she goes home with every night, but honestly she does not have many people/adults to communicate with on a regular basis. Therefore, I've learned that her complaints aren't always vital, but they may just be her way of reaching out to communicate and I have made a better effort to consider her needs and to listen in a way that might help her deal with these issues in her professional work.