Celia Duncan
Work Group Culmination Paper 6/4/13
This quarter we focused on small group systems. There are many types of small group systems that have different functions. Galanes and Adams defined a group as
“three or more people with an interdependent goal” (2010). In class, we illustrated and explored this topic by working in small groups to improve and add to a website for Northwest Alliance for College Access (NwACA), a local organization that is designed to empower low-income and first-generation college students and their families and help them overcome barriers and give them tools to help them succeed in college. Our class as a whole is an example of a type of educational approach called a learning community. In a successful learning community, the students and teachers practice mutual learning, rather than other approaches where only the students are viewed as having the responsibility of learning.
Our class, or learning community, then broke into work groups, or, as stated by Adams and Galanes “self-managed working groups” which are “small group(s) of peers who determine within prescribed limits their own work schedules and procedures”
(2010). Each work group was responsible for establishing their own more specific goals of what they wanted to accomplish for NwACA. My group, consisting of April, Gio, Lauren, Kim, Olivia, Crystal and myself decided to design an FAQ page for the website, along with a list of various tips regarding college and independent living. Finally, our work group formed into two ad-hoc committees. The function of an ad-hoc committee is
was to come up with answers to questions and tips regarding independent living
(organization, grocery shopping, laundry, etc) and personal life (dealing with roommate conflict, meeting people). Lauren, April and Gio’s ad-hoc worked on the categories more related to school and on-campus clubs and activities. Our work group project was
definitely helpful when it came to illustrating the functions of different types of groups, especially when we divided into ad-hoc groups. At that time, it was easy to see that larger groups have their benefits, especially when it comes to brainstorming and things like dividing up tasks, but that it is often easier to get things done in a small group, where it is easier to get a group consensus
In our group there was never really one clear leader, but April, Olivia, and a few times Kim seemed to step forward when it was needed. The three of them are very different and stepped forward in different ways. Overall it was quite effective. Kim, Crystal, Gio and I are all quite introverted and are all the types of people who worry about stepping on others’ toes. While it is not a negative quality to be concerned with the feelings of other people, it was important for there to be other personality types in the mix. Lauren has a lot of ideas of her own, but is always open to others’ ideas as well.
April, from what I observed, likes having clear responsibilities and at times prefers having control. Olivia is very easy going but helped keep the group on track. Kim also occasionally stepped forward as a leader when no one else was, if she felt strongly about something. I would not say we had a referent leader, as there was not one person we looked to for leadership, but I think April and Olivia could both be called emergent leaders in this scenario.
Gio, Crystal and Kim were also in my reading group. When they had their turns facilitating (in a way, forced into leadership roles) each of them came into their own and led the group well, though I do not think any of them would describe themselves as such, being some of the more introverted people in the class. While I did not really take
initiative as a leader in class this quarter, I did find myself in leadership-type roles elsewhere. One example of this is at my internship—I’m usually in charge of a group of five to ten elementary school (K-5) students at a time, teaching them about agriculture and/or nutrition, depending on the day. I have never thought of myself as a leader, or a teacher, at that, but it has been a lot easier and more natural feeling to me than I imagined it would be. Like Gio, Kim and Crystal, I’m among our introverted classmates. We naturally fall into following roles (out of what?) when we could have the potential to be good leaders.
I found this quarter the most difficult to stay engaged in of the past year (at least).
One reason for this was that I have had the busiest schedule of my life had between work, school, and my internship. This made it difficult to make time for everything, and
unfortunately my schoolwork is what seemed to suffer. Another reason this quarter was hard was because since spring break, a lot has happened in my personal life. These various occurrences have also made it harder to focus on school. At work and at my internship, I am active and have no choice but to interact with people, which made those things good distractions. I found homework to be challenging because sitting alone and thinking was something I preferred not to do, in the thick of everything. I also found myself feeling disconnected at times in class and while working with my group, both in
was going on with my professors, and perhaps my work group or ad-hoc. My feeling was that I did not want to make excuses, but I know my group would have been supportive and understanding. However, I noticed that not only did I feel disconnected from my work groups (those I was assigned to in class) but I also felt distant, at times, from my social groups, such as my friends and Bellingham and my family in Montana. I felt the need to be around groups of people, but once I was with them I found myself feeling disconnected and somewhat withdrawn, simply wanting to listen rather than contribute.
In the future, I hope to feel more connected with any groups I am in, and more motivated and inspired. If it is a group of people I trust, like my work group, I hope that I can feel comfortable sharing aspects of my personal life that might affect my
involvement in and connection to the group—or at least that I will be able to acknowledge the presence of things that might affect my involvement. I will also remember to use Adams’ and Galanes’ Procedural Model of Problem Solving, which involves “describing and analyzing the problem,” “generating and explaining possible solutions,” “evaluating all solutions,” “choosing the best solution,” and “implementing the best solution” (2010). We used this model to a certain extent when we did the in-class activity that involved choosing a budget plan for a nonprofit. This activity was helpful in illustrating how difficult it is to make decisions as a group when most of the members have their own interests as a top priority. It reminded me a little of True Partnership last quarter, and the section where Zaiss discussed the idea of “what can we accomplish together” rather than “what can you help me accomplish.” In this particular activity, people definitely had more of the former mentality; going along with the roles we were assigned to rather than acting as ourselves.
Slightly contrary to this was the wilderness survival activity. During this activity, I was very surprised at how frustrated I got, several times, at just the idea of being in a life or death situation with someone who was just as sure of their answer as I was of mine. It was a very interesting activity because it took us (figuratively) away from the classroom setting, which really changed the dynamic. Putting us into a situation with stakes as high, yet as basic, as survival brought out different aspects of peoples’ personalities. Also, as discussed by Christakis and Folwer in Connected, many emotions are contagious, including obstinacy and frustration. There were times during that activity when I felt certain that if I was in an actual survival scenario with my assigned group, I would go ahead with the solution I thought was the right one, even without a full group consensus, even if it meant separating from the group. I was aware that this would not be a good mentality to have as part of a small group system, and I found it very interesting the way one’s thinking can change with the stakes, or depending on the experience or information they have. This was one of the few times in class that I felt strongly that I had more information than someone else, and it was interesting to be in that position rather than the more neutral one I am usually in.
I feel like I have significantly changed in the past three (particularly past two)
quarters. While not all of this change is related to core or to human services, I do attribute some of it to things I have learned through core about myself and my various
relationships to others, as well as the way I think about my role in the community and in my own life and the lives of others. The thing I have noticed the most is that I am more genuine in my interactions, both with strangers and people I know well. I am working
towards being more intentional and less passive. I feel more confident in and comfortable with who I am, as a person and as a future human services professional.
Sources
Adams and Galanes. 2010. Communicating in groups: applications and skills. McGraw Hill.
Christakis, Nicholas A. Fowler, James H. 2009. Connected: the surprising power of our social networks and how they shape our lives. Little, Brown and Company, New York, Boston, London.
HSP 305, 2013.
