IT DOES NOT STOP HERE!!

Well, to my fellow classmates, this is a farewell of love and appreciation from the depths of my heart for the feedback, support, comments, suggestions, and much more that we all have shared together.  I remember feeling so scared to speak much during classroom discussions because I was too afraid that I would sound silly.  This was difficult for me to get use to because I felt like I did not fit in with everyone else.  During introduction,  I was merely the only one in class with NNNOOOOO childhood experience ever.  Biology major, tutored students here and there in undergrad, but not lengthy enough for credit.  i could not relate to what everyone else could and I almost threw in the towel!!  I am so thankful that I found my backbone and decided to keep moving forward with this program!  I have learned so much from all of you that will never depreciate in value.  Thanks for everything and I hope that all of you remain faithful in your studies!  Hope to share another course with you all!  Be blessed.

The five stages of development definitely are constructive for team effort of an ultimate goal.  We as people sometimes do not realize the importance of teamwork and how much easier it is to reach the ultimate goal.  In Abudi’s article, she states that in order to identify whether a team is effective, characteristics included are:

 •Clear communication among all members.  (Abudi, 2010)

 •Regular brainstorming session with all members participating.  (Abudi, 2010)

 •Consensus among team members.  (Abudi, 2010)

 •Problem solving done by the group.  (Abudi, 2010)

 •Commitment to the project and the other team members.  (Abudi, 2010)

 •Regular team meetings are effective and inclusive.  (Abudi, 2010)

 •Timely hand off from team members to others to ensure the project keeps moving in the right direction.  (Abudi, 2010)

 •Positive, supportive working relationships among all team members. (Abudi, 2010)

To elaborate a little on the adjourning stage, I can say that there are not many groups or teams that I have been a part of that made it difficult for me to say good-bye.  I guess because majority times that I was a part of a team, it was not enough team effort put forth for effectiveness.  It usually would be team members who would try to put their tasks on others or not support each other.  In my senior year of college, I would have to say that it was hard for me to say good-bye to my cheer sisters.  We definitely experienced the five stages of team development.  We built very strong friendships and trusted each other to get things done, no matter what we had to do to get it done.  We took responsibility (as a team) for everything that was done wrong as well as right and never criticized or pointed fingers about mistakes.  We supported each without a doubt and was respectful when expressed opinions and concerns.  Being a part of this team was one of the truest experiences ever and I will never forget the hard work and commitment that we put into whatever task at hand.  We definitely were a high performance group and it was very hard to say goodbye.  We agreed to keep in touch and network with each other past our college career.  This experience that I have played such a huge part as being a student of this master’s program has been overwhelming at times but great as well because I have met such great people along the way.  From the instructors to my colleagues, I cannot express the gratitude for all the important information exchanged and ideas and thoughts that has been shared with me.  We all work together with the same focus and it makes our relationships special.  For a person who has little experience in the field of early childhood, I appreciate the understanding and respect that we have for each other. It would be hard for me to adjourn because we notice what we have in common with each other and have built this great relationship and have to move on with our lives.  Adjourning is an essential stage of development because it is the moment to celebrate all accomplishments and commend everyone on a job well done and to express personal conclusion.  I have enjoyed my colleagues thus far and am now readily prepared for our separation in the near 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
 
I have definitely experienced conflict lately at work with my supervisor for the fact that she often abuses her position of authority.  The strategies that I am going to share are empathy and mediation.  I would definitely use the empathy skill because she does not actively listen.  She normally just hears what she wants to hear and says things that are hurtful.  I would use mediation because she does not realize her wrong until the middle person points the middle finger at her.  Mediation would definitely open her eyes to problems and hopefully will give her a reason to reevaluate what she does and how she treats people.  I could definitely use principles on nonviolent communication because it would remind me of the mutual respect we should have for each other.