Colleen's Group Interaction Exercise Part One

Reflecting on my academic experiences I can point out a variety of instances where group interaction was the cornerstone of my learning. Before entering college I viewed group interaction in a very simple and literal way. I saw it as an assignment that needed to be completed by more than one person. I did not see it for what it truly is...An experience where people have an opportunity to collaborate towards a goal an in the mean time learn not only from the research for the assignment, but from the people completing the assignment.

Personally, one of my own academic pieces that transformed my thinking of group interaction was my participation in my Unit Four group, during the NCC first year experience. The group was composed of twenty people, which was unheard of to me. I had never had an academic assignment that involved the collaboration of more than four to six people; therefore the idea of working with nineteen others had me worried. I had been under the false notion that the bigger the group the more likely there would be chaos with a lack of direction. I felt it was unfathomable for twenty people to complete one assignment yet I was proved wrong. Patience and open communication lead the path to success. Our group made sure everyone had a voice, therefore established subcommittees within the large group in order to take care of some of the tedious tasks. Between the subcommittees and the large group meetings, our group was able to maintain a direct and collaborative effort in the most organized fashion. The group enforced open discussions and active listening in order to create a presentation that reflected everyone’s strengths. It was as if we were twenty different people unified into one direct cause. In the end we successfully completed our assignment and it taught me that having an organized and successful group is not dependent on the number of people, but the way the people collaborate. Collaboration is a plausible entity as long as people are willing to communicate and respect one another.

After my Unit Four group experience I felt confident in my understanding of group interaction and became much more aware of different kinds of group interaction. Last fall I had the opportunity to observe a fifth grade class’ literacy program titled, Word Study. This program broke students into groups based on their reading level. Yet, I learned these students were gaining much more out of these groups than I could have expected. These students did more than simply read the same book together every morning, but they became a type of support network. I spent a lot of time with the lowest reading group and learned a lot from them. These boys and girls became a type of family and bonded over the challenges of reading. A few of them had only been in the country a couple of years and were having a difficult time trying to read at a fifth grade level. Group members were encouraging and motivational to one another. Their interactions resembled a family more so than classmates, as they helped one another improve in their reading. It was enlightening to see how group interaction can truly boost someone’s motivational level while trying to overcome obstacles. I will always remember my observations because it reminded me of the importance of support and motivation within group interaction.

Group interaction is always full of surprises with many possibilities; possibilities for disaster, as well as, possibilities for success. Yet, whatever those possibilities may be, it is up to us as individuals to go into a group with an open mind and positive thinking. Many people fear group interaction, yet I have come to learn that if I openly embrace group interaction, the rewards are endless. In his essay, Experience, Ralph Waldo Emerson stated: “Life is a train of moods like a string of beads, and, as we pass through them, they prove to be many colored lenses which paint the world their own hue, and each shows only what lies in its focus,” (353). When I read this essay, I like to replace the term “life” with “group interaction.” Group interaction is an experience in itself, in a way it’s like a process that presents many challenges such as collaboration, compromise and communication. Yet in the end we learn not only about the group’s given assignment, but we learn about ourselves and others.

Group interaction can be one of the most challenging competencies New Century College places before its students, yet it helps prepare people for the real world. Through my experiences group interaction has given me the opportunity to learn more about the subject I am studying. It reminds me of my personal strengths and weaknesses, it teaches me how to connect to a variety of people and work towards a shared vision. Overall, group interaction is a learning tool that is present and essential to life.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “Experiences.” Selected Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ed. William H. Gilman. Penguin Group: New York, 2003. 350-74.