Linda's Group Interaction: Post ONe

As I think about all the group work that I have been involved in throughout the past three years at George Mason, I think the best and most successful outcome came from my group project in my Intro to Integrative Studies class last fall. From the beginning, we were very big on planning and staying organized. As a group, we were free to decide what we wanted to research on, and we chose the beginning of New Century College, and what it was like in the early years. Each of us set up interviews with people that were around when New Century first started, and who were a part of forming the college. I got to interview Robert Bernard, who is still a teacher in NCC. Bernard told me about how far NCC has come since then. My group got valuable information, and we always met on time when we scheduled meetings. Together, we went around campus and took pictures of various places, like the Enterprise Building, where NCC based now, and the Johnson Center, where it was first based 11 years ago. We read articles on NCC, and got to see the different reactions from everyone at Mason, and not at Mason, when it first started. We collaborated all of the information we found, and together made a documentary film, but on power point slides. The day it came to present, we were very well prepared. The reaction from our audience, our class, was really good. We got feed back right away. We were very satisfied with the outcome of our project, and the process in which it took to get there. The three of us worked very well together, and contributed equally.

From this experience, I learned that group work is something that everyone needs to be committed to. In order to be successful, everyone needs to contribute and meet their expectations because the other members in your group are depending on to get your job done.

Written Text: I searched the web for information on group interaction, and I found an article on how to facilitate group interaction. This is more like a guideline for teachers and what they should watch for when they assign group work. It states the benefits of group interaction, and how it helps everyone socially. It also states that by having students evaluate one another makes the process more likely to be successful. According to the article, it helps improve group interaction skills. When asking people to evaluate and reflect upon previous group interactions they have had, you hear stories about good experiences, as well as bad ones. One of the most important issues is acknowledging a problem. The article states that when there is a problem with in a group, people should state how they feel in first tense, rather than blaming anyone. There needs to be a balance in the amount of group that everyone does, and all ideas should be suggested. What I found to be most helpful was the group evaluation form that was provided at the end. Everyone should go and take a look at it for some helpful guidelines.

Non-written Text: When I think about group interaction, the movie Remember The Titans comes to mind. For those of you that haven’t seen the movie, it is about the high school T.C. Williams football team, which isn’t far from us in Alexandria, Virginia. This was a story about when T.C. Williams was first integrated, and the big controversy it caused in that time era. The movie focus’s on the football team, and how they interact with one another. At first, this was a new concept to them, mixing up the students, so they did not react well together at all. The coach stressed that they would have to learn to like each other, because they needed to unite as one to play together and be a successful team. Although they faced struggles outside of their own team, they ended up learning how to interact together and accepting one another. Eventually, the team helped their school and community come together, and accept integration. I think this is a powerful movie, and shows how although at first it was difficult to come together, the more time they spend together, they ended up becoming one, a team.

From my own experiences, written text, and non-written text, I have learned that group work can go so many different ways, from being successful to unsuccessful. Although I have been fortunate enough to have great experiences so far, I am ready to be involved and used my knowledge about group work on other group projects that I will be working on this semester, next semester, and in anything else that requires group work or effort in my future.

Sources:
http://cse.edc.org/products/assessment/middleschool/pdfs/SALI_Group_Interaction.pdf#search=%22group%20interaction%22