Raquel's Group Interaction Post 1

Sorry this is so late, everyone. I know no one likes excuses but I ran 23 miles on Saturday and I took me 2 days to recover.
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Before I came to GMU last Fall, I had little group interaction in my previous two years of college at American University and Northern Virginia Community College. Even before that, during high school, most of my academic work was completed by myself. I grew accustomed to doing everything my way so it has been a difficult adjustment to NCC where a lot of the time, I must rely on total strangers for a portion of my grade. However, I learned that group work can be beneficial and rewarding because it takes some responsibilities off my shoulders and can lead to insightful reflection.

One written text that has influenced my view of group interaction is the primary book for the Intro to Integrative Studies course I took last fall, Strategies for Active Citizenship (Drexler 2005). Chapter six focuses on teams/groups and discusses the characteristics of an effective group. The characteristic that think is the most important is “Team members give one another useful feedback” (Drexler 148). I have found through my work with groups that the members must be open and honest with one another about their behaviors and offer constructive criticism on ideas for progress to be made.

A non-written text that has influenced my opinion of group interaction is The West Wing (1999). I was an avid fan of this show for the length of its run. I loved watching the various members of the administration work together to achieve great things for the country. It struck me how they all specialized in one area and as long as they did it well and trusted the others to do their part well, things were great. The most amazing thing I saw was when a republican lawyer, Ansley Hayes, accepted a job with the democratic administration despite their differences of opinion, because they have similar goals of making the country a better place. As long as people can overlook their personal differences to focus on the task at hand, extremely diverse people can work together effectively.

An academic paper I have written that has further affected my understanding of group interaction is the Individual Summary on Group Presentation paper I wrote for the “Spirituality and Conflict Transformation” course I took this summer. The most interesting thing I discovered through writing this paper is that even though groups involve people with different perspectives and sometimes opposing views, it is possible for everyone’s wishes to be met if the members are willing to approach the interaction in a collaborative fashion.

Through my experiences at GMU, I have learned a lot about group interaction that has helped me to better understand and better prepare for group work. Perhaps the most influential insights are that it is beneficial if members of a group can provide honest feedback, put aside personal differences in order to complete a task, and work together in a collaborative manner.



Works Cited

Drexler, Kateri, Gwen Garcelon. Strategies for Active Citizenship. Upper Saddle River:Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005. 131-156.

The West Wing. Dir. Jason Ensler. Created by Aaron Sorkin. Perf. Martin Sheen, Bradley Whitford, John Spencer, Richard Schiff, Allison Janney. Warner Brothers, 1999.