Week 8

Over the past 8 weeks we have been exposed to effective communication and collaboration. Through the past 7 classes we have also experienced what it is to communicate and collaborate effectively. Each of us possess a common goal in which we are all striving to reach. We have utilized each others experiences to help us learn, and we have fought through the tough "bumps" in the road. I know I would not have made it through some of these bumps had I not had such a helpful and close group of colleagues to guide me through. Each of us have different experiences, values, and beliefs that make up who we are. In the past courses, I have noticed the respect we all display towards each other even when others values and beliefs differ from our own. Personally, I feel I have grown as a listener and thinking more about what another person is saying (typing) rather than what I intend to say next.
I would like to wish all my colleagues an excellent next few months as we entire and wrap up our Master's degree experience. My wish is that we all carry what we have learned in this course and carry it with us into the workplace and real world because it is often the lack of effective communication that hinders our ability to build relationships with families, co-workers, and reach a common goal.

If I can be of any help to any of you in the remaining courses please email me. I would love to stay in touch!
jaarmstrong1@yahoo.com

Week 6 Blog Adjourning

When I think about the adjourning stage I think about my grade level team during my first year as a teacher. This group was the hardest to say good-bye because of the trust and partnership we had built with one another. Even though I was a new teacher, all my thoughts and ideas were respected to the point they made me feel very comfortable in taking risks and my general position as a teacher standing on my own two feet.  Comparing this group with the grade level I left last year, I definitely consider the high-performing groups to be the hardest to leave. I was pretty much jumping for joy when I knew my final days were near with my last team. 

            Abudi (2010) mentioned that the adjourning stage is a time to celebrate success and evaluate what happened. This is the type of experience I had when I left the school my first year. The team helped me pack up all my belongings, took me to lunch, and even complied a small book of all the projects we took pictures of that year. This was a very hard group to leave because we had become so close and worked incredibly well together. Abudi (2010) even states that high performing groups tend to stay in touch, which had continued to be the case with this group.

            Adjourning from my colleagues from this program will also be a hard process, because many of us have been in the same sections since course one and have developed great partnerships. I think the adjourning process for this course will be filled with an opportunity to reflect on the successes and challenges with each other. This is an essential part because it gives the opportunity to say good-bye to each other and wish those luck in future experiences. It is a time to reflect on the successes and learning from the struggles for future encounters.

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