Thanks to the COM352 students for contributing a bunch of new pages! I'll be moving these pages into the main area of the wiki soon.

From UMassWiki

[edit] FAILTE! (welcome) TO MY PAGE!

[edit] If I Had Only Known!

This picture pretty much sums up my usual feelings upon leaving Group Dynamics on Monday evenings, especially during our "storming" stage.

So here's the thing about me. I definitely signed up for this class for the same reasons that I sign up for most of my classes... I thought it was going to be easy! As a graduating senior who has studied communication throughout my four years at UMass, I have come accustomed to not having the most difficult classes. Well lets just say that they usually aren't very labor intensive. When I chose my classes originally, I was abroad in the cold, dreary country of Ireland about to head out to the pub. As I sat there drinking my Bulmers, I NEVER thought that I was signing up for a class that was as labor intensive and in depth as this class has been. Especially since at that point, I hadn't really done school work for over 6 months; Ireland's Higher Education is not nearly as hardcore as America's. The only work I did while there was 4 papers, that is it! So needless to say the "blow off" class that involved talking about groups was definitely not what I had expected.

[edit] What Did I Get Myself Into...

I'm not going to lie, this picture still pretty much sums up Group Dynamics for me.

However, even though this experience has been a confusing one, I've still really tried to be a group member in every activity we've done in class. And even though at the beginning I thought that the things we were studying; Shein's What to Observe in a Group, Bennes and Sheats' Functional Group Roles, and Richard Weber's The Group: A Cycle from Birth to Death, was kind of a hoax, after time I've realized that these things really exist when talking about groups.

The things we started with in day one are still prevalent in the course today. We are still struggling with framing, leadership/membership, defining our role, and the the different stages of the group. Not to mention the workings of Shein are always on the mind.

Our ride started with a course description that for the most part made no sense. In it she talked about wikis and weblogs, and how we as a group will be creating both of these. The weblogs are personal and used to to homework for the most part. The wiki on the other hand, was to be done as a class. I think I can speak for most of the group when I say we were all pretty much confused about the wiki until after a few days of physically doing it.

We were constantly evaluating our contributions as well as the contributions of others; we gave and received feedback on a regular basis.

The first task we did was break into groups based on the article What to Observe in a Group by Shein. The groups were, task and maintenance, communication, decision making, and self oriented behavior. I was in the communication group, which involved taking noted about the way people act in groups. Such as, filler words, interruptions, overall demeanor etc. In the Shein group I was both an observer and the observed.

During the next few weeks we as a group began to transform, and being to shift between the stages developed by Richard Weber.

Stage I: Infancy or "forming" stage. This stage as described by Weber, "reflects dependency with regard to leadership. As confusion, ambiguity, and anxiety abound, individuals look to whatever leadership exists in the group or the environment. Whatever direction or information is provided is grasped for guidance." This was clear with the original idea of "Survival Guide to UMass." When this idea was thrown out into the open, almost everyone jumped on the bandwagon. Weber also explains that "The behaviors of Stage I are initially polite and superficial as each person seeks out similarities or common needs. While introductions are made, each individual is testing the amount of compatibility of her or his reasons for being there..." We were all very nice to each other as we were afraid of stepping on each others toes, mostly because we didn't know each other. This however quickly changed as we moved through Infancy to Adolescence.

Stage II: Adolescence or "storming" stage. We spent the majority of our time in this stage in my opinion. Especially myself, I was constantly fighting "the man" if you will. Weber explains this stage as, "Possibly the most difficult stage of development to tolerate in either persons or groups, this stage cannot be avoided, as it is a crucial stage dealing with power and decision making- necessary skills for the future functioning of the group." "Individuals begin to challenge differences in a bid to regain their individuality, power and influence. Individuals start to respond to the perceived power demands of their task, usually with a full range of emotions. Regardless of how clear the task or structure of the group, group members react and will generally attack the designated leadership (facilitators), as well as any emerging leaders within the group. You can see my personal struggles in this stage through my weblog Stage II proved to be a struggle between everyone in the groups. OUr fishbowls were ridiculous, with everyone fighting about anything that could possible be fought about. We were all questioning any sort of authority whether it be from our peers or Steph. Eventually there was a light at the end of the tunnel and we continued to move through the stages.

Stage III: Adulthood of "norming and performing" stage. We made it finally! This stage was suddenly evident as we finally began working with each other in order to produce on cohesive wiki. It took a long time to get here, but one day it finally hit us. Weber explains this stage as, "the group can finally pull together as a real group, not merely a collection of individuals. Here the group becomes a cohesive unit as it begins to negotiate roles and process for accomplishing its task. Functional relationships are explored and established in spite of differences. The group is ready to tackle its goals, group members may gain and share insights into the factors that contribute to or hinder their success." During this stage we finally came together to produce something. We put the other stages behind us and pulled forward and to many, we surprisingly accomplished something in our wiki.

Who would have thought?!

[edit] Once I Was In, I Had To Do Something To Get Out

[edit] What I Accomplished

I accomplished a few things throughout this journey that was Group Dynamics. I realized that everyone has a role (usually more than one) when in a group. I am now able to identify the roles that I usually play according to Benne and Sheats.

Initiator Contributor- "Suggests or proposes to the group new ideas or a changed way of regarding the group problem or goal. The novelty proposed may take the form of suggestions of a new group goal or a new definition of the problem. It may take the form of suggestions of a new group goal or a new definition of the problem. it may take the form of a suggested solution or some way of handling a difficulty that the group has encountered. or it may take the form of a proposed new procedure for the group, a new way of organizing the group for the task at hand.

Orientator- "Defines the position of the group with respect to its goals by summarizing what has occurred, points to departures from agreed upon directions or goals, or raises questions about the direction which the group discussion.

The roles were played when developing two wiki pages. Paper City Brewery, Evaluating Group Dynamics

I also wrote a little blurb for the Study Abroad Page

[edit] And Now, The End Is Here, And So I Face The Final Curtain...

Now as the end of the class is approaching, I honestly am so relieved. Considering the fact that I was taking it as a blowoff class, I wasn't expecting what I actually got. But I made it through, and have taken away some knwoledge that I probably would never have gained haaad I not taken this class. There have been ups and downs, downs based on me constantly challening Steph, and asking myself weekly, "Why did I take this class" and the ups being gaining new frienships and actually feeling like we as a group accomplished something.

As the last class approaches, I am eager to share a few pints with my new found friends to celebrate the class being over and our accomplishments.