Reflection on the Group Dynamic (2)

In this post, I will talk about what happened in the group discussion. What I find most interesting in the process is how we brought different ideas together, stormed a little bit, and reach consensus in our decision. Also, this is the process where we evolved into a cohesive team and began to perform.

The main topic in this meeting was the specific topic of the presentation and the facilitation strategies we would use. Although we had chosen "power and social influence" as our borad topic, there was no way we would be able to focus on every part of the chapter within half an hour. Melissa proposed to focus on the part of "power dynamic" and relate that part to the films we watch in class. But it seemed that April would like to cover the whole chapter so that we would not limit the discussion. She also volunteered to prepare the handout which would summarize the chapter in two pages and help learners review the content in this chapter.  I wish we could touch on every aspect of the chapter to avoid the risk of losing points in evaluation, but I know that deep and inspiring dialogue among learners is also a important criterion of a successful presentation. Therefore, I suggested that we dispatch the handout to learners, and ask them to choose what they want to talk about and teach each other on that topic. Since all the class had read and discussed a little about this chapter, this presentation could be a chance for each learner to bring in their own experience and focus on the learning for themselves. Happily, the team agreed on this idea. Also, we decided to adopt Melissa's idea about the film and she volunteered to  lead the presentation in that part.

The beauty of our final design is that each team member's idea counted. No one's idea was excluded. We didn't vote any idea out, but tried to bring them together to a consensus. Therefore, all of us were on board with the final decision and committed to it. During the presentation, each member was leading the part that she originally proposed, which allowed us the freedom to design our own part under the umbrella of the topic. This is very important because it empowered each individuals in the group to realize what we believed was the best for each part. As a member, each of us had the ownership of our contribution as well as the group product. That is the source of achievement and proudness. As Melissa said, working on the ppt of the films was the best thing she did in that week. This is a perfect example of how individual goal and group's goal are synthesized and contribute to support individual development in a group.

Working in such a team is a enjoyment. Every member's talent is accurately allocated so that it serves the team the best. After this meeting, we have moved out from "Storming" into "Performing".