EDUC 6165 :: Week 8 :: Reflection

This is the end of the course and that means it's time to reflect on what I have learned this semester. This course really came at a perfect time for me. I am gaining more responsibility at my second job (teaching adults ECE) and I am also experiencing some difficulty communicating with my step-father due to a money issue. Both of these situations require me to use all of the communication and collaboration skills I studied. I did get good advice from my online classmates regarding the situation with my step-father and reading your blogs and discussion comments helped a lot too. I would like to extend myself to you as well so that we can continue to help each other even after the courses are over.

Feel free to contact me via email: teacher.kim2011@gmail.com

I would love to stay in touch. Good luck with your future endeavors! You will shine!
Kim Martin

EDUC 6165 :: Week 6 :: Groups

Consider the adjourning phase for several of the groups in which you have been involved. Think about which aspects of the groups made for the hardest good-bye. 
--Are high-performing groups hardest to leave? 
I have been part of high-performing groups and yes, they are hard to leave. Why? Probably because of the positive experience I had within the group. I often have the urge to want to start a new project just so I can experience the same feelings of success and pride of a job well done.


--What sorts of closing rituals have you experienced or wish you had experienced? 
My favorite closing ritual before the group adjourns is the celebratory dinner! I teach night classes and at the end of each semester, on the last day of class, we all bring in food and celebrate our efforts. It's a fun time for us to look back on all we learned and have fun one last time as a group.

--How do you imagine that you will adjourn from the group of colleagues you have formed while working on your master's degree in this program? Unfortunately I have not been able to meet any of my colleagues in person like I would like, because they all live in different states and some in different countries!. I think thought that I would like to stay in touch with many of them with whom I have developed a bond. Perhaps we can video chat or even make plans to travel to visit one another if it gets to be a close relationship.

--Why is adjourning an essential stage of teamwork? Adjournment is the closure a group has that illustrates a job is complete and new work is ready to begin. 

EDUC 6165 :: Week 5 Blog :: Conflict Communication

--Think about any disagreements, or conflicts, you have recently experienced or are currently experiencing at work with a supervisor or colleague, or someone in your personal life. 

I am currently having a conflict with my step-father concerning money I owe him. I am paying him back as I am able and he is requesting more money. At the time I am not able to increase the amount I am paying him so I offered to what I was able to do. He refused to accept my payments and made a threat over the phone. I asked him not to contact me via phone or in person and only through mail since we cannot communicate effectively. This has turned into something ugly that I do not like or want to have hanging over my head. My mother feel stuck in the middle and I feel horrible about that. 

I have thought a lot about using the techniques in the book but at this point emotions are on high. No one is in a calmed down enough place to be an effective communicator. We both know what we want and have expressed that. We both are not accepting of the terms the other has set. We need mediation. I do not think we can do it on our won.

--Share at least two strategies you have learned about that might help you manage or resolve the conflict more productively, and why these strategies might be effective. For example, could you suggest a compromise? Could you look for a broader range of solutions to your disagreement? Could you use some of the principles of nonviolent communication or the 3 R's to better help you resolve this conflict?

The 3 Rs are definitely not in the picture at the moment regarding this issue. I have such animosity towards my step-father at this time that I cannot find it in my heart to be respectful and responsive. I know what he wants. he just has a very horrible way of going about telling me (he threatened me). I would like to have an objective mediator work with us to facilitate some effective communication between us because we are both too stubborn and too upset to even try to work this out at this time.

--Also, if appropriate, ask your colleagues for their input and advice regarding, if not specific problems, how they have learned to be more effective communicators as it relates to conflict resolution skills.

Please, if anyone has any advice on how to cool off and think in a different way about a conflict please share. I am finding it hard to deal with his threats and I do not like being in a constant state of confusion regarding this matter. I want to be able to be the bigger person but his actions have shown him to resort to threats when the conversation is not going his way or he is not getting what he wants.