Week 6- Team Building

I found the five stages of team development to be very interesting. I think that with all the stages combined together in a positive way this makes for a creative experience. I can remember being a part of a group for a final project in my undergraduate studies. We went through many ups and downs to get the final product completed. After being a part of a group project I realize how important it is to have an effective leader that knows how to take control and delegate responsibilities in an effective manner. Our leader struggled with many of the responsibly and needed some guidance along the way but once she took control and got a grip of her job and how to perform it effectively she was able to produce an effective project. I think that the final stage which is the adjourning stage becomes difficult only when you have an effective finish product. If you are working on a project that is not effective sometimes this can make the adjourning stage a relief and you feel a sense of stress removed from you when it is over. But I really felt saddened in my group class project during the adjourning stage. I felt stressed during the storming stage of our project but we did weather the storm during this stage and we came out learning much more than we knew going in. We were really all sad to say goodbye because of our learning and growth process. We developed strong bonds and in many cases lifelong friendships because we were able to work so effectively together and learned so much at the same time.

I feel that high-performing groups are very hard to leave because we develop a rhythm or a flow that becomes comforting to the group and allows us a sense of belonging and accomplishment, this becomes hard to let go of. It is not always easy to find a group that is highly productive and everyone works well together, where personalities can mix well and things get done easily. I think that forming a group is an extremely challenging task, and to form a highly effective group sometimes seems impossible. So when this is done of course it is hard to leave that sense of security in knowing that things will get done the right way.

I found the group in my undergraduate days of college a highly effective group and once our project had ended I felt really saddened that we would not have the convenience of meeting together all at one time showing off our collaboration skills. Giving positive feedback on researched and established information. And a few of us from that group I still have not heard from after college and I really miss that time that we spent effectively. We learned some valuable time management skills that I really enjoyed while we were part of the group and I have never really been able to regain even after trying on numerous occasions. Once our group experience had ended we all kept in touch for a little while after that but many of the team members fell off and we never stayed in contact but a few of us are still friends today and we try to meet frequently. But after the project was completed we had a little celebration among us to celebrate our success in the class because of our team efforts.

I think that many of the people that I have meant along the way of this master’s degree program will be great contacts in the future to help me stay informed and growing in the field of early learning. I think that adjourning from this group may be difficult because we have established such great bonds in many cases. I have learned so much from so many colleagues in my classes and have been inspired even more by the professors that I have encountered. The end of this journey will be a bitter sweet experience and as I get closer to this point I am beginning to get excited. We still have a little ways to go and I'm looking forward to the remainder of this ride.