Closing Post

It seems that 8 weeks really do just fly by. I have learned so much from all of you. This class has been interesting to say the least. Communication is something that we do from birth, but it is something that many of us never really completely master. I think it is most certainly an area that could always use improvement. I definitely think that we have gained some valuable information on how to become more effective communicators. It's up to us to put this information to use. Thank you all for the thought and post throughout these 8 weeks. Thank you for allowing me to share my experiences with all of you. I look forward to continuing this educational journey with you.

Team Building

 

 

When I think about the groups that I have been a part of, the adjourning stage was often not the hardest. I have often been in groups in which the other group members were not pulling their weight. They left the work up to a few people, and I always found myself being a part of the few. As a result, I was usually looking forward to the adjourning stage. However, this has not always been the case. One of the most enjoyable groups that I have been a part of was my youth group at church. We formed a bond that I still treasure to this day. I am still friends with many of them. I was very sad when I turned 18 and headed off to college. The adjourning stage was very difficult.

 

I do feel that high performing groups are hardest to leave. I've often found myself eager to leave low performing groups because I was exhausted from having to do all of the work. My church youth group was an extremely high performing group. I became so close to my group members that I considered them to be family. When the members got ready to go off to college, we would have a special dinner to honor them. It was always such a sad occasion because we never wanted any of the members to leave. I remember being happy to be going to college but sad that I had to leave my group members. I now realize that I really wasn't leaving them because we had already formed an unbreakable bond.

 

I'm not sure how I will feel about adjourning from the colleagues of my Master's program. I assume that it will also be a bittersweet time. I have had the opportunity to get to know some truly amazing people who are making a major difference in the early childhood field. I have enjoyed learning from them through the experiences that they share each week. It has become a part of my life. My life has been very stressful and being a part of this program has been somewhat of an outlet for me. I know that it will be difficult to leave.

 

In the "adjourning" stage the project is coming to an end and the team members are moving off into different directions (Abudi, 2010). This is an important part of the team building phase. It gives the members an opportunity to reflect on the tasks that were performed. Hopefully, the tasks were completed and successful. This also provides the team the opportunity to say good-bye to each other and wish each other luck as they pursue their next endeavor (Abudi, 2010).

 

References

 

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