Group Activities - Honey and Mumfords Learning Styles Theory - Coursework Example

PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCES By Name Course Instructor Institution City/State Date Reflective Essay on Group Activities Introduction As students, to realise well-informed, all-inclusive education, integrated collaboration on a number of fronts is important (Page & Donelan, 2003, p.126). I have realised that teamwork is essential for both students as well as teachers, and amongst students. So, the more the fundamentals of teamwork are shown, the more chances subsist for students in learning the crucial skills of collaboration (Gallagher, 2013, p.191). Group or team work in a school environment enables the students to learn the important skills related to working collectively toward a shared objective. This form of teamwork brings about various skills like collective effort and communication, which are important for students afterwards in the workforce. In any kind of group work, I have learnt that the group have to concur about the individual (leader) to handle numerous elements of work and project together with making use of each other’s strengths so as to complete allotted chores. This as a result, leads to skills such as effective resource allocation, time management, as well as effective communication. In education setting, learning styles can be defined as the systematic variances in persons' habitual or natural pattern of processing as well as acquiring knowledge in learning environments (Gallagher, 2013, p.22). The central idea is that students vary in the way they learn. Advocates of utilisation of learning styles suggest that instructors evaluate their students’ learning styles and acclimatise their classroom approaches so as to well fit all learning styles of students. The reflective essay seeks to provide critical insight about teamwork and my learning style according to Honey and Mumford’s Learning Styles theory based on my experience while taking part in presentation and debate activities Reflection The group presentation offered me a chance to perform much more as compared to what a sole presenter can do. As mentioned by Magin and Helmore (2001, p.291), assertiveness and self-confidence are some of the presentation skills anticipated by employers; considering that in scores of jobs, especially for entry-level graduates they are expected to be team players and also possibly have qualities of leadership. Basically, scores of jobs these days are precisely suitable to particular types of personality, and so I believe knowing my strengths will assist me in thinking about my perfect role in the place of work. I established that working collectively on group work projects was an effective way of establishing on my strengths and weaknesses. During the debate and presentation I was taken out of my comfort zone and at first it was indistinct on what my role was, but I rapidly established my role in the group, as a team player. Furthermore, group work offered me a chance to improve my communication skills, not only written as well as verbal, but as well my interpersonal skills, for instance paying attention to and valuing ideas of other group members (Williams, 2008, p.375). I also became aware of the effects of moral and immoral physical response on my cooperation as well as team dynamics. Sometimes, I found the group dynamics thought-provoking, but this has helped me know my strengths as well as weaknesses, and has also improved my negotiating and assertiveness skills, especially when conversing with other members about ideas as well as approving the top solution, or making certain every member contribute equally. Although I had never made any presentation in front of an enormous audience, I was certain that I would experience particular challenges. In my first presentation, I would totally go blackout in the mid-sentence and be silent for almost a minute before getting my courage back. However, when I took part in these group activities I gained confidence of presenting to a bigger audience, my fear disappeared. The verity that the presentation was to be carried out in front of my classmates made me gain more confidence unlike my first presentation when I was in front of unfamiliar persons. I learn that, making mistakes during presentation is normal, and so there is no need for added pressure since it may create a nervous environment. Aside from presentation activities, being part of the debate was truthfully a magnificent experience. I justly believe the things I learnt from the debate will benefit me all days of my life. Firstly, the debate helped me realise that I have to make my own choices, and there is wrong or correct choices when it comes to life provided that the choices are made by me. Without a doubt, the debate influenced both my career as well as my private life, and when I got confused, it offered the required structure to my life. The debate offered me the capability to work collectively with people from various backgrounds determined to achieve the set goal. Also, the research skills I gained as a result of the debate will in the future help me in the workplace, so the debate improved my abilities. Besides that, the debate improved my critical thinking skills, and such skills offered me the ability to critique my presentation. I clearly noted that teamwork was crucial in successfully completing both presentation and debate activities. As explained by Tuckman's model, teamwork develops the ability to establish relationship (Riebe et al., 2010, p.529). Starting with a style of directing, we moved through coaching, then participated, before delegating some tasks within the groups. Tuckman’s model is important for the reason that it acknowledges the verity that groups do not commence fully-created as well as functioning. The model indicates that teams mature through stages that are clearly defined, from the time they are created as individuals’ groups, to task-focused, interconnected teams. The 4 Phases of Tuckman’s model involves; forming of the group; storming to make people feel as part of the group; norming where the team start developing processes; and performing by concentrating on tasks at hand (Riebe et al., 2010, p.529). With regard to teamwork, Belbin created a paradigm on roles of the team, where he argued that performance of the team is observed when a losing or winning task is set. This was evident in our group, where all members with allocated role balanced the role of the team in the group and so our performance was determined by the all roles’ strong representation. Belbin in his model creates a metamorphosis between functional role as well as team role. So, it is imperative for the group to maintain the ideal balance both in team roles and functional roles, and that was the case in our group. Without a doubt, Belbin’s theory is supportive in recognizing the various types of the teams. According to the model, interpersonal issues and conflicts are found during team developments, and the process is reliant on the relationship maturity as well as quality communication together with improved performance (Partington & Harri, 1999, p.695). The argument presented by this model was evident in our group, since every member of the group worked at the same place and all of us took part in the predefined work. Kolb's learning theory presents four different learning preferences or styles, and according to Wildflower and Brennan (2011, p.77) they are rooted in a four-stage learning cycle. Kolb's model is for the most part well-designed, given that it provides both a means for comprehending one’s different styles of learning, and also helps one understand the experiential learning cycle, which is applicable to every person. According to Vince (1998, p.304), the learning cycle is communicated as four-stage learning cycle, wherein concrete or immediate experiences' offer a foundation for reflections as well as 'observations. Such reflections as well as observations, are extracted and integrated into abstract concepts; thus, generating fresh consequences for deeds that can be tested actively. Peter Honey and Alan Mumford developed learning Styles rooted in Kolb’s work, and four different learning preferences or styles were identified: activist, theorist, pragmatist as well as reflector (Gallagher, 2013, p.24). Based on these learning styles and experience gained from group activities, I conclude that I am a reflector; since I learn well by observing as well as reflecting on what transpired. Most of the time I would avoid interrupting members when contributing their ideas, rather I preferred watching from the sidelines.  Besides that, I am an individual who choose to stand back and observe experiences from various distinct point of views, gathering information and being conscious while working towards a suitable conclusion. During the presentation I would stand back so as to think about the newly acquired skills and view the skills from numerous distinct viewpoints. I also consider myself a reflector because I used to gather information, from both group members and libraries, and afterwards would ponder through it comprehensively prior to making any conclusion. I believe the comprehensive analysis and gathering of information concerning events and experiences is what mattered during the group activities, since it helped me to reach a definitive conclusion (Rassool & Rawaf, 2007, p.37). My philosophy is to at all times remain watchful, and reflect on possible implications and angles prior to deciding. Conclusion In conclusion, as argued in the essay, offering presentations and partaking in debate is imperative for majority of graduate professions. Debate and presentations activities were in a broad scope of scenarios, like brainstorming for fresh ideas and briefing group members on the topic. I realised that audience awareness and clear verbal communication as well as knowledge of body language were all imperative for the success of group activities. Am a reflector, and this can be evidenced by my personality of standing back and viewing at an issue from different perspectives. Being a reflector, I also like gathering information and pondering it cautiously prior to making conclusions. Moreover I like observing and listening to others views before offering my own views. During the group activities a lot of issues such as lateness, conflicts, and lack of enough ideas, but this were solved through brainstorming and equal opportunity for every team member to participate. References Gallagher, K., 2013. Skills Development for Business and Management Students: Study and Employability. Oxford : Oxford University Press. Magin, D. & Helmore, P., 2001. Peer and Teacher Assessments of Oral Presentation Skills: How reliable are they? Studies in Higher Education,vol. 26, no. 3, pp.287-98. Page, D. & Donelan, J.G., 2003. Team-Building Tools for Students. Journal of Education for Business, vol. 78, no. 3, pp.125-28. Partington, D. & Harri, H., 1999. Team role balance and team performance: an empirical study. Journal of Management Development, vol. 18, no. 8, pp.694 - 705. Rassool, G.H. & Rawaf, S., 2007. Learning style preferences of undergraduate nursing students. Nursing Standard, vol. 21, no. 32, pp. 35-42. Riebe, L., Roepen, D., Santarelli, B. & Marchioro, G., 2010. Teamwork: effectively teaching an employability skill. Education + Training, vol. 52, no. 6/7, pp.528 - 539. Vince, R., 1998. Behind and Beyond Kolb's Learning Cycle. Journal of Management Education , vol. 22, no. 3, pp.304-319. Wildflower, L. & Brennan, D., 2011. The Handbook of Knowledge-Based Coaching: From Theory to Practice. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Williams, R., 2008. The 7th European conference on e-learning. In The 7th European conference on e-learning. Agia Napia, Cyprus, 2008. Academic Conferences Limited. Read More