Reflective on the Importance of Group Work in Educational Process - Essay Example

?The Summary Summarizing is essential to any hand written essay when ever that essay is needed to help people learn about what one might have seen, read or heard. It is used by millions everywhere at every minute in all possible kinds of assignments. What needs to be understood about these summaries is that one needs to recognize when one has to go from explaining and describing to offer a better and a more complex analysis. The group was asked to write on their experience on the work they had done together. And on the time they had spend together as a group working on the assignment that they had been assigned. The few points that this report would signify are: The introduction The makings of a good group-essay A reflective essay Networking and mentoring The Introduction In the start the class was asked to divide into groups of preferably 4 to 5 people. This was the most optimal limit of the groups. The class was also asked to have different personalities in the group, as different personalities brought different aspects to the group. The members chose each other on the basis of nationalities. Though there were almost five different nationalities in the group, the mode of conversation was English as it is understood by most of them. They were Annette, Alan, Rinkesh, and Mohammed. This particular group had quite a few nations, like Hong Kong, India, Arabia, china so they all brought their culture and diversity to the group. The group went through four steps of group work. These four steps are described by Tuckan as ‘forming,’ ‘storming,’ ‘norming’ and ‘performing’ (Hingst & Lowe, 2008, 157-165). Accordingly the group came together and introduced themselves in the first stage of forming. In this stage the discussion was light hearted and the topic of the project was discussed. There was no hierarchy managed. Everyone was given an equal chance to speak and put forward their ideas. During this stage no real work was done. In the next stage, the stage called storming; the members were now more in the form of better ways and means of giving out their opinions. In this stage the members become more comfortable with each other and even start taking up different positions as the leaders or the followers. This stage had more acceptance than any of the other stages did. In the next stage (performing), the members became a lot more alert of their jobs and tried to stick to them more and more, they also tried to get more work done and as soon as possible too. In this stage the members had more conflicts and their resolution led to a better understanding between the members of the group. The makings of a good group-essay As the group was required to work on writing an essay, so they needed to identify what made an essay good and what took it beyond good. They learnt that essay marking is divided into five groups which are: 1. Pre-structural 2. Uni-structural 3. Multi-structural 4. Relational 5. Extended abstract The best essay belongs to the category of either Relational or the Extended Abstracts. A college essay is expected of these levels. In these categories the essay shows the high level of understanding which is demonstrated by the number of and method of collection of data/ideas. This is very much obvious from the way the students write, express and explain themselves and their ideas about any number of situations and scenarios. They also show how much they grasped from the theme of the topic by cross-questioning. Both these categories are awarded Distinctions, and high-awards. Unlike these categories the other essays belong to the first three categories which have essays which either dwindle ion the edge of the topic or are not even close to it. These essays show lack of understanding and comprehension and are usually covered up by mismatched points and stories. A reflective essay A reflective essay is one which describes ones communication experiences acquired during any group-work and helps one to put these experiences into practical use by matching them to the theories and concepts learnt in "Business Communication" it is also a great way of learning with other peoples' experiences and their communicative styles. It also paves the way for critical thinking and analysis. A reflective essay has importance for a group of writers working on any essay because it helps them identify the things they learnt, experiences they achieved and the group skills they attained by working with a number of different people aiming for the same solitary goal. A reflection essay is so important that Gibbs said: "It is not sufficient simply to have an experience in order to learn. Without reflecting upon this knowledge it may be rapidly beyond, or its learning prospective misplaced. It is from the feelings and thoughts emerging from this reflection that generalisations or concepts can be generated. And it is non-specializations or generalisations that permit new circumstances to be taken care of in an effective manner." (1988). The group was asked to write a reflective essay on “the group planning for the group presentation”. The marks for the essay were divided into several different categories which include marks for technical reference lists, introduction, and three parts for the main body of the essay which included: 1. personality and interaction 2. group process 3. success or failure of the group process The introduction needed to have a one-liner statement which described the working and the purpose of the essay. Part 1 of the essay included the description about the role of every member of the group, and the part played by each in fulfilling the task set to them. Part 2 of the essay included experiences of each member of the group from the other’s point of view. It also included the conflicts faced by each member and how these were resolved. Part 3 of the essay required the members to describe the success and failures of the essay in terms of the writer’s job and also how the work could be further improved. The conclusion or the reference list includes the list of all sites or books or magazines referenced in order to help the group write a successful essay. Networking and Mentoring Career development can be done by organizational and personal development, whereas the professional development can be achieved via, working hard on improvement of skills and also through reflection on one’s career. The4 group discovered that all these developments could be achieved with the help of good networking. Networking is really important as it helps in professional development as well. The group learnt that networking can be attained by nurturing good personal and professional relationships with potential people who can be a lot of help in the future of one’s career. Hand in hand with networking goes the mentoring. This is a relationship enjoyed by individuals in order to benefit one and other so that all may learn and improve. This relation is build with trust and honesty and is very essential to the growth of the individual or group of people working together. Conclusion “Group work allows students to assimilate their education and knowledge via group- discussion with their class fellows, peers and friends and thus help them support each other's learning” ( Importance Of Group Work in Primary Education and the Role of the Teacher to Manage it, 2010). The group learnt a lot of things from their work and also working as a team. They helped solve each other’s problems and the problem at hand. The learnt the importance of a good and highly reflective essay. They also learnt what kinds of essays led to a high achievement award. They also learnt the importance of networking and mentoring. All these are essential for a successful career building of an individual. Students also learn how to work as a team as this is a part of one’s life and is so important that Bibliography Hingest, R and K, Lowe. 2008. Taylorism, Targets, Technology and teams- compatible Concepts Evidence from A Us call centre. International Review of Business Research paper- vol.4. NO.5. October-November 2008. Pp. 157-165. Tuckman, B. 2001 Classics for group facilitators: Developmental sequence in small groups group facilitation: A research and applications journal- number 3, spring 2001. Pp. 66-81. Importance of group work in primary education and the role of the teacher to manage it, (2010): http://www.articlesbase.com/childhood-education-articles/importance-of-group-work-in-primary-education-and-the-role-of-the-teacher-to-manage-it-2936856.html Summary; using it wisely (2007): http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/summary.html Read More