Group Process in Developing the Presentation - Coursework Example

REFLECTIVE ESSAY Name Professor Institution Course Date Group presentation is part of teamwork experience that is enriching when it comes to studying. In developing a presentation, we had to undergo some group processes. The processes posed some positive and negative challenges to us. From the challenges, I am able to get better ways of doing similar work in future. At an individual level, I was supposed to contribute to the overall success of the group. The members of the group are crucial and should display a higher standard of emotional management, time management, and interactions in one way or another. . Some of the dominant activities I had to organize were: sorting the work content, assigning roles to each member of the group, brainstorming ideas on how to run some activities, and planning time. PART 1: Group Process in Developing the Presentation Working with the group in preparing the presentation was the most successful thing while undertaking the study. The group formed a bigger component with each member contributing different skills and aspects to the overall presentation. The group ideas were viewed from a wider perspective. The toughest experience I had while working with the group was time management. My schedule was different from that of the other members, but we had to reach an agreeable timeframe that accommodates the interests of everybody. This presented to me a wonderful opportunity to handle some management activities within the group It is so motivating to work in group presentations. Wider subjects are easily tackled within the group (Price, 1992). It is more practical to study in a group because all of us were fully engaged in coming up with a common solution to the presentation. This gave me an upper hand in coming up with reliable judgements. A lot of research and teamwork is incorporated into the entire process and I had to ensure that the whole learning structure was well organized to accommodate every member. This enriched my learning experience. .The whole group project had its own unique challenges. For instance, some of the main challenges were personal management, academic, and outside other spheres. Out of the numerous challenges, the principle challenge was that of achieving higher grades. This required dedicating time to more research. There is no universally accepted standard of time management that can apply to all groups. Therefore, we had to design methods that would be convenient to all of us. The method we employed targeted meeting the deadline in the most appropriate ways possible. Group management requires a lot of proper planning (Carole, 2011). Several activities and ideas unfolded during preparation for presentation. I experienced the challenge of attending to my personal development activities, such as sports, at the expense of group discussion. Although sports break the monotony of study, its time has to be distinguished from the time meant for study groups. With so many activities to attend to, a suitable plan that incorporates all the activities is needed. All the challenges, although not directly related to each other, can lead to poor group performance. Thus, as a group leader, I had to recommend for scheduling of group activities. Experts have recommended for use of timetables, good leadership, proper communication skills, and having a positive attitude as some of the factors towards higher performance in group-related activities (Munling, 2011). Several members in my group unanimously advocated the idea of having a joint timeframe on how to work together. It is worth noting that individual members in any group react differently. Their emotions vary from one person to another. Some can be very emotionally, whereas others are light-hearted. In management of the group, it is essential to acknowledge that the role played by each member is paramount and cannot, therefore, be looked down upon. The group taught me to be patient with all the members. I learnt how to deal with the impatient and hot-tempered members, who wished that things were done in their favour. Through agreements, we sorted the main differences and come up with a single presentation that reflected the interests of everyone. In a group, I learnt to differentiate emotion from substance. The best way to plan a group presentation is by prioritizing goals and objectives (Derek, 1994). When this is done, all that you have designed for the group can be taken care of appropriately. At the same time, the plan should focus on meeting the deadlines that have been set. For our group, we had a deadline for presentation. This deadline forced us to get prepared in advance. We can attribute our wonderful performance to the plans we had, and which incorporated deadlines. The entire study needs teamwork. A good presentation depends on how the members are organized to undertake group presentation. I must praise my group for its skills in teamwork. This made the presentation comprehensive, and well structured. All my group members’ views were included in the presentation. PART 2: Contribution to Overall Group and Aspects of Personality Following the hindsight since I started undertaking the studies, I learnt to deal with the challenge of time planning. As a group leader, I ensured there were no unnecessary postponements. Postponements can lead to incomplete group processes, poor grades, and should therefore, be avoided as much as possible. From my earlier experience, I understand that postponements, just like procrastination, lead to submission of incomplete projects. The habit of postponing can easily emanate from the tendency of putting off things till the last minute. To avoid this, time planning is highly needed. I ensured that all the group events started at their allocated times. As a group, we also discouraged the input of lame excuses for poorly done work. A lot of success can be attributed our strict time management. Further, doing urgent things first was another lesson we learnt and applied as a group. We had a lot to do as a group before coming up with the overall presentation. However, not much would be achieved , were it not for the fact that we did the urgent things first. For instant, group organization was urgent. The earliest activities to be done in every group are the most urgent ones. This helps us in avoiding congestions towards the deadline for presentation. The beauty of agency is that it creates a balance between the activities to be handled (Dee, 2003). What is more, I advocated for the use of a proper schedule. A schedule highlights on what should be performed and at what time (William, 2002). In this group preparation for the presentation, I introduced the use of a schedule. The schedule we used contained a to-do list that outlined what needed to be done. This kept us busy and constructive at all times. All the members of the group were guided to come up with a method and tools of tackling the presentation problem. Through a schedule, we were able to identify the time for discussion sessions, time for personal assignments and research time. A schedule is essential because it acts as an alert on what needs to be done, and at what time. Some of the aids towards proper scheduling include the day planners, diaries, and time reminders. I was able to have the broader picture of the whole group activity in my planner. The planner, also known as schedule, ensures that nothing is left out. This saved me a lot of time and helped in controlling of other academic activities. In fact, most of us are forgetful. Due to the busy nature of an academic environment, forgetting crucial activities becomes inevitable. Therefore, it is through the use of appropriate schedules that an amicable solution can be obtained. Also, by ensuring that we had a uniform schedule for group activities, we eliminated the conflict that would have arisen out of poor planning. In the group, I valued setting of goals. This is crucial in the process of learning within the group. The goals kept me focused and alert in the effort of trying to achieve the set goals. Memorizing the goals in very necessary in order to remember the agendum of the group. The group goal inspired me to work hard, even during the difficult times. When the pressure of so many activities came in, I remained focused to the set goals. Therefore, for the success of any group to be realizable through goals and objectives, the goals and objectives must be realistic, time-bound, attainable, and specific (Anthony, 1999). If goals are unattainable, it would be discouraging and may easily lead to change of subject while undertaking the group activities and other academic studies. Further, time-bound goals keep the learner on topic or within the constraints defined by the goals. In short, the goals helped me not to be swayed by unimportant activities. Part 3: Contribution to Overall Group Process For the future of similar group activities, there is much that needs to be done. This includes the application of good study habits among the group members. Group activities are an important undertaking that should be accorded maximum standard of discipline. Inculcating good study habits leads to better results. Good study habits for a group will involve carrying out expensive researches, using polite language when communicating to group members, having a good record for all the group members, keeping time whenever you are supposed to meet and incorporating the ideas of each and every member. When every member is assigned some responsibility, it discourages laziness among some members. The research undertaken by the group has to be guided by a group leader. Participation in co-curriculum activities is significant. This breaks the monotony of study. Sports are a social activity that can encourage suitable interaction among the group members. Other good study habits include avoiding nagging friends and distracting activities such as computer games, and watching movies at the expense of group activities. In most situations, group activities can be complex. It order to reduce the complexity of work, breaking it into simpler versions is important. For example, the whole content of preparing for a presentation can be challenging if work is not broken down. In my group, every member was assigned a specific part. This saved us a lot of time. What is learnt in the group can be implemented in subsequent similar activities. A group consists of members whose potential varies from one individual to another (Shabbir, 2009). By pulling together the skills of each member, a compressive solution can be arrived at in the final group work. References Anthony, A 1999, The Journey: Reflective Essays, Wiley and Sons, New Jersey. Carole, LH 2011, Anthem Guide to Essay Writing, Anthem Press, New York. Dee, LF 2003, Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approached to Designing College Courses, Wiley & Sons, New York. Derek, C 1994, Debating Singapore: Reflective Essays, ABC Publishers, Singapore. Munling, S 2011, Essay Writing: A Student’s Guide, SAGE Publications Ltd, London. Price, P 1992, Teamwork: The Team Member Handbook, Wiley & Sons, New Jersey. Shabbir, B 2009, The Mirror’s Memory: Reflective Essays and Thoughts, John Wiley and Sons Ltd, New York. William, JM 2002, From a Memory: Reflective Essays, Xlibris Corporation, London. Read More