With online classes, one of my biggest fears is going into a silent breakout room when work is supposed to be done during the class time. When it comes to school group work it could really be a hit or miss situation with who you’re working with. And if it comes to the point of hearing crickets when you ask “So does anyone else have ideas?” It gets so frustrating.
I’ve run into this situation multiple times and one particular moment was during one of my English classes in high school. The groups were split up randomly and we all had to write a paper together, but when it came to doing the work nobody spoke. The work was getting done, but everyone had different ideas that they weren’t communicating with other group members. And when it came time to read the overall paper, it all didn’t flow properly because nobody communicated.
The importance of group communication is obviously communicating. Groups should have a plan on how to approach what goal they are trying to reach, in my case it was the paper. Groups go through 5 stages in order to complete tasks. Forming, where group members establish what characteristics identify the members of the group as a group and have a clear sense of their goals. Storming, where members share their opinion on how to operate. Norming, working through conflict. Performing, defining the characteristics in a group. And terminating, coming to the end of the group work.
If group work were to properly flow with those five stages, getting work done would be much easier since everyone would be communicating.
Your blog post is very eye catching, I really liked the design and the font. I liked when you said that the most important thing in group communication is communication. You included the 5 stages that are formed in a group in order to complete a task, from the chapter reading. Your blog post also felt like it was speaking to me because you added details from your personal life to make the reader relate to you.
I really enjoyed how informative your blog is! It was very personal yet straight forward with what group communication is. You are very good at self explaining which is a goal i only can hope to have. You gave heavy details on the chapter reading and analyzed it for the readers to understand the reading.
Maxine, I also wrote about how group collaboration within education can be frustrating. I think your example of breakout room silence shows how virtual learning in response to the pandemic has led to a qualitative decrease in the learning experience. I tend to want to speak up in breakout rooms too, but I’ve found myself becoming more and more quiet because it can be hard to try and carry a conversation with people who aren’t willing to talk.
– Tucker D.