Word Of Thanks (comm&collab)

I would like to take the time out and thank everyone for sharing their posts with me throughout this class. I would like to thank everyone for responding to my post as well as sharing personal experiences with me. They have helped me throughout this course and at the same time learn about myself personally and as a Teacher. Again thank you all for the support throughout this course!! I would love to stay in contact with everyone below you will find my email address to where you can contact me. I wish everyone the Best!!

Contact Info:

chawandaharris@gmail.com
littlierookie24@yahoo.com
chawanda.harris@waldenu.edu

Adjourning

The group I found hardest to leave out of the groups I have discussed this week had to have been the group of my basketball team. In this group I was one of the starters on the team. I did not hole a big leadership position like team captain. I think this group was so hard to leave because I had developed a lot of friendships; I had been playing with some of my other teammates since recreational league. I considered my basketball team to be a high performing group because on a team everyone has a role that they play on the court especially when it comes to running plays. Also being a part of this team made you work with people of different cultures and diversities. You had to learn to develop relationships with people that you may not normally interact with on a daily bases. Being a part of this group consists of all of the steps needs to build a successful team which are forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. As a team we all had our roles, most respected each other, along with having the support of our coaches (Fleming&Monda-Amava, 2001). The only thing that I wished would have been established was more respectable relationships between myself and some of the players on the team. I think if those teammates would have gotten to know me outside of just practice our relationships would have been different.

When I think about my colleagues that I have met so far here at Walden University I feel as If our relationships could possibly have been even stronger if we would have met face to face. Anyone can sound good on paper, but it is something about meeting face to face that gives you that since of clarity and trust. I do hope that some of my classmates as I will stay in touch beyond this program. I have made some connections with people that right here in my home state of North Carolina. It has made nice to be able to relate with someone that is coming from the same state, but a different area. I feel that there has been a great deal of respect between each student as we have done discussions and blog post. A lot of people including myself have shared a lot of experiences that are personally, which have allowed us to open up to others and develop professional relationships. I feel that I have grown close to a lot of my colleagues especially the ones that have been in all of my classes since we have started the program.

The adjourning stage is such an important stage because it allows for self reflection. It allows you to see what went well and what things you’re yourself and the team could have approved on. It gives you the opportunity to work with others and see how their mind and thought process works. It gives you the chance to give praise to someone else for their accomplishments. It allows you to understand what it is to collaborate. It allows you to make personal and professional connections with others.

Resources

Fleming, J.L., & Monda-Amaya, L.E. (2001).  Process variables critical for learning team effectiveness.  Remedial and Special Education, 22(3), 158.

Conflict Within My Work Area

  Conflict is something that we face almost everyday in life, rather it's at work or at home. The key to conflict is being able to resolve it in a positive manor. I believe the text, and articles from this week have aloud me to better handle my communication in resolving conflict with someone in a positive manner. 
One recent conflict that I have experienced has been through my job with a parent. We have had a disagreement on the way of handling her child's misbehavior in the classroom. She feels as if her child is a perfect angle and never does anything wrong. I have explained to her the type of behaviors that he is displaying in the classroom such as, putting his hands on me and my TA, hitting other students, throwing chairs, falling out in the halls, sliding up and down the hallway etc...  Before things had escalated I began trying several different strategies with him such as: sitting him in his own area on the carpet, giving him something to hold while on the carpet, if and then charts, rewards system etc. This is all things that I had suggested to to the parent and used in the classroom, but it seemed not to be working. After that I asked for some assistance from the behavior therapist and this again brought up and issue with the parent, but with further discussion Both the parent and I had agreed for the school therapist to come in and observe just so that she could gain so more understanding of what I was trying to tell her.  Still the parent feels that everything that I was telling her was a lie. It got to the point where an emergency meeting was called and I literally had to get written documentation from other teachers that had assisted me with this student to present to the parent to show that hey everything that I am telling you is the truth. Once in the meeting the therapist Pretty much confirmed everything that I had been telling to the parent from the beginning to be true. From there I began to receive  help in the classroom to better handle this child behavior, but at the need of everything the parent and I relationship is not good. It's like she was offended because I was trying to get help for her child. At the present time the relationship between the parent and I is copacetic  and since the meeting there hasn't been anymore drama with the parent. The relationship between the child and I has grown stronger as well.

To help me continue to make this a positive relationship some of the strategies that have helped me are taking that of the Third Side. This will allow me to sit back and actually listen to everything the parent is trying to say, empathize and try to understand where she is coming from before I give any type of response. Also from the beginning of this situation I should have taken into account more of the three R's i would have been more considered and put my own feeling and judgments to the side so that I Would have been able to listening and empathise with the parent more so things would not have escalated as they did. Currently I think  using the WIn WIn approach will be a great way for both the parent and I to share ideas and communicate better with each other.
Has anyone experienced a situation similar to this if so what strategies would you suggest to help resolve this situation?