Thank you All...It's been real =-)

Over the past eight weeks we have all had some "AHA" moments about how we personally communicate and what measures we can take to become better listeners.  I have enjoyed, as always, reading all of your discussion and blogs pertaining to communication and collaboration. 

I am early in my career and the veterans I have met on this journey have really given me insight and motivation to keep pressing forward.  Everyone's blogs have really made a difference in my educational experience and has made me a better teacher, advocate and student. 

I want to thank you all for being a part of my journey and I look forward to learning with some of you in a couple of weeks!!! I hope everyone enjoys their week off!

Alyssa
email: glenn06@gmail.com
or
find me on Goggle+

Adjourning from TeamWork

Adjourning from TeamWork

Adjourning has never been too difficult for me.  I would say the only time saying goodbye was difficult was when I worked at a camp for the first year.  The comrade between the group developed at the trainings prior to the start of the program.  Our solution to dealing with this part of the group development process is to keep in contact through social media.  Each year there are counselors that come back, but there are also new ones that come and become a part of the team.  The return counselors are paired with new comers and expected to "show them the ropes".  This particular group has definite established rules because we are working with children.  Those who do not follow the protocols usually get reported because it is important to keep the students safe on a college campus. 

I have definitely have a sensitive spot to those I have started this program with or have been in several classes with.  The Blog Assignment and Discussion parts of this program have really been an asset to understanding and learning more about other students. 

Adjourning is an essential phase of teamwork because it allows us to reflect back on what mistakes were made, how the project could have gone smoother and also establish friendships/relationships for future team situations. 

"All good things must come to an end."

Communication and Conflict

Communication and Conflict
 

Professionally there have been some disagreements between the administrative departments that oversee preschool in my building.  On one hand, the preschool staff is directed by the early childhood department located in another building.  The early childhood department provides professional development, a PIRT team for strategies, a master teacher for each preschool team and gives us a budget for school supplies.  On the other hand we are given directives to follow the procedure of the administrators in our building.  Often our building administrators and the early childhood department are not on the same page about the activities and teaching that is going on in the classroom.  This creates frustration, confusion and a bit of chaos during evaluation time.

During conferences and meeting with our administrators as a preschool team we bring up the fact that the lack of cohesion between our evaluators and the early childhood department is causing some confusion for us when planning and also we are concerned about the proficiency of our evaluation because of the discontinuity.

The first strategy I can use in a situation like this is a cooperative strategy.  Coming together, discussing the issues and making a plan on how to fix the issues.  A compromise would not really deal with the matter at hand.  But cooperatively, we can work out the miscommunications while also making a plan for better communication in the future. 

The second strategy would be an distinctive line of the allocation of power.  Though the administrators in the building have the last say, many of the policies that they enact are developmentally inappropriate and unachievable for preschool classrooms, teachers and students.  Through the allocation of power the two departments and the preschool team has a chain of command and we will also know where to go when particular situations arise.

References

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. Pgs. 219-245. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.