Recall the enthusiasm with which the various team’s presented your own and received each other’s wiki-plans. Energy was high! Keep it going!
Making the site is not the end, indeed, at the most important level it is only the beginning. We need time to evaluate what we produce or the production itself will have gotten us only halfway toward the goal.
What – from our beginnings as a group – remains?
A Place in Space 
Tuesday April 22, 2008 at 6:45 pm
I think a feeling of ambiguity remains in every class session we have had since the start. What has changed is the comfort level among the students with regards to the ambiguity. As it was unfamiliar in a classroom setting back then, it was more uncomfortable than it is now. With that lack of familiarity comes a feeling of optimism that I think has been a constant as well. The lack of strict rules in the classroom in some capacity gives us students the hope of an exciting and alternative learning experience in the class. Perhaps not everyone feels this way, but it is what I notice about the class.
Tuesday April 22, 2008 at 8:58 pm
I think there are lots of things that remain in our group that were there in the begining. I still feel that people are excited to see where the wiki will go, and I still sense a lot of confusion from the group as a whole about some of the class expectations. As ehanft said above the comfort level has started to change in the classroom for sure! I am much more comfortable with some of the people in the class and even see them outside of class now on more regular basis. I think the openess of the class structure has allowed students to feel more comfortable with eachother and with the instructor making for an overall good classroom experience!
Tuesday April 22, 2008 at 9:00 pm
As ehanft said, there is definitely still an element of ambiguity present. Take out wiki for example. Does anyone even know what we’re doing anymore? I certainly don’t.
Whether the wiki has any structure or is successful, we all will still learn. The learning process is something present still from day one.
Also about having high energy, I must say, I feel like we are all fatigued. I know I am.
Wednesday April 23, 2008 at 9:55 am
I definitely think that some things that were present in the beginning of the course are still there. We walk in every Monday not really knowing what to expect, and most of the time not knowing if the work we did for homework was right etc.
Even though there is still an element of suprise such as we apparently now have a test next week, I think that we have adapted to the fact that each week we pretty much aren’t going to have a clue as to what is going on in class that week.
For me, our feelings about the class are the same as they were at the beginning of class, yet the way we frame it is completely different.
Wednesday April 23, 2008 at 10:26 am
I think the confusion about what the course is about and how to do well in it still remains, at least for me, from the beginning.
One of the things I have noticed about this class is that everyone seems to have one thing in common, they know that this is not an “ordinary” class. I think this also makes it easeir to talk to our group members outside of class, more so than any other class I’ve been apart of in the past.
Wednesday April 23, 2008 at 11:24 am
It is evident to me (through the quiz questions that steph has previously provided us with) that she places incredible value in our opinions and beliefs. After reading the responses I felt like a one did a great job representing what this class is about and what we as a group have been learning and experiencing : “”…to look beyond…narrow definitions of…identity to sophisticated notions of role & the ways our own day-to-day activities participate interactively with the large sweep of social affairs…” Since the beginning our group has been prompted to think outside the box and to question normative standards. As a group I feel like we have progressed on many levels, learning to understand individual frames, learning that it’s ok to question things and be confused, and that not all teacher/student relationships need to be on the formal level in which our culture generally expects. What remains from the beginning of our group is feelings of confusion, the push for open communication, and a feeling of not knowing what to always expect… We are constantly experiencing things outside of our comfort zones and as our group faces these new/challenging experiences our frames broaden. We will continue to benefit from this class and its lessons as we go forward in life because these different facets of learning have contributed to understanding group dynamics and what is necessary to have and be in a successful group situation.
Wednesday April 23, 2008 at 11:58 am
Like others have mentioned I do think we have become more comfortable with eachother, and the group seems to be working better overall. I also feel there is still confusion every class, but I dont feel that is a bad thing because I think it means we are doing new things and moving on. As the group moves along I think there will always be confusion, but how that is dealt with is what really matters.
Wednesday April 23, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Yes I agree that we have all become more comfortable with each other, and that still in each class we do not know what to expect. Another aspect of our class that I did not initially expect was learning how to organize our ideas and opinions. I think that this is greatly emphasized in every class. We are put into confusing situations sometimes, and instead of just thinking about how confusing it is, or what the solution is. We think about the process in coming to a conclusion, and how to organize and write about this process. We dont just try to find an answer, we also analyze how to find an answer, while organizing these ideas into something coherent for the entire class to benefit from.
Wednesday April 23, 2008 at 4:40 pm
I agree with most of the responses here that ambiguity still remains since the beginning. However, the level of ambiguity is lower than before because we know that we have to create the wiki. I also agree with the idea of comfort level among students in class. This class is different than other classes. This is the only class that I can remember all the names of my classmates. As the course goes by, we’ve became more comfortable with each other.
Wednesday April 23, 2008 at 5:51 pm
I agree that this class is definitely progressing on a personal and academic level. I feel a lot more comfortable with everyone now and have more of an understanding of their views and ideas. I hope to see this Wiki go places. I have taken a lot of pictures and videos and have told a lot of my friends about this website and my page in particular and they all seem interested to see it. If we could all just have a little definition about due dates I think it would be a lot easier and less stressful to work on this project. I am excited to see how it comes out, and after all the confusion I think we came up with a really great stream of ideas for our Wiki.
Wednesday April 23, 2008 at 7:54 pm
I too agree with my fellow classmates. “Ambiguity” is the perfect word for this class. (Thanks ehanft). It is apparent, through the posts of other students and my own feelings, that the confusion has remained since the beginning. I personally have become slightly more confused as the class has progressed. However, as others have also stated, that confusion is now expected. However, I do think that we have come up with great ideas for the Wiki, and am anxious to see how it will turn out. As lost as I may feel sometimes now I am sure that everything will come together in the end and will have made for an interesting learning experience.
Wednesday April 23, 2008 at 9:10 pm
When we enter the classroom, there is still a wonderment of what will take place on that day. We are growing as a group and becoming more comfortable with each other. I am beginning to appreciate more the process we go through in order to make decisions. This class is completely different than any other class I have taken at UMASS. At first I did not like how we did not reach conclusions easily. Now I am taking a step back and really enjoying the process it takes us to reach a consensus. I am also enjoying that we have a project to do and are starting to work on it. I still enter the classroom through wondering what will happen and if I am doing things correctly.
Wednesday April 23, 2008 at 10:57 pm
I have been interested in watching throughout the semester how this class is progressing, both in terms of our group dynamics and our progress in the wiki project. I agree with many of my classmates in that there has been a level of ambiguity throughout the course, however I feel that things are finally becoming more clear to us as the semester comes to an end. We have a set task in getting this wiki completed and having each of us do our part to make this happen. We do though, need to make sure that this process is running smoothly and everything is coming together so that the wiki actually has structure.
Thursday April 24, 2008 at 11:11 am
The open ended structure has created a lot of frustration but I can say I am now a lot more comfortable and confident in this environment. As a result of this frustration our class has had to think in ways many of us may have never been made to think before. I also feel like I know my classmates better than in other classes, that sort of ‘classmate’ barrier has been brought down a lot.
Sunday April 27, 2008 at 4:02 pm
The preceding 14 comments are in response to an assigned question sent via email: “what the heck connections you can draw from the post [reminder: After Dachau, written by the teacher] and both the coursewiki links [embedded in the post, on wiki-plans and remains]“? The students that responded have produced a range of work, from the descriptive to the interpretive. There may be a hint of complaint (?); and some may verge on being critical in the constructive sense…
The following comments are in response to a test question designed to assess students’ ability to recognize the written definitions of various types of group roles with particular utterances (in this case, the comments written above as Replies to the assigned question). In order to categorize the specific and particular comments made above, students will also have to demonstrate some knowledge of the class/group’s current Stage of Group Development. In other words, given where/how the class is currently functioning, each contribution above varies in terms of its functional role (maintenance or task-related on behalf of the group) and its self-serving role (an expression that satisfies the individual but offers little to the group or may even be counterproductive). Students are expected to be explicit (using blog names and quotations) and precise (using Benne and Sheats’ specific labels accurately).
Sunday April 27, 2008 at 9:17 pm
[…] confusion is the condition Posted by Stephanie Jo Kent under Small Group Communication What remains….from the beginning until now? Students seem attached to “confusion,” even […]
Monday April 28, 2008 at 7:16 pm
The author of the first post, ehanft, has identified him or herself as an “elaborator” as defined by Benne and Sheats’ article titled “Functional Roles of Group Members.” He has offered what he believes to be the state of our class in regards to its ambiguity, in the process identifying how we have developed during the course of the semester. This idea can be illustrated in the following excerpt: “What has changed is the comfort level among the students with regards to the ambiguity. As it was unfamiliar in a classroom setting back then, it was more uncomfortable than it is now.” Ehanft goes on to say that the result of this change was a heightened enthusiasm for the course material and the wiki, and that the upcoming project will benefit from it. By developing, suggesting, and making expectations for the future in their post, ehanft has taken on the role of “elaborator”. This comment would suggest that our group was in the Stage III or “Adulthood” stage of development as stated by Richard C. Weber in the article “The Group: A Cycle From Birth to Death.” Ehanft has discussed what Weber terms “the experience of accomplishment”, meaning in becoming comfortable with an uncomfortable situation, we have become a more enlightened and cohesive group which is more apt to work well together.
Thumpasaurus has described an altered view of the group, and has therefore been deemed an “information giver.” The author starts by agreeing with the sentiments of the afore mentioned blogger, ehanft , but ends by stating his personal opinion on the creation of the wiki: “Does anyone even know what we’re doing anymore? I certainly don’t.” He has made a generalization in suggesting that we don’t know what is happening with the wiki, and expressed it in terms of his own experience. The ambiguity, lack of group cohesion, and confusion related by Thumpasaurus signifies this blog would propose our group is in Stage I: Infancy or “Forming” in relation to group development.
The third blogger I will discuss is ontherecliner, who has categorized himself as a “follower.” He has gone along with the opinions and statements of many previous bloggers in the group, acknowledging he has done so and acting more or less as a “glue” to help cement the group’s ideas together. The first sentence in his blog demonstrates this clearly: “Like others have mentioned I do think we have become more comfortable with each other, and the group seems to be working better overall.” He also says he agrees with the earlier statements about groups members being confused in class. According to Weber, the group is in Stage III: Adulthood or “Norming and Performing.” When a group has reached this stage, certain members step up to tasks when their specific talents are required. Thumpasaurus has “followed where it was productive and necessary” as said by Weber, and helped the group reach a consensus regarding the topic being discussed by agreeing with certain statements when appropriate.
Monday April 28, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Having open ended structure within our group dynamics class has really sparked classmate’s attention through out the 14 posts. The notice ability by the students of an informal teaching style, known as the “standard setting or ego ideal, allowed for “expressing standards for the group to attempt to achieve in its functions” and “also applies standards in evaluating the quality of the group process”(pp. 56 Benne/Sheats) Steph fulfilled this role throughout our group dynamics class in a way that created openness and flexibility. In doing so she assisted the group in acquiring a goal and eventually reaching its goals. At this point in time our class was in the “Forming” stage where “our goal was to establish safe patterns for interaction” (Weber pp.1) Little did we know we were about to get caught in the unavoidable stage known as “Storming” (Weber pp.3) With the guidance of the standard setter we were able to stay somewhat on track and eventually make the decisions that were needed to decide the gist of the coarse Wiki. At this time Summer 22, The “orienter” (according to Benne and Sheats) defines that we were learning “…that not all student teacher relationships have to be on the formal level,” being allowed to have an openness in the classroom facilitated the group to feel comfortable with each other, unlike any other classroom setting experienced before. Sedona1 the “coordinator” says “The open ended structure has created a lot of frustration but I can say I am now a lot more comfortable and confident in this environment. As a result of this frustration our class has had to think in ways many of us may have never been made to think before.” The standard setting of this class originally brought about much confusion within the classroom; However, it ultimately brought about comfort-ability, openness, growth and leaning about one another and ourselves. It also taught us how our roles in a group differ within different groups and the roles in which we see ourselves change. samesies20 “the opinion giver” says” I think the openness of the class structure has allowed students to feel more comfortable with each other and with the instructor making for an overall good classroom experience! I agree and feel that without this open class structure and the ‘type’ of guidance given by the teacher, this growth and possibility of openness would not have occurred. We can see it looking back through our web logs in After Dachau that sometimes the familiarity of “structure” although a comfort to us is actually inhibiting our growth and learning especially in how we interact with others. Through this type of leadership and classroom setting a lot can be learned and accomplished, i.e Our Wiki Project!
Tuesday April 29, 2008 at 1:37 pm
It’s interesting to take a step back and look at where our group was last week and assign “functional roles” to different comments.
The first example of a “functional role” I found was brucebanner87, taking on the role of “energizer” with his post of “We do though, need to make sure that this process is running smoothly and everything is coming together so that the wiki actually has structure.” I thought this because this post is attempting to, according to Benne and Sheats, “arouse the group to greater…activity.” (p.55)
I would say this role is in Stage III according to Weber because as Weber states, “the group is ready to tackle its goals, working together collaboratively.”
The next post that I looked at was by Moses84 the “evaluator critic” as he/she said, “We walk in every Monday not really knowing what to expect, and most of the time not knowing if the work we did for homework was right etc.” According to Benne and Sheats this functional members, “may evaluate the practicality…of some unit of group discussion.” (p.55) I think that here Moses is “questioning” the practicality of not knowing what is going on in class.
According to Weber this “role” would be defined as in Stage II because of, “group members will react and generally attack the designated leadership.” The general leadership here being the professors teaching format of keeping each class “confusing.” I actually agree with Moses84 that we walk in not knowing what to expect.
The final post that I looked at was Sunshine775 in the role of “group-observer and commentator.” Sunshine775 writes, “We are growing as a group and becoming more comfortable with each other. I am beginning to appreciate more the process we go through in order to make decisions.” As Benne and Sheats write about the group-observer and commentator, “keeps record of various aspects of group process…” I think that through writing about the group growing together and being comfortable with each other he/she is, “keeping records of various aspects of group processes.” (p.55)
I think that according to Weber, this role would be put in Stage III because as Weber states, “tasks are accomplished by recognizing unique talents in the group-” I think the fact that Sunshine775 recognized that the group is “comfortable with each other” that is “recognizing a unique talent” within our group.
Through reading the Tavistock Method I found many things that seemed to make sense about the actions of our group. Most notably was the Basic Assumption Dependency. It seems like at the beginning Steph was the “designated leader” and the aim of our group was to “attain security and protection” from her. I think at many points our group was trying to play “stupid” in order to “express their disappointment and hostility in a variety of ways” most notably complaining.
As we have progressed as a group we are realizing more that as the Tavistock Method says, “Whatever the group is doing or talking about, the group is always talking about itself, reflecting itself.”
Wednesday April 30, 2008 at 1:17 am
The response by buckets34 (tenth response, https://aplaceinspace.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/reminder-after-dachau/#comment-1020) is interesting because they start off with an individual role, move onto a group role, then revert back to the same individual role they started with. The individual role that buckets34 relates to is the “recognition-seeker”. He/she demonstrates that they have a personal interest in the wiki project, which is constructive. They want to “see this Wiki go places.” But this person also says how many pictures and videos they have taken. This is an attempt to “call attention to himself” (p. 57 Benne and Sheats), one of the aspects of a “recognition-seeker”. Buckets34 then turns to a group role when they call for due dates in order to reduce the stress level. This “information seeker” role “asks for clarification” and wants the facts to be addressed by “authoritative information” (p. 54 Benne and Sheats). This is a positive idea working for the improvement of the group. Information seeker and recognition seeker, interesting combination.
Sunshine775 was the 12th to reply to the information above. This person jumps right into a group role as a “orienter” in class. Sunshine’s reply https://aplaceinspace.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/reminder-after-dachau/#comment-1022 really “defines the position of the group”. The goals of the group are making decisions collectively, after all it is “group dynamics”. This person definatley raises the question of where the group is heading next, another key element to the “orienter”. This person explains how they used to be more of a “blocker”, negatively resistant to the group as a whole. Now this person can be a “orienter” because of the comfort level with the group.
Abccccc is mostly a “group-observer and commentator” in the 9th comment. This person states the evaluation of the other responses and recalls different things that happened in our class as a group. They are passively agreeing with the statements above and is more interested with what the class is so the students in it. This person “can remember all the names of my classmates” in this class. This is a record of how different this class is then any other. The “data with proposed interpretations” (p. 56 Benne and Sheats) that abccccc displays a cause and effect for different situations. For example: this comfort level has increased. This is explained to be a direct correlation because this course is different then any other that we have had.
Wednesday April 30, 2008 at 1:19 am
addition- abccccc’s comment is https://aplaceinspace.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/reminder-after-dachau/#comment-1019
Thursday May 1, 2008 at 2:39 am
Freshkicks6,ch0c0late milk and ap1115 all fall in multiple roles according to the labels of Benne and Sheats’ article. They act as a follower because they are going along with the comments of the group under the topic of reminder: After Dachau. They are more or less agreeing with the discussion about the ambiguity in class. Ap1115 also falls in the role of group- observer and commentator. He has the confusion since the beginning of class and he states that the confusion still remains. This shows that he has been observing the confusions among groups. Ap1115 also comments about the class being different and it has brought our members to work together differently. He says ‘I think this also makes it easier to talk to our group members outside of class…’.
This also fits into stageIII: Adulthood according to Weber. Ap1115 recognizes the way to accomplish the work effectively and productively by having the work and discussions outside of class. As Weber stated, ‘group members may gain and share insights into the factors that contribute to or hinder their success’.
Freshkicks6’s role falls into group-observer and commentator as well. The author has been observing the group progress. He/she comments on what he/she did not initially expect to learn. The author elaborates and analyzes on what is been learned in class that is important, the gist of the class. Freshkicks6 says, ‘We think about the process in coming to a conclusion, and how to organize and write about this process. We dont just try to find an answer, we also analyze how to find an answer, while organizing these ideas into something coherent for the entire class to benefit from.’
I guess this also fits in stageIII of the Weber’s article similar to the reason that I’ve listed for Ap1115 because of the insights that Freshkicks6 holds.
ch0c0late milk’s role falls into encourager. He/she agrees with the ambiguity among the group members. Yet, he/she shows the positive attitude and offers commendation in the group as listed in the characteristics of the encourager role. Ch0c0late milk says ‘I do think that we have come up with great ideas for the Wiki, and am anxious to see how it will turn out. As lost as I may feel sometimes now I am sure that everything will come together in the end and will have made for an interesting learning experience.’ This fits into Weber’s stageIII about experience of accomplishment where ‘the sense of groupness’ is emphasized in the role of this author. https://aplaceinspace.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/reminder-after-dachau/#comment-1021
Friday May 2, 2008 at 3:39 pm
After reading and analyzing the comments made by my fellow peers, I am please to see that it finally seems as though we are moving forward to obtain complete “Adulthood” as according to Weber in “The Group: A Cycle from Birth to Death.” The three comments I chose to analyze prove this “adulthood” in similar ways.
Samsies20 Samsies20
Shows the progression by stating, “I am much more comfortable with some of the people in the class and even see them out of class now on a more regular basis. I think the openness of the class structure has allowed students to feel more comfortable with eachother with the instructor making for an overall good classroom experience!””
The same is true for Buckets34 Buckets states “I feel a lot more comfortable with everyone now and have more of an understanding of their views and ideas. I hope to see this wiki go places.”
For Buckets and Samsies the fit in with the “Adulthood” Stage according to Weber because of their feelings about the group. “In The Group: A Cycle from Birth To Death” Weber states, “Interpersonally, members are now working out of affection or a caring about others in a deeper, less superficial manner than before. Meaningful functional relationships develop between members.” Forming a sense of comfort and normalcy as Buckets and Samsies has stating clearly fits into the Adulthood stage as Weber explains.
Freshkicks6 on the other hand, shows the transition from “Storming” to “Adulthood according” to Weber in a different manner. According to Weber, Freshkicks6 explains the “Experience of accomplishment, whether it be successfully reaching consensus or solving a group problem, provides a powerful unifying force.” This can be seen when Freshkicks states, ‘We are put into confusing situations sometimes, and instead of just thinking about how confusing it is, or what the solution is. We think about the process in coming to a conclusion, and how to organize and write about this process.” She is clearly excited about the work and growth that we as a group has accomplished over the semester. A sense of accomplishment in the sense of growth is a clear indication of “Adulthood” as according to Weber.
In regards to the Benne and Sheats Article, Functional Roles of Group Members.
Samsies20 appears to be the “energizer” who “prods the group to action or decision, attempts to stimulate or arouse the group to “greater” or higher quality activity.” Samsies does this by expressing her agreement with Ehanft, “I still feel that people are excited to see where the wiki will go, and I still sense a lot of confusion from the group as a whole about some of the class expectations. As ehanft said above the comfort level has started to change in the classroom for sure!” This statement is is an energetic one that could really help the class stay motivated. This is clearly a role of someone in the adulthood stage according to Weber because with her role “meaningful functional relationships develop between members. Leadership issues are resolved through interdependent behavior, or working with others.” Which is what occurs with an energizer in the group.
Freshkicks6 could be regarded as the “Group Observer and Commentator” according to Benne and Sheats. This group memeber “keeps records of various aspects of the group process and feeds such data with proposed interpretations into the group’s evaluation of its own procedures.” Freshkicks6 does this by commenting on how we as a group has changed our way of thinking, and how by doing this we are all benefiting from. Freshkicks6 states, “We think about the process in coming to a conclusion, and how to organize and write about this process. We don’t just try to find an answer; we also analyze how to find an answer, while organizing these ideas into something coherent for the entire class to benefit from.” Once again, this is a role hat would fit into the adulthood stage according to Weber because she has a “feeling of uniqueness of the group with all of its strength and faults.”
Lastly, Buckets34 in a way seems to be the recognition seeker according to Benne and Sheats. The recognition-seeker “works in various ways to call attention to himself, whether through boasting, reporting on personal achievements, acting in unusual ways, struggling to prevent his being placed in an inferior position, etc.” Buckets did this by commenting on what he personally has done to benefit the group. Buckets stated, “I have taken a lot of pictures and videos and have told a lot of my friends about this website and my page in particular and they all seem interested to see it.” Even though I stated previously that Buckets seemed to be in the Adulthood stage, and the recognition seeker seems to be a member in the storming stage according to Weber, the rest of his comment would still place him in the Adulthood stage. This is becuase according to Weber, “group members may gain and share insights into the factors that contribute to our hinder their success. This is clearly what Buckets is doing.
Saturday May 3, 2008 at 1:14 pm
It’s interesting that were focusing on functional roles of group members because I’ve been in many classes where group work was the most crucial part of the grade, and we never delve into what it takes to have a successful group dynamic. Ontherecliner holds the position of opinion giver within his post by stating his opinions about suggestions previously made: “Like others have mentioned, I do think we have become more comfortable with each other and the group seems to be working better overall.” By saying this recliner makes it aware that he feels as if the group has progressed into stage 3 of our group cycle. Richard Weber defines stage III Adulthood: “Interpersonally, members are now working out of affection or caring about others in deep, less superficial manner than before.” It is evident throughout recliners post that he feels this way. Recliner, as an “opinion giver”, relates other peoples thoughts to his own, which shows signs that the group is now functioning as a “cohesive unit” (Weber). Another important aspect of recliners post is the fact that he emphasized his ideas of what should become of the group by suggesting that he feels as if the progression of the group will lead to less need for clarification. https://aplaceinspace.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/reminder-after-dachau/#comment-1017
Freshkicks takes on the role of information giver throughout her blog. In the very beginning of her post she states that she agrees with previous members feelings that the group is more comfortable with each other. By referring to previous posts and other group members, fresh is showing that she cares about other peoples opinions (in the beginning of the semester not many posts referred to other group members post). This act shows that fresh is also in the third stage of development, as defined by Richard Weber. As an information giver, fresh offers generalizations about what the class is about: “…..learning how to organize our ideas and opinions. I think that this is greatly emphasized in every class. We are put into confusing situations sometimes, and instead of just thinking about how confusing it is, or what the solution is.” Fresh is able to relate her feelings about what the basis of the course is about to the group dynamic. Fresh offers facts and generalizations often in her post, by itemizing what we do as a group, and uses words to start of her sentences with phrases like “We think, We dont, We also..”. As an information giver, fresh is able to prove that we are in the third stage of group development by being able to refer to group as a powerful and unifying force. In a way, Fresh was able to define our groups identity, which is a important aspect of the stage. https://aplaceinspace.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/reminder-after-dachau/#comment-1018
Brucebanner does a great job in his post “defining the position of the group with respect to its goals by summarizing what has occurred.” (Benne and Sheats, p. 55). Because he does this, it was easy to describe Brucebanners role within the group in his post as an “orienter”. Bruce defines the position of the group by suggesting that the level of ambiguity that has been prevalent throughout the course, is now clarifying and that people are now able to understand more. Because Bruce states that things are now becoming more clear, he makes it evident that he is aware of what the group has accomplished in the infancy and storming development stages (Weber). Weber suggests that “the more aware the group is of what it has accomplished in this (storming) stage, the faster the group will evolve and develop in the future.” Now, with the frustration of the two stages behind us, banner suggests that we still need to be aware: “ We do though, need to make sure that this process is running smoothly and everything is coming together so that the wiki actually has structure.” As an “orienter” Banner is able to raise questions and awareness about the direction that the group is taking. https://aplaceinspace.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/reminder-after-dachau/#comment-1023
Saturday May 3, 2008 at 3:00 pm
In Churchofgoogle’s post he states that ehaft has demonstrated the role of an elaborator, according to Functional Roles of Group Members by Kenneth D. Benne and Paul Sheats. An elaborator, “spells out suggestions in terms of examples or developed meaning, offers a rationale for suggestions previously made, and tries to deduce how an idea or suggestion would work out if adopted by the group.” (Benne and Sheat p. 55) Churchofgoogle’s reasoning for classifying him as this role is, “Ehanft goes on to say that the result of this change was a heightened enthusiasm for the course material and the wiki, and that the upcoming project will benefit from it.” I disagree, and feel that Ehaft’s post fits the role of an information giver, (according to Benne and Sheats article). In Ehaft’s post he does not say anything about the wiki, or how the change in comfort level has anything to do with our upcoming project. There is also no sign of Ehaft deducing how an idea or suggestion would work out if adopted by the group. Therefore, I do not see an elaborator role in his post. Ehaft states that, “I think a feeling of ambiguity remains in every class session…the lack of strict rules in the classroom in some capacity gives us students the hope of an exciting and alternative learning experience in the class. Perhaps not everyone feels this way, but it is what I notice about the class.” He gives a generalization that many students feel a sense of ambiguity in the classroom. And is relating his own experience of feelings of ambiguity and the hope of an exciting and alternative learning experience towards the group problem. This is closely Benne and Sheat’s definition of an information giver. “Information giver offers facts or generalizations which are ‘authoritative’ or relates his own experience pertinently to the group problem” (Benne and Sheat p. 54)
Churchofgoogle classifies Ehaft’s post as being in Stage III: Adulthood, according to The Group: A Cycle from Birth to Death by Richard C. Weber. I agree. Adulthood is when the group can finally pull together. There is an experience of accomplishment, or even just consensus that unifies the group. Ehaft has exemplified our class being uncomfortable at first, and then gaining comfort with each other. This is an accomplishment on our group’s part, and to the best of my knowledge is a basic consensus of the class. Class ambiguity and a higher level of comfort in our classroom seem to be the consensus.
Akademakid classifies Abccccc’s comment as a group-observer and commentator. (According to Benne and Sheat’s article.) Abcccc comments on the class ambiguity, as well as the progressive level of class comfort. He “keeps records of various aspects of group process,” (Benne and Sheat p. 56). Abcccc does fit this role; however, I also feel that Abcccc has also taken on the role of the follower. According to Benne and Sheat a follower, “goes along with the movement of the group, more or less passively accepting the ideas of others…” (Benne and Sheat p. 56) Because there were multiple people who posted comments specifically about class ambiguity and class comfort level before Abcccc’s comment, I feel that he could be classified as a follower. He is agreeing with what many people have said before, passively accepting the ideas of others.
I would classify Abcccc’s comment in Stage I: Infancy, according to Weber’s article, The Group: A Cycle from Birth to Death. Weber states, “The behaviors in Stage I are initially polite and superficial as each person seeks out similarities or common needs.” (Weber p. 1) I feel that Abcccc post was polite and was displaying his agreement with other classmates, showing similarities and common needs.
I agree with ap1115’s evaluation of Brucebanner87’s post. He is classified as an energizer, (according to Benne and Sheat’s article.) The energizer, “prods the group to action…attempts to stimulate or arouse the group to ‘greater’ or ‘higher quality’ activity.” (Benne and Sheat p. 55) This fits Brucebanner87’s statement because he says, “We do though, need to make sure that this process is running smoothly and everything is coming together so that the wiki actually has structure.” He is definitely prodding the group to action, however it is debatable weather this is “great” or “higher quality” activity, or simply standard functioning that should be happening anyway. I have then come to the conclusion that Brucebanner87’s could also be classified as a standard setter, or ego ideal. This role is described as, “expresses standards of the group to attempt to achieve in its functioning or applies standards in evaluating the quality of group process.” (Benne and Sheat p. 56) It is great that Brucebanner87 acknowledged that we need to make sure this process is running smoothly, and that it is important that the wiki has structure, but I think these things could be seen as a standard that should happen anyway. He is expressing what should be accomplished, and what needs to happen to accomplish this end goal. This may not be a higher quality product, but simply the standard product that we should all be expecting, and working towards.
I agree with ap1115’s choice in classifying this comment into Stage III: Adulthood. (According to Weber’s article.) Brucebanner87 seems ready to “negotiate roles and processes for accomplishing its task.” (Weber p.3) Realizing the end goal will help unify the group and prepare it to work together and tackle it’s goals.
Sunday May 4, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Being stuck in what Weber would recognize as the “storming” stage for quite some time, I feel as though we have finally moved forward. When these responses were written, we were still in that stage, however I agree with moses84 that we are finally in the Adulthood stage.
According to Benne and Sheates in their article, a group contains a variety of people who will act differently according to function styles. There are also different behaviors that group members will establish. I think on the whole our class as a group has been well established and quite effective as we move along. The responses above that I found most appealing as functional group members are, thumpasorus, sunshine775, and Sedona.
Thumpasorus acts as both the opinion giver and opinion seeker. The opinion seeker will ask for values and seeks to find the attitudes of other group members. The opinion giver will express their own opinions to the group, sometimes giving information on what they think should be done. Thumpasorus wants to find out what people are thinking and attach that to their own thoughts and opinions. They mention that they are unaware of the wiki structure and expresses confusion, and wants to know if others feel that way as well. He also expresses that the high energy the group should have is not present and feels the group on the whole is “fatigued”, in which he is giving an opinion not only for himself but for the group on the whole, possibly because others have expressed that opinion to him.
Giving credit to Akademakid’s post (20), I agree that Sunshine775 (post 12) acts as an orienter. And orienter will define and review a group’s position. They will also give somewhat of a summary as to what the group has accomplished and what they will do next. They can also mention any downfalls in the group as well. Sunshine775 respects the fact that there is a “wonderment” involved within the group and the classroom, and mentions that the group has accomplishments to be made, and mentions the project that the group will be working on soon. I also feel that Sunshine775 also falls into the evaluator/critic function role as well. They evaluate the proposals of the group, and look at the facts against a set of predetermined self notions. This person notices that the group, while still growing, is becoming more comfortable with one another. They also realize that they may not know what to expect with each class, because of the structure.
The last comment I would like to notice is Sedona’s (post # 14). This person falls into the energizer. The energizer comments on the groups forward movement, and the energy of the group on the whole. They also bring up the actions of the groups, and promotes to stimulate forward movement. Sedona mentions that because of the frustration many group members have had, there has been a reverse effect of some sorts in that this has notably pushed the group to think in ways they may not have before, which is a forward movement. Also, this has “broken down” the “classmate barrier” which this person sees as a great thing. He/she sees the frustation, which usually is viewed as a negative, as a positive, and sees it more as an energy that will make the group progress into a new stage and mindset.
All three of these comments have provided some sort of function within a group. The statements provide thoughts and manners they had while in the storming stage. Now that we are in the “adulthood” stage I can see that many of these things mentioned have progressed ever further.
Sunday May 4, 2008 at 2:10 pm
I definitely see us moving quickly into the Adulthood stage right now in the class. I believe we all realized it was crunch-time and needed to finish the product soon in order to complete our goal that we set out for at the beginning of the semester as a group.
Ehanft, in his post, established himself as an “information giver”, according to Benne and Sheats. “The information giver offers facts or generalizations which… relates his own experience pertinently to the group problem” (Benne and Sheats, p. 54). In his post, Ehanft says “I think a feeling of ambiguity remains in every class session we have had since the start.” This post shows that he is relating his feeling of ambiguity to everyone else in the class. Although not everyone may feel that the class is ambiguous, he uses the fact that he is feeling ambiguous to generalize the class as a whole.
Thumpasorus, in his post, establishes himself as a “follower”, according to Benne and Sheats’ functional roles, as he “goes along with the movement of the group” (Benne and Sheats, p. 56). He simply repeats what Ehanft says in his post, and while he is simply just following Ehanft’s lead, since Ehanft is an “information giver”, Thumpasorus is also relating his own experiences to the group and making generalizations, like “Does anyone even know what we’re doing anymore? I certainly don’t.”
The final commenter, that seems to take on the functional role of “group-observer and commentator” is Moses84. According to Benne and Sheats (p. 56), the “group-observer and commentator keeps records of various aspects of group process and feeds such data with proposed interpretations into the group’s evaluation of its own procedures.” In his post, Moses84 says “even though there is still an element of surprise such as we apparently now have a test next week, I think that we have adapted to the fact that each week we pretty much aren’t going to have a clue as to what is going on in class that week.” By saying this, he is keeping a record of the element of surprise that has been present in the class and assuming that that element of surprise is going to continue to be prevalent in all the remaining classes.
Sunday May 4, 2008 at 6:43 pm
In their article titled “Functional Roles of Group Members,” Kenneth D. Benne and Paul Sheats analyze how groups function and provide titles for the different functions they see group members fill. Amongst the many, an important role Benne and Sheats outline is that of the “evaluator-critic.” Benne and Sheats write that in this role a member “subjects… the group to some standard” and “may evaluate the ‘practicality’… of some unit.” Above, ap1115 fills this role, perhaps more discretely than Moses84 (ap1115). ap1115 writes, “I think the confusion about what the course is about and how to do well in it still remains, at least for me, from the beginning.” This is a certain two-part criticism of the functionality of our class structure, instutituted by Steph. First, ap1115 suggests that our class bears “confusion about what the course is about.” To have a comprehension of the content of some matter, an observer or participant must be able to draw a “gist.” With respects to our class, ap1115 argues that many of us, the group members, are not able to do this and thus the class has not yet succeeded in its objective which is to learn about the dynamics of a group. This relates to ap1115’s second criticism, which is the suggestion that on an individual level members are not clear on how to succeed in respect to what most students strive for, which is a good grade. This may be a criticism in efficiency, as success seems a greater possibility when the steps leading there are apparent. Richard C. Weber wrote an article titled “The Group: A Cycle from Birth to Death” in which is he describes four stages of group development. Weber’s second stage, “Adolescence,” relates closely to ap1115’s statement. About this stage, Weber writes “Individuals start to respond… to the task, usually with a full range of emotions.” This task is typically implented by a leader, who, Weber writes, will be the target of criticism during this stage. ap1115’s criticism is a product of this stage. Weber notes that once members “being initiating independent and interdependent behavior,” the group will progress to stage three. The evaluation group has begun this, but because their rubric has not yet been implemented the group is still in “adolescence,” at least in terms of ap1115’s criticism.
Of the many roles Benne and Sheats define, most are not mutually exclusive and are frequently coupled. For example, take the “Task” role of the “energizer” and the “Maintenance” role of the “encourager.” Abccccc notes that Ch0c0late milk functions as an energizer. This is certainly valid, however she plays dual roles as an encourager. These two roles pair very easily. Benne and Sheats write that “the encourager praises, agrees with and accepts the contribution of others.” Ch0c0late milk states that “I too agree with my fellow classmates” and goes on to explain in which ways. She also praises and thanks ehanft for providing the “perfect” word, “ambiguity,” to associate with this class. Ch0c0late milk later states that “we have come up with great ideas.” This is clear praise to the contributions made by the class members. Finally, Ch0c0late milk writes that “I am sure that everything will come together in the end” – sound words of encouragement. Weber writes that Stage III, “Adulthood,” is when the group functions “collaboratively.” In this stage, “members are now working out of affection or a caring about others in a deeper, less superficial manner than before.” Ch0c0late milk’s personal praises are evidence of “adulthood,” because if she was in different stage she may have been preoccupied with confusion or ambition and not thought to fill this role. The mere presence of a “maintenance” role suggests the group is “norming and performing.”
In Summer22’s response, he or she functions in at least two roles. Benne and Sheats write that an “opinion giver,” predictabily, gives opinions. Summer22 does just that repeatedly through out his or her response. For example, Summer22 writes “After reading the responses I felt like a one did a great job representing what this class is about and what we as a group have been learning and experiencing…” Aligirl22 notes the more dominant role that Summer22 fills, which is that of the “orienter.” Benne and Sheats write that “the orienter defines the position of the group with respect to its goals by summarizing what has occurred…” Summer22 summarizes what the class has learned when he or she writes “as a group I feel like we have progressed on many levels, learning to understand individual frames, learning that it’s ok to question things and be confused, and that not all teacher/student relationships need to be on the formal level in which our culture generally expects.” Finally and most importantly, Summer22 gives this summarized journey perspective when he or she writes that “we will continue to benefit from this class and its lessons as we go forward in life because these different facets of learning have contributed to understanding group dynamics and what is necessary to have and be in a successful group situation.” Summer22 reflection is a hint of evidence that is comes from a member in Weber’s “adulthood” as he or she is able to look back at some of our accomplished goals and transfer some hope to the prospective future.
Sunday May 4, 2008 at 8:17 pm
I would argue that the role function that ehanft is portraying here is similar to that of the “group observer and commentator” according to membership roles explained by Beene and Sheats. That becomes clear when ehanft states that it “was unfamiliar in a classroom setting back then, it was more uncomfortable then it is now.” This shows a clear observation that has been made over the course of the semester. Ehanft has clearly made a mental note of the level of comfort among the members of the class and recalls that in this post. Hence he fits the group observer and commentator because he was “keeping records of various aspects of group process and feeds such data with proposed interpretations into the group’s evaluation of its own procedures.” (Beene, Sheats, p 56) It seems that the group was working towards the stage of adulthood when ehanft wrote this, since he observed that the group was more comfortable and that students are hopeful and excited indicates that we had possibly moved beyond the “storming stage”.
It was interesting to read the different types of responses that classmates gave in regards to After Dachua blog posts. Summer22 posted a comment that seemed to establish her as the “encourager”. Throughout the post she states that, “after reading the responses I felt like everyone did a great job representing what this class is about and what we as a group have been learning and experiencing” (Summer22) This fits into Benne and Sheats role as the “encourager” because Summer22 is, “offering praises, agrees with and accepts the contributions of others.” (Benne, Sheets p 55) Summer22 shows similar qualities that can be found in enhafts post as the group observer by recognizing progression among the group by stating, “as a group I feel like we have progressed on many levels, learning to understand individual frames, learning that its okay to question things and be confused, and that not all teacher/student relationships need to be on the formal level in which our culture generally expects.” (Summer22) This comment also confirms my assumption that we are no longer in Webbers “storming stage” her posts suggests a level of understanding that is shared amongst the class that would not exist if the class remained in the “storming stages”.
Another interesting role explained by Benne and Sheats is that of the “elaborator”. After reading through the 14 posts I found that buckets34 seemed to fit some of the “elaborator” qualities. According to Benne and Sheats the elaborator, “spells out suggestions in terms of examples or developed meanings, offers a rationale for suggestions previously made, and tries to deduce how an idea or suggestion would work out if adopted by the group.” (Benne, Sheats p 55) Buckets34 elaborates on the class and offers suggestions by explaining, “If we could all just have a little definition about due dates I think it would a lot easier and less stressful to work on this project.” (buckets34) Buckets34 shows excitement for future progress of the class but saying “I hope to see this Wiki go places”. All of the comments I have read have showed a positive attitude towards the class only confirming once again that we are not in Weber’s “storming” stage. At this point I would conclude that we have moved to the “norming & performing” stages of Adulthood. Since the level of comfort has been improving among the class one can infer that “interpersonally, members are now working out of affection or a caring about others in a deeper, less superficial manner than before.” (Weber, p 3)
I hope to see the group continue through to the Transforming stage once we achieve the goals set forth by Steph and our groups for the Wiki!
Sunday May 4, 2008 at 10:00 pm
The 3 posts that I have chosen to analyze are ones by Ch0c0late milk, Ehanft, and Sedona.
Ch0c0late milk: according to the Benne and Sheats article I find it he/she plays the role of coordinator. When they say “it is apparent, through the posts of other students and my own feelings, that the confusion has remained since the beginning. I personally have become slightly more confused as the class has progressed. However, as others have also stated, that confusion is now expected.” He/she pulls the ideas of previous posts together in order to show the relationship of confusion that the majority of class is experiencing.
Ehanft: appears to be the initiator-contributor with regards to his post. The simple fact that he was the first to reply to Stephs’ post and state “I think a feeling of ambiguity remains in every class session we have had since the start. What has changed is the comfort level among the students with regards to the ambiguity.” What he does here is he proposes to the rest of class that what remains is this feeling of ambiguity, which following posts seem to agree with.
Sedona: provides us with a few opinions in their post. When talking about the frustration the class caused they say that “I am now a lot more comfortable and confident in this environment. As a result of this frustration our class has had to think in ways many of us may have never been made to think before.” Making us think in different ways seems to be this persons feeling of what the class was all about. I feel that this blogger has played the role of opinion giver in this post.
Sunday May 4, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Our class as a whole according to Weber in The Group: A Cycle from Birth to Death has completed the Infancy and Adolescence stage and is now placed in the Adulthood stage. We are, according to Weber, able to “finally pull together as a real group, not merely a collection of individuals” (Weber, p. 3). Although the students in our class may be at different levels of “Norming and Performing” we are all able to work together now and pull together as a team. We each play various roles in and outside of the classroom that have allowed us to make a great deal of progress with the Wiki and other assignments.
In the article Functional Roles of Group Members by Kenneth D. Benne and Paul Sheats there are several roles that can be assigned to individual group members. Each student in our class performs one or more of these designated roles and all of them contribute to the group as a whole. I will focus on Thumpasorous’, Summer22’s, and Brucebanner87’s replies to Steph’s “After Dachau” post and will take notice of their apparent task, group building, maintenance, or individual roles. Since Thumpasorous’s post was very short and concise I would have to agree with what Getoutakingshous said about his role being a Follower. I think that this post is one of the most obvious to designate a particular role because like Getoutakingshous says, “according to Benne and Sheats’ functional roles, as he “goes along with the movement of the group” (Benne and Sheats, p. 56). It is very apparent that Thumpasorous does not really have a clue what is going on in this class even though it is so late in the semester which means that they go with the flow which in turn is following other students lead. It is hard to take leadership roles when you are unsure about the direction and path the class is taking. I do not blame Thumpasorous for being a follower in this class because it appears difficult for many of the students to take strong leadership roles in a class so it is much easier to make sure you are in the right direction because the Follower, according to Benne and Sheats, “goes along with the movement of the group, more or less passively accepting the idea of others, serving as an audience in group discussion and decision” (Benne and Sheats, 56).
It is very apparent that Summer22 has taken on the Orienter role according to Benne and Sheats because through her post she, “defines the position of the group with respect to its goals by summarizing what has occurred, points to departures from agreed upon directions or goals, or raises questions about the direction which the group discussion is taking” (Benne and Sheats, p. 55). It is obvious that she has taken on this role because similarly to what Aligirl22 and Samesies20 implied Summer22 states that, “As a group I feel like we have progressed on many levels, learning to understand individual frames, learning that it’s ok to question things and be confused, and that not all teacher/student relationships need to be on the formal level in which our culture generally expects. What remains from the beginning of our group is feelings of confusion, the push for open communication, and a feeling of not knowing what to always expect…” (Aligirl22, Samesies20) This insight that Summer22 has given us about our position as a class is showing her Orienter nature and where she believes we stand and will expand as a class.
Finally I will assess Brucebanner87’s Functional Role as a Group Member according to their comment to “After Dachau.” I think that Brucebanner87 is acting as the energizer in his post because they state that, “We have a set task in getting this Wiki completed and having each of us do our part to make this happen. We do though, need to make sure that this process is running smoothly and everything is coming together so that the Wiki actually has structure” they are, according to Benne and Sheats, “prodding the group to action or decision, attempting to stimulate or arouse the group to ‘greater’ or ‘higher-quality’ activity” by encouraging us to continue our efforts and pull together to make the best final product possible. (Benne and Sheats, p. 55) I also agree with Summer22 when she says that Brucebanner87 can be labeled as an Orienter because she acknowledges that, “Bruce defines the position of the group by suggesting that the level of ambiguity that has been prevalent throughout the course, is now clarifying and that people are now able to understand more.” (Summer22)
Sunday May 4, 2008 at 10:19 pm
First, i feel that thumpasorous was acting in the role of the “special interest pleader” (Beene, Sheets, p.57) in his/her original post. The comment was basically that they felt confused and fatigued about the wiki project and the class’ direction, and assumed that peers agreed.
I feel that this is posing the issue to best fit individual need, but making it out to be in the best interest of the group. Also, as far as a stage (2), this may have been still in the storming of the group, hense the confusion identified.
I feel in the next comment i am analysing (sedona) that they are acting as the “coordinator” (Beene, Sheets p.55) because of how she is attempting to pull the class’ ideas and feelings together in expressing that we have moved passed the storming stage and into weber’s stage 3. Sedona seems to feel that people are less frustrated and classmates are getting to know one another better, which may account for different results.
Ontherecliner seems to take a position somewhere in between the previous two comments. ontherecliner feels that classmates are definately becoming more comfortable with eachother and is creating positive results. They also feel that there is still a level of confusion in class but it can be a good and productive thing. this is why i feel the weber stage is storming in this instance. The role taken on seems to be that of the “evaluater-critic” (Beene, Sheets p.55) they are evaluating the confort level of the class and adding in the fact that they noticed an element of confusion still.
Sunday May 4, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Thumpasorus (https://aplaceinspace.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/reminder-after-dachau/#comment-1013) plays the role of opinion give and opinion seeker (damn you funinsun for beating me to the punch https://aplaceinspace.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/reminder-after-dachau/#comment-1071). Thumpasorus agrees with ehanft’s opinion on ambiguity “Take out wiki for example. Does anyone even know what we’re doing anymore? I certainly don’t.” which also implies an inquiry into the ‘values pertinent to what the group is undertaking’ as stated in the Benne & Sheats article. Thumpasorus also disagrees with ehanft’s belief that the group is exhibiting high energy by noting his own lack of energy.
Freshkicks6 (https://aplaceinspace.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/reminder-after-dachau/#comment-1018) plays role of elaborator. She agrees with previous statements made that the class has become more comfortable with each other and that it is confusing but she also goes on to add that she has also learned “how to organize our ideas and opinions”. That “We dont just try to find an answer, we also analyze how to find an answer, while organizing these ideas into something coherent for the entire class to benefit from.”
ch0c0late milk (https://aplaceinspace.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/reminder-after-dachau/#comment-1021) plays the role of the encourager as mentioned by abccccc (https://aplaceinspace.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/reminder-after-dachau/#comment-1071). S/he plays the role of energizer by stating that “we have come up with great ideas” and later says that she is “anxious to see how [the wiki] will turn out” which serves her roles as both encourager (“praises, agrees with and accepts the contribution of others.” As Benne & Sheats write)and energizer by implying that she expects something of high quality from the group.
Monday May 5, 2008 at 2:35 am
As I am most likely the last to post, I was unable to find any posts that were not discussed. I did, however, find that I agree with my peers on their posts and thought that everyone did a great job with their analyses. I apologize if I have left anyone’s name out when attributing credit.
Ap1115 and Freshkicks6 identify brucebanner87 as the energizer, and uses a quote from his blog. Bruce writes: “We have a set task in getting this wiki completed and having each of us do our part to make this happen. We do though, need to make sure that this process is running smoothly and everything is coming together so that the wiki actually has structure.” (https://aplaceinspace.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/reminder-after-dachau/#comment-1023)\
I agree with this assessment as Bruce is giving the group a push by reminding us of the task at hand and that we need to come together so that the wiki “has structure.” Benne & Sheats state in their article that the energizer is one who stimulates or arouses “the group to ‘greater’ or ‘higher quality’ activity ( Benne & Sheats, 55).”
I also agree with Sedona and Funinsun in regards to Thumpasorus’ post. Sedona and Fun label Thump as the opinion giver and opinion seeker. Thump asks : “Does anyone even know what we’re doing anymore? I certainly don’t.” This question both asks for opinions of the other group members and offers his/her own. Thump offers his/her opinion again later in the post when he/she writes: “Also about having high energy, I must say, I feel like we are all fatigued. I know I am.” (https://aplaceinspace.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/reminder-after-dachau/#comment-1013)
Bradytomoss and Getoutakingshous label Ehanft as an intiator-contributor. However, I also saw Ehanft as an opinion giver. He continuously offers his opinion throughout his post, and concludes by saying: “Perhaps not everyone feels this way, but it is what I notice about the class.” (https://aplaceinspace.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/reminder-after-dachau/#comment-1011)Perhaps he was seen more as an intitiator because he was the first to post.
What struck me the most about these posts is that most seemed to fall under Benne & Sheats category of ” Group Task Roles
( Benne & Sheats, 54).” The article states: ” The following analysis assumes that the task of the discussion group is to select, define and solve common problems. The roles are identified in relation to functions of facilitation and coordination of group problem-solving activities ( Benne & Sheats, 54).” As our group is taking the “group-as-a-whole approach,(http://www.wbcgrouprelations.org/tavistockmodel.htm)we are still on the basic assumption level of functioning. We, as a group, behave as though ” certain assumptions are true and valid and as if certain behaviors are vital to the group’s survival (http://www.wbcgrouprelations. org/tavistockmodel.htm).” I feel that these assumptions are constantly being made because of the consistant confusion that exists throughout the group. This could also be true because our group is first and foremost a class.
Ironically, while I feel that we are on the basic level of assumptions, that we, as a whole, are in Weber’s “adulthood stage.” We are working as a collaborative group and are “performing” together to work towards a common goal which is completing the class Wiki. Yay!
Monday May 5, 2008 at 11:25 am
I think that though the Benne/Sheats article was useful for articulating some of the specific roles an individual in a group might play at any given time, if this exercise has taught me anything, it’s the limitations of the roles given. It felt a little contrived placing the things said into one of these categories, but I’ve tried to do so as earnestly as possible.
I think each of the posts shows an individual occupying more than one role at once. I’ll start with Buckets34 who took what I saw as a lot of slack from some earlier comments which claimed he could be placed in the “individual-centered” role of the recognition-seeker (p. 57). I disagree.
Buckets34 says in the first line of his post that he sees the class as “progressing on a personal and academic level” And his last: “I think we came up with a really great stream of ideas for our Wiki.” I saw these comments as one of the encourager (p.55). He’s praising the class and showing “warmth and solidarity in his attitude toward [the group]” (p. 55) In his “hope to see the wiki go places,” I think Buckets acted as energizer (p. 55), and I think his line, “. I have taken a lot of pictures and videos and have told a lot of my friends about this website…” I think is less about seeking recognition, and more of a call to action. An attempt to “stimulate… the group to ‘greater’ [and] ‘higher quality’ activity. In his request for “definition about due dates” I think buckets serves as an Opinion giver (p. 55) by making a suggestion based on “pertinent” group values – such as a value in not being stressed out, and a value placed on grades.
Thumpasorus similarly occupies multiple roles within his one comment. In his first line, “As ehanft said, there is definitely still an element of ambiguity present” Thumpasorus is working both as a follower (p. 56) going along with another group member, but he’s also something else. By repeating what has already been said by other posters, Thump emphasizes it, and also places value on agreement, cohesion, and consensus within the group. He/she seems to be saying that this statement gains value as it is repeated by individuals within the group. There is a certain degree of observation and standard-setting within this one line.
Later the comment goes on to read: “Does anyone even know what we’re doing anymore? I certainly don’t.” Again this one line is multifacetted. In some ways Thump is playing the role of the information seeker (p. 54) but he/she is also serving as an opinion-giver (“I certainly don’t”). In addition, I detect some humor being used perhaps in the harmonizer role of “jesting” to relieve some percieved tension within themselves and the group at large.
The line in which Thump states that “the learning process is something present still from day one” I think there’s an implicit standard-setting and opinion going on here. Thump is articulating through this comment a group emphasis on the value of learning.
The last line in which Thump describes his fatigue was interesting for me, because I felt as if it did serve a function but I couldn’t find anything in Benne/Sheats to describe it. The closest thing is again the harmonizer. In this line, which is arguably negative, I suggest that Thump is actually doing something positive. By expressing his/her own fatigue, this comment actually was very relieving for me as a group member. “Yeah, we’re all a little tired,” I thought. I found it comforting to hear my own sentiments expressed by another group member. It both elicited a feeling of solidarity and comfort but also encouraged me to keep going.
Lastly I chose Summer22’s comment who I felt played multiple roles including Orienter, Encourager, Standard setter/ego ideal, Information giver, and Group-observer and commentator. Summer reiterates a group value placed on “opinions and beliefs.” She places Steph here firmly in the role of Standard setter/ego ideal, but even by exploring this I think she places herself there a little as well. Summer also serves as encourager stating that “[everyone] did a great job representing what this class is about and what we as a group have been learning and experiencing.” Later in the post, Summer returns to roles of opinion giver and Standard setter/ego ideal as she explores the groups values. These values include “think[ing] outside the box,” “question[ing] normative standards,” “learning to understand individual frames,” “open communication,” and an acceptance of confusion, discomfort, ambiguiety. Finally, Summer offers her opinion that “we will continue to benefit from this class and its lessons as we go forward in life because these different facets of learning have contributed to understanding group dynamics and what is necessary to have and be in a successful group situation.”
Monday May 5, 2008 at 11:35 am
I would assess the groups “Webber” phase based on these 14 comments as being still between “Storming” and “Norming and Performing.” Having outgrown some of the tension and frustration of adolescence, the group is now functioning with a higher degree of care and affection. Multiple posts expressed a bond growing amongst the group members. At the same time issues of power and ambiguity are still at play. Leadership is still a point of contention, and the group still acts as a number of individuals far more than as a cohesive and singular unit.
Monday May 5, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Operation don’t plagiarize is underway. Well done Mike, way to wait til Monday at 2:00pm. Here goes…
A lot of focus has been given to the first posting by Ehanft. As we all know this is Eric, and Eric does a great job in class trying to keep the team focused on the task at hand. People have assigned him all different terms but I would classify what he said as the, “evaluator-critic”. He originally discusses what is going on in the class and takes it a step further by giving his critique. He says, “The lack of strict rules in the classroom in some capacity gives us students the hope of an exciting and alternative learning experience in the class.” In a way that is an opinion, but I would classify it much more as a well thought out critique of the class.
Sunshine775 I would classify as an “Opinion Giver”. She says, At first I did not like how we did not reach conclusions easily. Now I am taking a step back and really enjoying the process it takes us to reach a consensus. I am also enjoying that we have a project to do and are starting to work on it.” This makes up half of her post, and it is simply her opinion. The opinions she gives are very valid as much of the class feels the same way.
I would have to classify thumpasorus as the classes anti “energizer”. At least in regards to her response here. This is what she had to say, “Also about having high energy, I must say, I feel like we are all fatigued. I know I am.” I would definitely be interested in finding out her thoughts now. This post was written prior to our big day in the lab last Monday. I too felt somewhat sick of this whole process until we finally stopped talking about it and did some work on it. Now I am very excited about it.
Friday August 8, 2008 at 7:22 pm
[…] can remember all the names of my classmates.” But I loved the posts that appeared after Steph’s comment and analyzed the former posts. Churchofgoogle, aligirl22, ap1115, and others identified and […]
Sunday August 17, 2008 at 8:21 am
[…] how their own perceptions of other classmates. The first person to comment on Moses84 is ap1115 (now referred to as “AP”). AP’s perception of Moses is that he is the “evaluator critic” […]
Sunday August 17, 2008 at 9:37 am
[…] how their own perceptions of other classmates. The first person to comment on Moses84 is ap1115 (now referred to as “AP”). AP’s perception of Moses is that he is the “evaluator critic” […]