Reflection 1 Jasmine Monteiro

    Seeing each groups presentation really made me feel as though we were all able to understand the material effectively without question. Going into this we all didn't have a reference or idea of who we were going to be working with. At first it was a bit scary to start something new, talking to new people and getting everything done, in my group, I stepped up to separate the parts and checking up on people to make sure they were getting their parts done. I'm usually not the type to be the group leader and take initiative, so this was a new experience, I believe I did good and helped with all the questions my group asked and was able to effectively separate the parts where everyone had something to do. Everyone worked well together and had good communication between one another and I believe that helped us excel as well as the other groups. 

    Last week, I observed two other group presentations on the different chapters assigned to us. Group 1 that presented last presentation highlighted chapter 3 on Intercultural communication. This group went in depth about this chapter and was able to explain to us these sensitive topics, they were successful in maintaining a balanced viewpoint, which is necessary when dealing with such delicate subjects. This group presentation consisted primarily of text on slides, but to make up for it, the members of the group elaborated on the material and added context and new ideas. Their ability to go further into explanations and go beyond the slides showed that they were knowledgeable about the subject and capable of holding insightful conversations. I noticed that sometimes one of the group members wouldn't know their part or they wouldn't talk when it was their turn making to presentation not flow as smoothly, but other members would step up and speak on their classmates behalf which made up for it. Although there were occasionally problems with the transitions between presenters, overall, they showed a compelling use of facts and a logical organization throughout their presentation.

    Moving on to group 2 which is the group I was a part of; I want to start off by saying that I believe we had good communication and teamwork. Our group presentation was on communicating in groups it was a collaborative effort involving nine team members, where I took on the role of coordinating research, assigning parts and being the overall group leader. At first, I was excited but also nervous about working with a diverse group of classmates, wondering how well we would collaborate and manage our different perspectives. Once everyone became more comfortable it was easier to work together, I would tell them to do certain things and they would take my words into consideration and help collaborate with everyone else. One significant challenge was coordinating our schedules, which required effective communication and flexibility. Despite this, we managed to keep in contact through our group chats to speak to one another on our concerns and divide tasks efficiently. This experience highlighted the importance of clear communication and delegation in team projects, concepts we've studied in our presentation and in this class. While doing our work we were also giving an example of how crucial it is to communicate in groups and work together. The day of presenting came and when reviewing the PowerPoint, I had noticed we were missing slides and one of the members didn't realize they had to do 3 slides total. We had bit of miscommunication, but I was able to get ahold of them and get them to do the slides before presenting and we were able to work together to finish up the project. I noticed that now I need to be a little bit more clear when explaining things so that it won't happen to us again, I realized the importance of clear communication and now know how to work past it. In future group projects, I plan to suggest setting clear roles and deadlines early on to improve efficiency. I also learned the value of active listening and open communication to ensure all group members are on the same page. When it came to our project, I believe we were able to speak more about our topics although having to put more pictures and less words into the presentation, everyone flowed well and was comfortable working together which will help us in the long run.

    Group 3 was the first to present their project, their presentation highlighted chapter 10 Group leadership and Problem Solving. Their presentation aimed to tell us about how crucial these subjects are in today's society, including the workplace, educational institutions, and disciplinary actions. Being a source of inspiration for the other group members is known as group leadership. The other participants are encouraged by the group leaders to freely exchange ideas and useful skills. Problem-solving abilities and group leadership are somewhat complimentary. I was immediately impressed by their clear and confident delivery. The visual aids were well-designed and complemented their topics effectively. The presentation was well-structured, with each member clearly outlining different aspects of group leaderships, the different roles they have to take on and problem solving and their solutions. Their use of data and real-world examples made their points compelling. There were moments when transitions flowed so well I was impressed by them and how they would talk one after the other without any stops. This presentation reinforced the importance of using real-world examples to support your topic. It also highlighted the need for smooth transitions and cohesive teamwork. At first I thought our presentation wasn't good enough because how well group 3 was doing, with them being the first presentation it made me doubt my group and if we were going to do good as well. My group and I were having doubts but believed we could do it and regrouped in order to use examples in our presentation and explain the visuals we had in order to do better.  From this presentation, I learned the value of well-coordinated teamwork and the impact of effective visual aids. In future presentations, I will focus on improving our group's transitions and ensuring our information is clearly presented. 

    Overall it was a wonderful experience, working in groups and meeting new people has been very helpful. I do think everyone did good for their first project and can't wait to see how people change after seeing other presentations and if they learned from other people as well.