Throughout the first six weeks, we have come together as a group and accomplished tasks we would have never achieved individually. On our own, we have grown to use our strengths to accommodate the needs of the group, and as a team, we have overcome obstacles after obstacles. Although we struggled to maintain the focus and the necessary drive to exceed our initial expectations, we will continue to strive for perfection. Our pursuit to achieve success on this project is not overshadowed by our past failures, but with each failure we will find the necessary means to rise above that challenge. That being said, we do have many areas to address and improve in order to maximize the dynamics of the group, but with consistent perseverance and ingenuity, we will adapt to the hurdles that currently hold us back.

Project Proposal

The project proposal can be found through this link.Proposal-Group 22

In the proposal, the aim, objectives, inquiry question, methods, and how we will measure our success for this project are stated with background information regarding the Kerrisdale and Marpole areas.

 

Weekly Objectives and Achievements

 

Week 1 – Group Introduction

Objectives

  • To become familiar with group members
  • To determine three selections of group project topic

Achievements

  • We actually didn’t have the chance to meet up as a group during the first week, but we managed to contact each other and planned the next meeting within the group via email and social media communications.

 

Week 2 – Start Blog 1

Objectives

  • To understand the principles of the Asset-Based Community Development
  • To delegate tasks for Blog 1

Achievements

  • Created the first draft of the system diagram for the Kerrisdale and Marpole community context
  • Assessed strengths and interests for both individuals and the group
  • Initialized ideas for Blog 1

 

Week 3 – Finish and Finalize Blog 1

Objectives

  • To meet up and finish Blog 1 during the flexible learning session
  • To research community partners

Achievements

  • Completed Blog 1
  • Created a list consisting of potential community partners

 

Week 4 – Start Crafting Proposal

Objectives

  • To delegate tasks for Proposal
  • To research community partners

Achievements

  • During the tutorial session, worked together to create the initial structure of the proposal and generated ideas on what components should be included
  • Individually completed assigned tasks for the proposal, and edited the draft together as a group

 

Week 5 – Feedback and Improvement for Proposal and Blog 1

Objectives

  • To make necessary changes and edits to blog 1
  • To complete Proposal draft for in-class feedback
  • To hand-in Proposal
  • To delegate tasks for Blog 2
  • To research community partners

Achievements

  • Received feedback from the TA on the proposal
  • Expanded the list of potential community partners by searching together online during the tutorial session
  • As a group, revised the proposal based on the feedback from the TA and submitted it on Connect
  • Delegated tasks for Blog 2, and individually completed assigned tasks
  • Improved the communication within the group by setting up message responding policies (i.e. each member should respond to group messages within 24hr)

 

Week 6 – Finish and Finalize Blog 2 and Proposal

Objectives

  • To make necessary changes and edits to Proposal
  • To hand-in Proposal and Blog 2
  • To contact potential community partners after the proposal has been given approval
  • To schedule meetings with community partners

Achievements

  • Completed Blog 2 and the final copy of Proposal
  • Decided the time for next group meeting and visited the Kerrisdale and Marpole areas in person to seek for potential community partners

 

Reflection on a Moment of Significance

What ?

Working in a group, every member was expected to cooperate, and actively and respectfully communicate with each other when an issue occurred. However, because of some group members’ lack of active participation in group discussions and assignments, the communication within the group was less efficient than expected. Although the group environment was respectful, it limited the variety of ideas and scope that could potentially have contributed to the group project and group development.

So What?

Cooperation between group members and the quality of group assignments were both negatively affected by the lack of communication. It is believed that the dynamics of a group could be positively influenced by active communication within the group, resulting in an increase in the level of trust and cooperation (Terry, 2013). Sufficient trust and cooperation can then lead to higher productivity and provide individual members with better experiences in the group (Terry, 2013). When the group becomes more cooperative, individual members will also be more willing to interact with each other and make contributions to the group (Terry, 2013).

Now what?

For the success in future group work, it is significant for all group members to actively participate in the group discussion taking place through online messages or during in-person group meetings. Individual group members will also share equal responsibilities by completing tasks of similar difficulty and providing respectful feedback on each other’s performance in order to make sure everyone is on the right track. A collaboration-oriented dynamic, that consists of active listening, considerations of other group members’ ideas, and willingness to acquire knowledge and develop as a group, is expected to be achieved after the group communication has improved (Hakanen, Soudunsaari, and Denning, 2012).

 

Upcoming Objectives and Strategies

Our upcoming objectives include building partnerships with potential community partners and acquiring information using the survey provided. To achieve this, we will be contacting potential community partners via email, and scheduling in-person meetings with those willing to participate in the project. During each visit, while some of us will be asking survey questions, one group member will be recording all the information obtained by initially taking notes and completing the online survey after each visit. We will also actively communicate with each other on social media and meetup as a group before the first scheduled meeting with community partners to ensure we are adequately prepared.

 

References

Hakanen, M., Soudunsaari, A., & Denning, S. (2012). Building trust in high-performing teams. Technology Management Review. Retrieved from http://timreview.ca/article/567

 

Terry, B. D. (2013). Working in Groups: The Importance of Communication in Developing Trust and Cooperation (Report No. FCS2333). Retrieved from https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/FY/FY137800.pdf