Little did they know, group 2 would fight between themselves as ideas would clash as ideologies and futures change. True understanding of the research you are conducting comes after you have finished the research but crafting a good proposal requires you to have that understanding before you do the research….
Weekly Goals and Achievements
Weekly Goals
Our goal this week is finalizing a date so we can to participate in the Sunday Feast at the Hare Krishna Temple. Additionally, we are also working on finding a weekly meeting time that works for all members to continue so we can get together and work as a cohesive unit as well as having time to address any uncertainties that may arise. Currently we were unable to craft a concret group proposal with goals that allow us to complete our project objectives. This has caused us to set some time aside for the upcoming week to discuss what our objectives are how to accomplish them. Lastly, we are working on completing our individual thesis statement for the upcoming academic and experiential review papers as a means to further explore food justice in relation to our community project.
Achievements
Our team successfully completed our second blog post, reflecting primarily on how our proposal may be improved. To assist us in this process, some of our group members were able to meet with our TA to ask for clarity and have since shared this information with our group. From this, we have determined that we can enhance our project by narrowing the focus and goals of our proposal. We have also made our first visit to the Hari Krishna Temple (our community partner) and as a team and we have maintained good communication with them. In addition, our attendance in class has been strong which has helped increased opportunities to engage with the course material. While we are collectively still learning how to collaborate and balance the workload, we are achieving what we feel is an acceptable level of team unity.
A Moment of Significance
What
It was difficult to complete our proposal; we found that the theory behind crafting a proposal was fairly straightforward but had difficulties when applying those concepts in practice. While our team was able to meet multiple times for collaboration, we never had all of our team members present. This added an extra challenge to our work as ideas about course expectations or material to be focused on varied among our group and without those conversations happening head on, it’s challenging to tease them out. When we met with Will to discuss our project and gain clarity, we thought we had a very clear idea of what we were going to do. However, after receiving a grade of 68% on the proposal we quickly realized that this was not the case and some re-evaluation was necessary.
So What
Well, we are learning. Moreover we are acknowledging the inevitable challenges that arise with teamwork and proposal writing. While we understand the value of excellent proposal writing as a tool in academia, we have not yet fully grasped the applied skill. On the positive side, this experience presents an opportunity for us to appreciate uncertainty and practice working with diversity in preparation for our future careers, even though it can be very intimidating at the same time. In an article written by Phillips (2014), he speaks to how diversity makes us stronger; it isn’t an effortless process to grow collectively, yet the challenges that present can enhance creativity by causing individuals to search for new information and viewpoints. These diverse viewpoints can then translate to better outcomes in decision making and problem solving by prompting groups to consider an entirely different approach, outcome or component that they otherwise may not have (Phillips, 2014). Tim Harford’s TedTalk (2016) also speaks to this difficulty that arises from group work; diverse members often feel like they have achieved less when conflicts of interest arise, yet this friction can actually help make the end product better. Ultimately, the frustrations that arise from interacting with differing ideas can help make our project more creative, comprehensive and effective. Our team is noticing that group work can be incredibly valuable when done right; diversity can enhance a team’s creativity and effective collaboration can increase efficiency.
However, when group work focuses too much on the hardships that arise in a negative way, it’s often much slower and sometimes even more frustrating than individual work. Effective collaboration is something we strive to improve on as it is a very valuable skill that we will continue to use as we pursue our future professional endeavors.
Now What
As we transition into the last third of the semester, the intensity increases with approaching finals and ever accumulating stress. We are faced with both the challenge and opportunity knowing that our time is continually being stretched among many different academic commitments. In the context of multiple demands across the many facets of life, we aspire to do our best. We know that in order to be successful, we need to pull together and gain clarity on our project proposal while also committing time to enhancing our group dynamic. Both goals can support each other, and our team is up for the challenge. We are very excited and grateful for the opportunity to be learning and engaging with the community as a team.
Upcoming Objectives
We are looking forward to the finalization of our group proposal and for continued opportunities to grow as a group despite being so diverse. Our first priority surrounds the improvement of our proposal and the second on setting up another meeting with our community partner. Once we have accomplished both of these things, we are looking ahead to transitioning toward preparation of our final report, last two blog posts and final presentation.
Strategies to Achieve Them
Our plan to achieve our above goals is to ultimately take each progression one step at a time to ensure that we are giving each our full effort. With consistent group meetings and regular transparent communication, our team will continue to excel. Sickness and family events have been challenging for some group members and thus, the team as a whole. It will prove crucial for everyone to come together as a co-cohesive unit, support one another and step up when others are less present to help combat this. Lastly, working alongside our professors and community partner to determine effective strategies to help reach our project goals while also recognizing our own unique skill set will continue to help us come together in the most effective way to reach our intended outcomes.
References
Harford, T. (2016). How messy problems can inspire creativity. Retrieved February 25, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd_j_kw_jZQ
Phillips, K. W. (2014). How Diversity Makes Us Smarter. Retrieved August 24, 2016, from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-diversity-makes-us-smarter/