Emily Divan ABCs of Teaming Reflection

SPED 538
R is for Reflection, Q is for Qualities
Stages of Team Development
Though our time together was short, our team went through nearly every stage of teaming.
The only stage I think we didnt necessarily go through was storming, perhaps because we did
not have as much time together. We did, however, go through many of the other stages (though
probably not as smoothly as we would have had we stormed).
Our group formed quite easily. I knew Kristin and Erica from a previous class, and I met
Laura through mutual friends about three years ago. Kristin, Erica, Laura, and Megan are all in
the same program, so they all knew each other as well. So really, our group was essentially
formed before the class started, making it easy to establish how we would tackle the project.
Now, in terms of storming, I dont believe we have done this yet. At least not entirely. I am
quiet, so when I would disagree with a letter or try to give input I sometimes felt forgotten. Had
I been more verbal, storming may have occurred more readily, but otherwise we did not really
have many disagreements.
Norming, like forming, seemed to come easily to our group. From the beginning, Laura
emerged as a dominant personality and our leader. For each teaming time, we decided roles
based on birthdays at first (oldest, youngest, in the middle), but then just based it off who had
what role the times before. We all went into the project wanting to use Google Docs to create
our PowerPoint presentation, and we trusted one another to get our work done on time.
During our first team meeting, we decided on words for the letters and then divvied up five
letters per person: Megan took A-E, I took F-J, Kristin had K-O, Erica with P-T, and Laura,
taking one for the team, took the last six letters U-Z. Thus, the stage of performing began. Over
the next couple meetings, we worked on our letters, occasionally asking for help from our team
members when we got stuck. For example, I was having a difficult time thinking of both a
definition and example to use for IDEA. I asked around, and together our team worked to create
the slide in the presentation. In our final meeting, we all went through the slides and read the
definitions and examples to make sure we all agreed on what we had. This was particularly
helpful because we were able to catch mistakes that others had missed, such as using the same
example for two different letters on accident. This last step, adjourning, completed our teaming
and gave everyone a sense of satisfaction and confidence in our final product.

Emily Divan ABCs of Teaming Reflection
SPED 538
Roles of Our Team
Our team seemed to have a good balance of task and maintenance roles, only a few instances
of negative roles (or self-oriented roles) occurring near the end of our teaming process. For the
purposes of anonymity team the letters A, B, C, D, and E will refer to members.
Team member A was always, always, task-oriented. More specifically, they were often
initiating conversation and their ideas, as well as clarifying information and giving their opinion.
This person was incredibly concerned with getting the project done, fast. At times, it felt like
this person was a bit of a withdrawer, occasionally looking bored because they finished their
letters faster than the rest of us.
Team member B played more of a maintenance role than anything else. They were quite the
encourager for when someone got stuck on a word (IDEA for me), and a follower. This team
member never really voiced much of an opinion, but occasionally would offer support and an
opinion when we seemed to be getting off track. In this way, Team member B, only once in a
while, took on a task-oriented role.
Team member C was, like team member A, quite task-oriented. This team member was
particularly good at organizing and summarizing our meetings. They focused on the particulars
of the project, making sure we were attacking each requirement and making sure that the other
team members knew what was going on.
Team member D fell into both task-oriented and maintenance role. They had a good balance
of clarifying where we were in the project while making sure everyone was on the same page.
They had a key role in setting standards as well as encouraging communication between group
members.
Finally, Team member E fell into more of the maintenance role category. This team member
was a group observer and compromiser. Their voice was often quiet and they gave in a lot to
what the other group members were doing. They seemed to think the other team members had it
all taken care of and they only need to do their work and call it a day. I think this team member
was intimidated by the more dominant personalities on the team.

Feedback: Effective and Ineffective
There wasnt a whole lot of feedback given during our project. In the beginning, there was
some discussion on what words to put with what letters, what template we should use, and
Emily Divan ABCs of Teaming Reflection
SPED 538
whether or not we were following the guidelines for the project. One way in which ineffective
feedback was offered was when I tried to tell the group that we could use a different template for
our presentation, but no one seemed to hear me or think that it was worth the effort to find a new
template, transfer the information, and make a new PowerPoint presentation. My attempt at
voicing that I would like a more pertinent template to teaming rather than something you just
pop off the Internet went unnoticed.
We did, however, all engage in effective feedback on the last day we were allotted teaming
time. At this meeting, we each went through the others slides and provided feedback on missing
words, phrases, or ideas. Another team member pointed out a few flaws with my slides, and
because I trusted her and her work I quickly evaluated and changed the material to match her
request. In the same way, I pointed out to another team member that their example for one letter
was the same as the example for the previous letter, and she was able to change her examples
accordingly.

Benefits and Challenges
The benefits of teaming for this project were easy to spot. We could divvy up the work so
that not one person did it all; we bounced ideas off one another when we needed help; and we
could check one anothers work to make sure everything was going well. It was also helpful to
work with others because they have more experience than I do. They have all been in more
SPED classes than I have and came up with new examples and experiences than I could have
thought of on my own. It also taught me how to work with others, but more on that later.
The challenges of teaming are a little harder for me to pinpoint. We didnt have many
confrontations or disagreements. For me, the challenges were speaking my voice and providing
input. Because of my lack of experience, I felt overwhelmed by the others in my group and the
fact that they had more knowledge and experience between all four of them.

My Personality and My Future
Of all the personality tests we took, I related most with the Myers-Briggs personality test. At
first, I didnt think I was ENFJ because I dont consider myself much of an extrovert I greatly
prefer hanging out at home to going out where there are lots of people. But as I read the
description a few things jumped out at me: people-focused; must spend time alone; avoid being
Emily Divan ABCs of Teaming Reflection
SPED 538
alone; well organized; and fussy with home environments, to name a few. This fits well with my
high score as a collaborator and communicator in the first personality test we took this semester,
as well as my intolerance for ambiguity. My personality helped my team because I stay
organized and I make sure everything is formatted, at least a little, the same way. I also helped
my team by making it an enjoyable experience I like to keep things light and airy.
Unfortunately, the very things that make me a good team member also make me a difficult
team member. I know I need to work on being flexible and allowing others to take over
responsibilities, though that wasnt a problem with this particular teaming experience. My
confidence is quite low and I have a tendency to take things personally. Hopefully, as the years
continue and I gain more experience, I can work on these qualities and become a better team
member for my students.