Name of Assignment: Group Discussion 1 Subject: Interpersonal Communications Facilitator/Teacher: Ms. Hashimoto
Description of Work/Assignment: Every week in my interpersonal communications class we have to be part of a group discussion. It starts out with our original post, which usually consists of a mini activity and then questions about that activity. For this assignment I had to direct someone in drawing a simple shape structure. Every time we started a new structure we were able to communicate more in depth with our partner, leading to a better outcome. We then had to answer questions about our experience. This specific assignment had to do with the linear and transactional model of communication. Basically saying how communication is not just a one way street, but with two senders and receivers.
Which 21st Century Skill do you feel this assignment addresses, and why? For this assignment I think the most used 21st century skill was communication. This whole class is about communication, so I could take any assignment and put it with this skill. I chose this assignment though, because it really showed how communication works and how important it is. While I was directing my partner I had to use all of the communication skills that I knew to get my point across.
What are you most proud of from this assignment, and why? I am most proud of this assignment because I think I really used my communication skills well. My partner was able to draw exactly what I was saying, and we were able to communicate with each other effectively. That was the whole point of the assignment, and I think I achieved it. I also think I gave pretty in-depth responses to the questions asked. The last part of the assignment was to respond to others posts, and I think I gave thoughtful responses.
How did you develop and/or improve upon your 21st Century Skill with this assignment? Throughout the activity I could feel my communication skills getting better. Conveying what I needed my partner to do got a lot easier. I was able to figure out what communication styles worked best to get my point across. Also leading up to the assignment, we had to read a chapter in the text book explaining why communication has to be both ways or it won't be as effective. Even if I am not able to actually put these new skills into use, I know what they are.
What was most difficult about completing this task? The hardest thing about this task was responding to other peoples posts. I was nervous that I was going to say something wrong or make someone mad. I know the whole point is to get others opinions, but I didn't want to offend anyone. I also wanted make sure it looked like I cared about what they had said. In the end it was fine, it just took me some time to figure out what to say and how to phrase it.
How could you improve this work? If you could start over, what would you do different? If I could start over on this assignment, the first thing that I would do is start it earlier. I started it the day of, which wasn't too big of a mistake, but it would have been a lot easier if I had started it the day before. I think the end product would have been a little bit more in detail, but I don't know if there would have been a huge difference. In general, I think it really just would have made it a bit less stressful.
How does this relate to what you have learned in the past? I don't know if I have specifically learned about this in the past, but I do communicate daily. Even though I haven't researched it until a couple of months ago, I still had to know how to communicate since it is such a big part of your life. From past experiences I knew tricks to help make this activity go more smoothly.
How can you apply this to future learning? Each assignment that I do has a communication aspect to it. When I turn in an essay, I have to make sure to get my point across. This will even help me in my day to day life. From this assignment I learned how to communicate more effectively when the situation may not be ideal. I can now use those tricks when I am faced with my next assignment.