Group Reflection Paper

In group three, we are a very humorous bunch and we always had a lot of fun in our meetings. We first came together in mid-September in our group discussion class. We were assigned to a group and tasked to come up with a project. My group all agreed that a student problem would be what we wanted to tackle, spreading awareness about STDs/STIs on campus and to promote the practice of safe sex. We held all our meetings at Folsom Lake College in the library or in the classroom and we were usually provided with time, at least once a week, to talk about where we were at and things we needed to accomplish. This group has really changed my perception of group projects because we actually turned into a collaborative group, one that has a high concern

“This initial group meeting period holds some uneasiness, tension, and awkwardness,” (Harris and Sherblom, 58) as stated in our textbook is completely true. When we first met in our group, it was pretty awkward and I know we were all trying to be on our best behavior in order to impress each other. “Humor can be used to release some of these tensions and feelings,” (Harris and Sherblom, 58) also stated in our textbook, describes my group completely, we are always joking around and it started right at the beginning as a way to break the ice and it worked. We all found that we have something in common, a great sense of humor and that was evident through the whole semester, allowing us few opportunities for conflict with one another. “A supportive group climate promotes productivity and member satisfaction, which in turn reduces stress. In contrast, a defensive climate is unproductive for any group.” (Harris and Sherblom, 175) I believe that it should be evident that our team turned out to be extremely supportive of one another by showing empathy and equality because we really were a team that looked out for one another. I can only recall one time where one member was acting in a defensive-controlling way. It was when we divided up the chapters to summarize among the members and we then uploaded them to the Google Drive. Well, one member didn’t have a book and the person who created the Google Drive file, didn’t invite him to be able to view it because they felt, if they weren’t going to contribute, then they shouldn’t be able to see the other notes that everyone else did. My only issue with how this was handled was the fact that the member didn’t ever say they weren’t going to do the assigned chapter while the facilitator jumped to the conclusion that he wouldn’t and therefore didn’t give him the opportunity to; all without talking to the