The aim of this essay is to reflect on to the role play which I and my group would be performing as a group in next few week time for the unit communication and group working. Oxford English dictionary (1993) defines reflection as “idea arising in the mind’ and mind means ‘seat of consciousness, thought, volition, and feeling’. It seems evident that reflection, in an everyday term is a thinking that involves desires and feelings. It can thus be stated that reflection is very personal and all humans experience reflective thoughts. To write this essay I have to reflect on Driscoll (2007) “Model of Reflection”.
Within these fields, I am encouraged in areas to choose the questions that seemed appropriate to the reflection on the role play.
At the beginning we were given choices to form our own group. Tuckman (1965) “Forming-Storming-Norming-Performing-Mourning” the five different stages which we had to go through when doing our group discussions and our role-play. The Tuckman model helped us to consider the introduction of new members in our group.
The first phase of the process is the group formation, (Tuckman, 1965) which entails the induction of a new member. If the new member joins our group in the storming stage, then this could develop the conflict and might also result in changing group participants’ relationship with each other till the group is prepared to advance to the next process i.e. Norming. At this stage, the group’s members are quite optimistic about the group’s future role and are motivated in formulating various standards and role play (Tuckman, 1965).
The key focus for the Tuckman’s model should be the performing stage where exists the greatest prospects for reduction in group cohesiveness, achievements as well as interpersonal relationships and task performance. Lastly, the final stage in the life of a group is its termination, when the tasks at hand are realized successfully, its purpose fulfilled and each member of the group can move on to new things.
In our group discussions, several aims were proposed. It was hoped that the communication and the group working unit would help me to develop my oral and written communication skills as well as my planning and group working skills within the groups. It also aimed to help in choosing a leader. We as a group decided to meet up every week. The first meeting of my group was held in the library. As we were sitting, I was a little bit nervous as me being a very shy person. I sat comfortably but as members started to discuss, I felt much uncomfortable because having a different background and English being my second language. So I had to be quite cautious whilst saying something. I was thinking a lot but kept my words and emotions to myself. I was afraid if I said wrong the group members would mock at me. So most of the time I just kept quiet. I felt bad as I did not contribute anything to the group discussion and it was not fair for other group members too. When we were allocated characters, I was awarded the character of a Good Nurse.
On our second meeting, I felt better, and showed no signs of nervousness. In fact I was able to help one of the members to play in a positive role to produce an affirmative script.
After our second meeting, I was able to familiarize with the members of my group. I contributed equally with other members in my group. We all worked hard and produced our scripts for the role. Every individual was allocated to write about the scripts and bring them to the group meeting. Once there was a small conflict amongst us but it was solved. I worked very well within my group so were the other members of my group.
Me including my group was very good at time management and kept updating our discussions and the findings via email. When one of our member was away, we did not practice the role play earlier enough, so we had to hurry a bit. There was a minor confusion and disagreement when rehearsing our role play since it was disorganized. It was sorted out after having a discussion. When rehearsing our role play I was calm and confident and the practice went well. Being a very quiet person, I kept my voice was very low that made me stressed. I had to practice speaking loudly. I looked for one of the Healthcare assistants to study my script several times.
I was inspired by the roles within the group as stated by Douglas (1995). Here each person within a group plays a specific role in the growth and the development of that group. The Douglas theory gives stress to observation, understanding of difference, awareness of personal resources and effective communication. Moreover, each member may impact group processes and individual emotions. Roles created within such groups were both through official appointments and as a consequence of the personal characteristics and interpersonal relationships amongst members. These roles could be constructive and support the group and its members in realizing its objectives, or can be harmful and run counter to the overall group objectives. Individuals within the group can develop different roles which sometimes me be conflicting.
Moreover, I was inspired by emotional intelligence theory of Goleman (1996) which gives emphasis to knowing of one’s feelings and using them to make good decisions, to manage moods and impulses, and successfully overcoming the setbacks towards the goals. As well, to be assertive Goleman suggests that, individuals should express their concerns without showing passivity and anger.
In the subsequent group discussions, I kept my voice down and did not shout at while other members of the group were sharing their ideas. I thought that everyone has emotions, patience and anger. I should not have been nervous. I should be more confident and not worried about what people might be thinking about me when I am wrong. I should not be hesitant whilst expressing my ideas whether they are correct or not. Next time I should speak a bit louder and clearer so that everyone could hear me. I should not be feeling stressed and have to worry unnecessarily.
References
Driscoll, J. 2007. Practising Clinical Supervision: A Reflective Approach for Healthcare Professionals. (Second Edition). Edinburgh: Bailliere Tindall Elsevier.
Douglas, T. 1995. Survival in Groups: The Basics of Group Membership Buckingham. Open University Press.
Goleman, D. 1996. Emotional Intelligence. London: Bloomsbury.
Tuckman, B. W. 1965. Developmental Sequences in Small Groups. Psychological Bulletin No. 63. 384-399.
