After presenting our PLN Presentation in front of the class, I realized that I learned about the collaborative group work that will be needed when I'm a part of a community of teachers. Jaclyn was very easy to work with while gathering our information and designing our presentation. I learned the importance of communication between members of a community because it wouldn't have worked as smoothly if we weren't willing to listen to each other and be open to each other's ideas. I think this communication and ability to work well together helped us feel more relaxed and prepared when we gave the presentation. I had no doubt that our cooperation and harmony would continue when we were presenting so I wasn't worried about the flow or execution when we were in front of the class. I also realized that the presentation wouldn't have been as beneficial or executed as well without a partner. Thus, I realized how essential it is to have a group to work and collaborate with because it promotes reflective thinking, provides a variety of innovative ideas, and produces a better result in general. There is so much truth in that the statement that "two is better than one".
It was extremely easy to get our point across to each other since there was only two of us, but it made me wonder how collaboration is different with more than two people, for instance, in a community of teachers. I definitely think that a key component to having effective communication and harmony in group collaboration is to recognize personal strengths and intentionally use them for the betterment of the whole group. For instance, if a person is a natural leader than they should attempt to take leadership positions in the collaboration of the group. On the other hand, if a person is more passive in terms of expressing opinions but is very good at organization, then they could devote themselves to aspects such as planning. Everyone has something that they can bring to the group, the important part is defining specific strengths and deploying them in a fashion that serves, encourages, and benefits the entirety of the group.
Beautifully said, Becky! The collaborative process can be tricky sometimes, so it is great that everything went smoothly with the PLN presentation. As future teachers, we will have to work with other teachers to collaborate. We will also have to put together groups for our students to work in, so it is important to learn about the different dynamics of each student and what their strengths and weaknesses are. I believe that by learning how you work best, it will help in seeing what works best for your students, in terms of how they should collaboratively work with others.
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