Teaching and learning is an activity which should be conducted by using the most appropriate strategies. When given an opportunity to teach, the instructor should not dominate the teaching process and assume the role an exclusive authority. Instead, the teacher should apply the learner-centered methodology which can enable him to empower the learners and give them a chance to actively participate in the process. One of the most effective strategies used in the teaching and learning process is group discussions. It is the one we used during this semester. Apart from attending lectures, we allocated a substantial portion of our time to engage in group discussions. Here, we had to come together and share ideas regarding the topics discussed in the course. The use of this strategy enabled us to acquire lots of knowledge and improve our skills. The purpose of this paper is to apply Gibbs’ reflection cycle to present a critical and in-depth reflection of our group activities.
I would like to point out that our group discussion was a properly organized one. We managed to accomplish a lot mainly because of the way we had decided to carry out our activities. Our group consisted of four members: Tarryn, Pooja, Phoebe, and Emma. Each of these members did an excellent job in the group. I have a feeling that group discussion is a good strategy which should be applied during the teaching and learning process. Its usage enabled us to come together, sign a group contract and commit ourselves to adhere to it. Before we formed the group, I already knew that it would be used as a platform to enhance the learning process. This was achieved because we managed to acquire new knowledge which will be of great contribution in preparing us as future healthcare professionals. The instructor had informed us that the group discussion would greatly contribute towards our academic success. Therefore, as serious learners, we had to ensure that we carried out all the activities as expected. Therefore, we were managing the group because we already knew that our success would play a significant role in preparing us for the challenging task in the future.
My engagement in the group discussion was a fruitful one because it enabled us to work as a team. Since we knew that the group discussion would be essential in equipping us with leadership and team work skills, we had to begin by signing a contract in which we elected our leaders and agreed to share and delegate duties and responsibilities. This was perfectly done because each of the group members was assigned duties which they had to discharge without failure. On her part, Tarryn was to be responsible for carrying out a research on South African Cultural Family Structure. Pooja, on the other hand, was to carry out a research on the Indian Cultural Family Structure. Meanwhile, while Phoebe was supposed to be responsible for the PowerPoint presentation, Emma was given a responsibility to write the introduction and conclusion for the group presentations. Having been part of this group, I would like to say that each of the members discharged their duties as required. The delegation of duties was the first step in the coordination and development of a strong group. Each and every group member had to be an active participant who discharges all the assigned duties without any challenges.
As part of the group, I would like to express that the sharing of duties enabled the group to succeed in its activities. Each of the members had to be responsible because the contribution made would be of great significance to them as individual members and the group at large. In my reflection, I boldly say that there was no form of disappointment because everyone acted in a responsible manner as expected. I therefore have a feeling that we succeeded in establishing a strong team which could be relied upon to discover new knowledge and disseminate it to the members and class in general (Dawson, Bernstein, Wilkins & Bekki, 2015). The team had to work together they way that had vowed to do so when signing the contract. The cohesive manner in which the group operated was enhanced by the leadership structure which had been put in place. I therefore have a feeling of content because the group succeeded in displaying the spirit of team work by deciding to cooperate and collaborate with one another right from the beginning up to the very end of the discussion.
The cohesive manner in which the group operated enabled us to learn so many skills which we will use in the future. Personally, I managed to learn that as a team member, I should be a cooperative person. Cooperation is an important skill which can enable me to be an ideal worker. Cooperation is a core attribute because any organization which brings people together requires them to work cohesively. This is what we achieved when each of the group members managed to discharge the duties which had been assigned to them. At the same, my participation in the group enabled me to learn about the role of consultation and referrals in the workplace. As healthcare professionals, we have to nurture these skills because they can enable us to meet the needs of the patients by addressing all their needs without any inefficiency (Truong, Paradies & Priest, 2014). These are skills which were displayed by the group members because they are aware of the significance of working as a team whenever addressing an issue of concern in healthcare. If it were not for this, the group would not have managed to accomplish any goal which had been set during its creation.
During our group discussions, we had to ensure that we made a proper use of communication. Communication is an important tool that should be applied when engaging in group activities. If properly utilized, communication can help in enhancing the success of group discussions. Having known this, we had to take advantage of our communication prowess to ensure that we communicated our ideas, express ourselves, and convince other team members to consider our pints of view.
The first communication strategy which was successfully utilized during the discussion is listening skill. We had to critically listen to each of the group members to enable them express their opinions and convince us to consider accepting them (Knapp, Vangelisti & Caughlin, 2014). From my observation, I established that all the group members successfully used their critical listening skills when communicating to one another. I can remember an instance when Emma was motivated to speak when the group members critically listened to her during her presentation. As an active participant, I would like to point out that I successfully used critical listening skills to effectively communicate with my colleagues. Just like the rest of the team members, I knew that I had to establish a good interpersonal relationship with everyone (Arnold & Boggs, 2015). To achieve this, I had to lend my ears to any of my colleagues who had something to tell me. At the same time, I had to give each of the members enough time to make their contributions without unnecessarily interrupting them. The proper use f this skill enabled me to effectively communicate with the group members. It is therefore worth noting that critical listening is a core skill whose usage played a significant role in enhancing the quality of the discussions which we had.
The other skill which was applied when communicating to the group members is the use of verbal and non-verbal communication strategies. Since the discussions which were held involved face-to-face communication, we had to take the necessary measures to make a proper use of verbal and non-verbal communication skills. From my observation, I realized that each of the group members had to perfectly use language when communicating with other members. All the members including me successfully used language to communicate with one another. Like the rest of the group members, I had to use a simple language to communicate. I did so because I had a feeling that it would be unnecessary to use jargons and vocabularies which would contribute nothing rather than scaring the group members and complicating the discussion process (Fairman, Rowe, Hassmiller & Shalala, 2011). At the same time, I made sure that I properly articulate words and became audible when talking. This made me to effectively communicate with my group embers. However, when it comes to non-verbal communication, I would like to highlight that I effectively used all the necessary cues such as gestures, hand expression, facial expression, hand movement, and body movements. A skillful use of these cues made it easier for me to deliver my message to the group members (Renzaho, et al., 2013).
Our class is a true reflection of the picture of the university. Meaning, it is as diversified as the entire institution which is made up of people from different cultural, racial, gender, ethnic, age, and geographical diversities. Therefore, when allocating members to their groups, the instructor had to ensure that he considers the diversity of the diversity of the learners. Each group had to be composed of learners from different cultural backgrounds. This justifies why Pooja, Emma, Phoebe, and Tarryn ended up in the same group. It was necessary to do so because it would benefit the learners a great deal.
The composition of our group made us to learn a lot of lessons. First and foremost, it enabled us to learn and appreciate that we are in a diverse society in which people from different backgrounds should be ready to embrace and collaborate with one another. In our group, we had people from the European, Asian, and American origin. We had to make this consideration because wanted to create a group in which people from diverse backgrounds can come together and operate as a team irrespective of their diversities (Bylund, Peterson & Cameron, 2012). This was so beneficial because it enabled us to share ideas and learn a lot of information from one another. For example, Pooja, who is familiar with the Indian culture had to use her knowledge to teach us about the family structure amongst the Indian community. On the other hand, Tarryn who knows a lot about South African culture had to use her knowledge to teach us about the cultural family structure of the South Africans.
As a student, I have a feeling that we did a good thing. We should appreciate ourselves for forming a diverse group in which there are members from different backgrounds. It is the reason why we had to learn so many things which we would not have known if we only selected members from one particular cultural group. The composition of our group enabled us to acquire intercultural communication and competencies which can be applied in the healthcare profession. The fact that our group was made up of people from different backgrounds made each of us to acquire skills which can be of great value when engaging in cross-cultural communication. For example, through my interaction with the group members, now I know how to use eye contact, handshakes, proximity, non-verbal cues, and sensitive language to communicate with people from different backgrounds (Kirmayer, 2012). I have also learnt to be a culturally-aware and intelligent professional who can win the confidence of everyone irrespective of their cultural diversities.
Conclusion
Our group discussion was a successful one because we managed to accomplish the goals and objectives which had been set prior to its formation. Right from the very beginning, we knew that we had to be committed to our group discussions because it would determine our success. Therefore, after bringing together people from diverse backgrounds, we had to engage in a one-on-one discussion in which had to carry out research and share ideas. Therefore, in my reflection, I would like explicitly point out that we succeeded in organizing for fruitful discussions in which each of the members displayed professionalism. This made us to learn a lot of new knowledge and acquire practical skills regarding team work, responsibility, delegation, and intercultural communication each of which is essential in nursing.
References
Arnold, E.C. & Boggs, K.U. (2015). Interpersonal relationships: Professional communication skills for nurses. New York: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Bylund, C.L., Peterson, E.B. & Cameron, K.A. (2012). A practitioner’s guide to interpersonal communication theory: An overview and exploration of selected theories. Patient education and counseling, 87(3), pp.261-267.
Dawson, A.E., Bernstein, B.L., Wilkins, K. & Bekki, J.M. (2015). Honing interpersonal communication skills for difficult situations. In 2015 122nd ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition. American Society for Engineering Education.
Fairman, J. A., Rowe, J. W., Hassmiller, S., & Shalala, D. E. (2011). Broadening the scope of nursing practice. New England Journal of Medicine, 364(3), 193-196.
Kirmayer, L., (2012). Rethinking cultural competence. Transcultural Psychiatry, 49(2), 149.
Knapp, M.L., Vangelisti, A.L. & Caughlin, J.P. (2014). Interpersonal Communication & Human
Relationships. New York: Pearson Higher Ed.
Renzaho, A.M.N., et al., (2013). The effectiveness of cultural competence programs in ethnic minority patient-centered health care—a systematic review of the literature. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 25(3), pp.261-269.
Truong, M., Paradies, Y. & Priest, N., (2014). Interventions to improve cultural competency in healthcare: a systematic review of reviews. BMC health services research, 14(1), p.1.
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