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- 1. Workgroup Sessions Teachers’ Workshop Durbanville, 21st / 22nd August, 2009
- 5. E D G E REASONS for not crossing the edge in the form of real or perceived internal and external messages cause the anxiety Increased ANXIETY as the individual approaches or is pushed towards or over and edge. SUPPORT AND CONTAINMENT helps the individual over the edge EDGE SYMPTOMS in the form of anxiety and defense mechanisms appear. The “EDGE” is something that is hard to do, to say, to feel, to think, or to look at. Mindell’s concept of the edge
- 6. Edge symptoms DEFENSE MECHANISMS Denial Withdrawal Aggression Humour ANXIETY SYMPTOMS Dry mouth Racing heart Going blank Sore stomach GENERAL SYMPTOMS Odd or unusual behaviour Cycling Mixed messages / incongruities
- 7. Edge discussion In groups of four: Discuss what some of your edges may be for this weekend.
- 10. Communication Exercise Source of photograph: www.sifatipp.de
- 11. Communication Exercise - Debrief Source of photograph: www.stille-post.de
- 14. Communities of practice or “workgroups” Members of a community are informally bound by what they do together and by what they have learned through their mutual engagement in these activities. A community of practice is different from a community of interest or a geographical community, neither of which implies a shared practice. A community of practice defines itself along three dimensions: It is a joint enterprise as understood and continually renegotiated by its members There is mutual engagement that bind members together into a social entity It produces a shared collection of communal resources that members have developed over time. © Etienne Wenger, 1998 We will refer to communities of practice as workgroups
- 15. Communities of practice or “workgroups” Move into groups of 5 and consider the following question: How would it be useful for you to work in a group of teachers to develop curriculum material? Note your answers on cards, one per card.
- 16. Debrief, feedback and questions Good morning!!!
- 19. Self-organising principles Self-organising principles are governed by “attractors” at their centre. These are central values, beliefs or other psychological forces which determine the self-organising principles that emerge around them. Attractors evoke the same behaviour in different people.
- 20. Self-organising principles continued An individual’s identity is closely linked to the self-organising principles that guide their behaviour. Individuals identify with values and activities that are similar to their own internal drivers and once they identify with them, their passion is evoked.
- 21. Self-organising principles continued If you think about everything you have seen so far about the Siyavula project and the Connexions website, what is the one thing that would make you want to start or join a Connexions workgroup?
- 23. Group dynamics – Mindell’s concept of rank E D G E E D G E Will eventually resort to sabotage Will comply temporarily Passive aggressive behaviour This group makes decisions Will seek support Individuals or groups with less or no rank Individuals or groups with more rank Feedback blocked by the edge
- 25. We take this opportunity to wish everyone who started fasting today Ramadaan Mubarak. May Allah’s strength and guidance accompany you through this blessed month.
- 26. Group dynamics – roles in workgroups Functional Political Psychological Emotional The context and the task of the group will determine the roles required by the group. There are four different types of roles: Critic Leader Peacemaker Clown Excitement Envy Mother Disturber Saboteur Teacher Expert Victim
- 27. Group dynamics – roles discussion Move into groups of 5 and consider the following question: Think about the different roles that will be needed and possibly emerge in workgroups. Include as many of the different types of roles as possible. Examples are given below: Functional: Co-ordinator Political: Leader, follower Psychological: Critic, supporter Emotional: Excitement, anticipation, irritation Write each role on a card.
- 28. Group dynamics – roles discussion
- 33. The membership of workgroups Membership is voluntary. Members will stay involved if the central organising principle of the workgroup is clear, all contributions are invited and supported, and group dynamics are not allowed to take precedence over the organising principle.
- 34. The leadership of workgroups Leadership of emerging voluntary groups must have intrinsic legitimacy – in other words they must be lead from the inside, rather than be controlled from the outside. Most importantly, leadership should be shared.
- 35. Self-Leadership Self-leadership can be defined as the process of influencing oneself to establish the self-direction and self-motivation needed to perform. This means getting oneself from passive mode to active mode, going on a purposeful journey.
- 37. Stages of development of workgroups © Etienne Wenger, 1998
- 38. Good workgroup practices What would you consider as good group practices to ensure the creation and sustainability of Connexions’ Workgroups? Write your ideas on cards.
- 40. What next? If you would like our support for a new or existing workgroup, we would love to hear from you. Contact: Neels at [email_address] 082 334 3259 Quinton Davis at quinton.davis@edunova.org or If you want to give more feedback or ask questions: Contact: Mark Horner at [email_address] Helene Smit at [email_address] Layo Seriki at [email_address]
Editor's Notes
- As human beings we’re not isolated. We’re interacting with others all the time, exchanging information, sending and receiving messages – we’re communicating. As teachers, you all know a lot about communication, but it’s very easy to forget the most basic skills, when one gets anxious or excited. So this session will serve as a quick reminder of things you all know. We are looking at groups here and at what happens in groups. We can share information in groups. Develop new thoughts, approaches, material together, through the contributions of different group members. Often problems occur in groups as the direct result of people communicating ineffectively. In workgroups, in families, between friends – anywhere! Someone sends a message and the next person receives something completely different from what was intended… or misses the message because they were preoccupied with other things, e.g. their own thoughts. This leads to confusion, frustration and conflict, and can cause a good plan to fail.
- Now you’ve got the chance to try this out a bit…
- What happened? Did something like this happen in the groups? A fried egg, sunny side up becomes a broken egg becomes an egg…? Or the other way around. Sometimes information gets lost, then again information gets added. Exercise shows that communication is not just about speaking clearly, but also about listening well. Most of the time what we hear is influenced by our own experiences, preferences, our own view of the world. Someone telling about the naughty child may remind the listener of the naughty child that they know… We tend to filter the information we are given. That’s human. Listening is a very important part of communication, which is often not recognised, because it is so silent. When we speak, we find out very little. Through listening, we may learn something new and at the same time bestow the gift of our attention to others. Listening has real consequences. Through the way we listen or don’t listen, we can assist or hinder people’s development, the development of a group, the development of work done together…
- Listening is a complex art, which requires lots of practice on the way to becoming a “master listener”. There are various stages – steps to climb over and beyond on this way. The first of those steps is not listening – the absence of listening. It‘s ignoring! You ignore communication by rejecting it. This could be shown by interrupting someone mid-sentence, playing around with pen, computer or mobile phone, or suppressing the words of the speaker with your own mental chatter. You may appear to be listening, but you’re not. The second step we need to get over is controlling & projecting. Sometimes the way we look at someone, our body language, sounds we make or just our hierarchical position controls the way others communicate with us. Consciously or subconsciously we suppress what they would actually like to express. Also at times, we hear what others say through a filter of previous judgements and decision. Whatever is communicated reinforces these judgements (this may be someone’s guilt or innocence, intelligence or lack thereof, sanity or insanity…). We need to be very aware when this is happening, in order to consciously put aside those judgements or control and invite whatever the other has to say to our open ears. Once we can put a stop to control and projection, it’s time to include empathy in our listening. Empathy requires observing the world from the speaker’s point of view. You don’t just hear what the speaker is communicating, but WHY they are communicating this. Once you can do this, communication will be much more powerful and of more value to the speaker (and yourself). There is an additional step to “mastery of listening”. That is being able to “listen” to the way your words are taken while you speak. This is something great communicators do. They hear themselves with the ears of others, and thus, are able to adapt their communication to the requirements of their audience. It sounds so easy when you’re told to “just listen”, but it really does require constant practice.
- For debrief: Were you spot on or way off with your assumptions? … People are all very different. They are shaped by different socialising institutions (family, traditional culture, profession, groups they belong to). Diversity refers to the real or perceived differences among people that affect their interactions and relationships. Sometimes we think someone is completely different from us and then we find we have a lot in common. Other times we may think someone is quite like us and we find few similarities as we get to know them. As human beings, we sort people into groups quickly. We form an opinion within seconds, based on the first things we find out about a person (profession, subject area, appearance, race, weight, dress, …).
- By stereotyping we organise our experience. It guides our behaviour towards various groups in society. Sometimes people say that you shouldn’t stereotype, i.e. put people in boxes. But we can’t not do it. We’re human and it’s absolutely normal to do this. Just like any other type of categories, stereotypes can be helpful or harmful depending on how we use them. A stereotype becomes helpful when it is: Consciously held. We must be aware that we are describing a possible group norm and not the characteristics of a specific individual. Descriptive rather than evaluative. The stereotype should describe what people from this group will probably be like and not evaluate the people as good or bad. Accurate. The stereotype should as accurately as possible describe the norm of the group to which the person belongs. The first best guess about a group before getting more information about the specific person or persons. Modified, based on further observation and experience with the actual people and situations. Stereotypes that we hold subconsciously are difficult to modify or discard, even after we get real information about the person. And if a subconscious stereotype is also inaccurate, we are likely to maintain an inappropriate, ineffective and often harmful guide to reality! We all stereotype. Instead of pretending that we don’t, it is essential for working across differences to become aware of our stereotypes and learn to set them aside when faced with contradictory evidence. …If this happens in groups, they can start to use their differences!
- Different organisations and groups have different strategies for managing diversity. The most common approach to diversity, around the world, is still parochial. People choose not to recognise cultural diversity or its impact on the organisation. (=>) The second most common approach is ethnocentric. Group members recognise diversity, but only as a source of problems. In ethnocentric groups there is often a homogeneous inner circle (people that carry rank) that believes “our way is the best way” to work and organise. (=>) In groups that approach diversity from the angle of synergy, diversity is seen as having both advantages and disadvantages. Group members see that their ways may differ, but none is inherently superior to the other. Recognising both the existence of diversity and its potential advantages leads to the decision to manage diversity, rather than to minimize it. Diversity management the way I understand it focuses on is creating a supportive environment, in which these differences are embraced and can be used for the benefit of the group. The great thing about synergy is that differences are resolved, maximising the strengths of each position and minimising the weaknesses of each position.
- In thinking about groups that drive themselves, it is important to remember that each member of a group is not just leading or being led by the others. The kind of groups that will form to develop teaching material together will not necessarily sit together all the time. Just like many software development teams, you may become virtual groups that communicate online a lot of the time. This makes it difficult for any individual leader to ensure that the group is functioning effectively. Leadership is actually shared. It is especially important in such groups to have a clear overall goal that everyone identifies with, to have clear task-related processes and to have regular face-to-face meetings to build trust and establish common ground. But everyone needs to be self-sufficient in managing their work. And each group member is there voluntarily, for their own reasons, leading themselves. “ There is a person with whom you spend more time that with any other, a person who has more influence over you, and more ability to interfere with or to support your growth that anyone else. This ever-present companion is your own self.” (Pamela Butler, Clinical Psychologist) Self-leadership has been more broadly defined as "the process" of influencing oneself to establish the self-direction and self-motivation needed to perform. This means getting oneself from passive mode to active mode; going on a purposeful journey!
- This does not mean that you are completely isolated from others!