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Read: TC, Chapter 4--Writing Collaboratively
Write: Reading Response #3
This three-part response asks you to reflect on both positive and negative experiences you've had with collaborative writing projects in the past while planning for successful collaboration in the future. Using at least 200 words, answer all three prompts and use information from Chapter 4 to support your answers.
1. Describe a positive collaborative writing project you've experienced. Using information from the chapter, identify the characteristics or practices of your group that enabled you to work together successfully.
2. Describe a less-than-positive collaborative writing project you've experienced. Using information from the chapter, identify the characteristics or practices of your group that hindered successful collaboration.
3. What elements from Chapter 4, if employed, would have the most positive impact on your future collaborative writing projects? Why? What specific actions would you take to ensure an effective outcome for your group?
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
23 comments:
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Grace McDowell
ReplyDeleteReading Response 3
1. In a previous class, I was a part of a group that had to write a report and give a presentation on a volunteer project we had completed that semester. One positive aspect of this collaboration was our group meetings. They were conducted efficiently. At these meetings, each member established what their contribution to the project would be. We worked together and communicated in a positive way that did not waste time.
2. In a previous class, my group had to collaborate in writing a marketing plan for a business. I did not always agree with my other group members’ ideas, but in order to get along, I succumbed to group think for part of the project. Also, the workload for each member was inequitable. Two members did about twice the work as the other members of the group.
3. Two elements from Chapter 4 that would have the most positive impact on my future collaborative writing projects would be choosing a team leader and communicating diplomatically. Although each member of a collaborative project should have the same work load, it is important for the group to have a team leader who takes initiative in areas such as generating ideas, assigning equitable work, scheduling meetings, etc. This allows the group to function productively. I would be willing to step up as a team leader, or ask another member of the group that I feel would fill this position best. Communicating diplomatically would have a positive impact because it allows for all members of the project to speak their ideas without ridicule, ask questions, and avoid miscommunication. Regular communication should be vital to the success of collaborative projects. I would regularly check in with my group members via email to ensure that the group is on the same page and on the right track.
Reading Response #3
ReplyDelete1. A couple of years ago, I had a group project in my public speaking class where we had to present information over cell phone history. We broke up sections of the work to research and meet up weekly to plan out the presentation. We each contributed ideas and overall I thought the workload was evenly distributed. In the end, we had a successful presentation.
2.Over the semester, I had a group presentation for one of my math classes. I think it was a little unorganized since we did not conduct meetings and didn’t know who was saying what until shortly before the presentation. The work wasn’t evenly distributed either as in my other example of successful collaboration. Overall, we didn’t do too bad on the presentation but we could have organized it more better.
3.I believe that having good communication and effective organization is important for good collaboration as explained in chapter 4. To succeed in this, I would conduct meetings so my team could touch base on the progress of the project. Also, having a team leader is good so they could hand out task to the team and coordinate things based on the skills of my team members. Then, if all the team members worked hard and put in their part of the project, the project can get done efficiently and successfully with good collaboration.
1) In another class, my group and I were tasked with writing a large report. The most important factor in our success was communication: we had group meetings frequently and divided the work up to save time and effort for every member, but we also worked together to finalize the report in order to reduce the inconsistencies of having multiple independent writers.
ReplyDelete2) Alternatively, I have been part of many groups that had a difficult time scheduling group meetings, and this leads to a lack of organization. Group members will not be held to a strict schedule, and this can lead to procrastination and confusion among members. Also, a lack of coordination meant that the final presentation was rushed, as group members had little time to prepare due to confusion over which section would be covered by whom.
3) I think the most important two steps to take are to choose a team leader, and to make a team agenda early, before starting to work. This way, a rigid schedule can be enforced, and the plan of action is clear for each team member.
1)In a previous class, I was part of a group that had to pick 3 different topics throughout the semester, do research, do a presentation, and write a paper on the topic. This was a highly positive group experience because all of the work was evenly distributed, and everyone was responsible for their part of the project. Once we got our topic, we conducted efficient meetings and divided the work load for the presentation and paper. After the presentation we all wrote our part of the paper and then we worked together to make the paper flow correctly.
ReplyDelete2)A less-than-positive collaborative experience I have had was when I was part of a group that had to work together to present a topic and then write a paper on it. It was less than positive because there was no sure direction that we wanted to go, and nobody really took the leadership role. However, it was easy for us to critique one another’s work because we did so in a positive way. We did not tell each other that we were wrong, but instead suggested how we could make things better.
3)I believe that the elements that would have the most positive impact on future collaborative writing projects would be to create a schedule, and write down all decisions that are made. Sometimes ideas are forgotten from one meeting to the next, so having a folder that has all the information a group needs for a project is ideal to stay organized. Some specific actions I could take would be to be the one to write things down and keep the group organized. Being able to monitor the project and visually see what steps we need to take next to have a successful collaborative project is essential for a good grade.
In a psychology class I had last semester, I was selected in a group of six to present a report on paranormal psychology. One of the important factors that stimulated our efficiency was the regular meetings to see what each member of the group have developed and how it can be incorporated into the assigned project. We had to give presentations on the written project. We decided to split up the presentation and give it in small chunks.
ReplyDeleteI have only had one group presentation in my college years, but in relation to the previous group work I had, there were situations where we disagreed on what should be included in the material and some group members wanted to force some materials into the project.
The important elements that will help on my future endeavor will be; making a team agenda early and regular communication which is vital for collaborative projects, a clear plan of action for every group member to be aware of and sending bulk mails on insights on new findings on the presented work.
1. In a previous class, we had to do group presentations on an assigned topic. The three of us started on it early and communicated with each other throughout the project. We also evenly divided the work and tried to work on it collaboratively as much as we could. Our clear communication and organization was what helped us most because there was little wasted time and everyone knew what they were accountable for.
ReplyDelete2. In a previous class, we were divided into groups and were assigned a subject to teach to the class. At the beginning of the semester things were going well and the group was working together cohesively. As my groups turn to teach came closer, two members of the group stopped coming to class and failed to communicate with us, no matter how many times we reached out to them. My other group member and I were forced to figure everything out and divide up the work. We had to just hope that they would do their portion, but since we didn’t know if they could be counted on we did more of the work.
3. I think that two important elements of collaboration are good communication and organization. I’ve found that groups work more efficiently if they have these skills, because there are less questions of what needs to be done and who is responsible for it. I think that less time is wasted and fewer mistakes are made when things are organized and members can communicate effectively.
I have had both very good experiences and also very bad experiences with group projects and group papers. I will start with the good experiences first. The best experience I had with a group project was actually for an essay in my english 112 class here at McKendree. We did the paper towards the end of the semester and my teacher picked the group's herself based on the papers we wrote earlier in the semester so she knew who the strong writers were along with the weak. Up until then I had really bad experiences with group projects but with that one my team worked well together and we all chose different topics to write about and when we were all done, all of us sat down and put it all together to where the paper was seamless. Next, we have the bad experiences which, thankfully, were all in High School and not in college. In all my High School group projects we were able to pick our groups and that is never a good idea because everyone is obviously going to pick their friends and so when everyone meets up to “work” on the paper or project, everyone ends up messing around and nothing ends up getting done. After reading through the chapter, I really think that just picking a good leader who can distribute the work evenly through every body and gets everything done efficiently is the key to having a great group project experience!
ReplyDeleteAndy Kurilla
Reading Response #3
ReplyDelete1. In a previous class last semester my partner and I had to do a collection of data on ten different species of plants, in a certain number of families. There was many positive aspects of this collaboration. One aspect was conducting efficient meeting times in and outside of class. Since the project entailed us going out and collecting plants, we had to do a lot of it on our own time. These meetings outside of class was very efficient because we both put forth the same amount of effort into the project since we had to do it together.
2. In a previous class, my group and I had to come up with a project dealing with a certain endangered animal. One negative aspect of this collaboration was a meeting time. We had plenty of time to talk about the project in class and show the research we had gathered. But when it was time to put it all together, the only day we could meet up was the night before the project was due. We should have met several time before the due date to work on it more efficiently, so we could critique our team member’s work. We should of had a team member.
3. Two elements from Chapter 4 that would have the most positive impact on my future collaborative writing projects would be choosing a team leader and managing the project better. We didn’t have a team leader with one of our projects and I think that was mainly the problem. We needed someone in charge, to manage the project and conduct meetings times. Regular communication was a major problem too because we only talked in class not outside of class. To have a successful collaborative projects in the future we need more communication outside of class through email, assign a team leader and meet several times before the final project is due.
1. A positive group project took place a last semester. There was great communication between the group on what roles each member had and everyone seemed to take charge of their portion and finish it on time. We ended up getting a good grade on the project.
ReplyDelete2. A less positive experience happened last year. We were unorganized, everyone was trying to be a leader but we didn't agree on each other’s input on the project. Other negatives were group members would show up late to a meeting we would have regarding the project or not finish their portion on time. We lacked communication between each other. Over all we received a passing grade but it could have gone better with communication and leadership from one person.
3. To have a successful group for a project, I believe good communication and Organization is the key to success. With good communication things tend to be more organized. If I were a leader I would make sure everyone has each other’s contact information so we have communication within the group. To be organized one person should contain all project documents so they will be all in one place when it comes time to present.
1) Last semester, my group and I had to assemble two paper/presentations for a class. The first of those assignments was a positive experience for all 3 group members. We all met up and worked together in order to write a coherent paper for the class and the present on it. For this paper, some things I think that helped us to be successful were that we evenly handed out work to all involved and took as much time as we needed in order to write a decent paper.
ReplyDelete2) For the second paper in that class mentioned above, that was a less positive experience overall than the first go round that we had. Even though it was the same group of 3 individuals as before, one of the members did not contribute this time and as such the workload was harder for the two of us left over. For the two of us left though it was still a somewhat positive experience once we managed the workload involved and got more comfortable with directly critiquing and refining each other’s work for the final paper.
3) For future collaborations, the parts that I think that would be most beneficial to having a positive impact on my collaboration participation would be to have a clearly defined schedule of times to work on a project with my peers, picking a team leader who would have the final say in things, keeping the project organized and starting early in order to ensure getting the project done in time.
1) A positive collaborative project that I have experienced had a member become the leader, had the group delegate jobs for everything, and we weren’t talking over one another. We were being respectful for one another and for each other’s ideas. After we defined the tasks for each member, we decided on a schedule in which we could complete certain parts of the project. Once some portion of the work was turned in, we critiqued and revised each portion so that the project didn’t seem so disjointed and the quality improved.
ReplyDelete2) A negative collaborative project that I have experienced had a member become the leader, but against some member’s wishes and the leader did not promote a respectful atmosphere. With the lack of a strong leader, our meetings were inefficient and we ended up missing our deadlines, which in turn made our project that much worse.
3) I think that making a schedule for the project to follow, with the necessary planning and delegation of work behind it, along with being as efficient as possible, would have the most positive impact on collaborative writing projects because these elements would provide each member a strong guideline that they should follow for the project to be successful.
C.J. Kirchner
ReplyDelete1. In a Previous class I was a part of a group that had to type a paper over a certain species in biology, and give a 20 minute presentation. We had almost the whole semester to work on it because our group was one of the last to present. We had this girl who took the lead, and right after class she got a hold of me and the other member through email, and face book. We all agreed that we should get it done early so we did not have to worry about it later. So with this we constantly talked through email, and by texting. We all participated equally the workload was separated even and fairly. If we did not understand or want to throw a different topic into the project then we would consider it and talk about it.
2. In my marketing class last year I was in a group that talked about Budweiser now we had just over 2 months to do the project... It was an 8 page paper between the three of us, and a 20 minute presentation. Not too bad, but it is bad when you cannot get your group members to talk about the project till the last week before we present. I was mad because I had a busy week that week, and I live off campus so trying to find a time to meet was hard to do. When we would schedule time they would blow it off, and not even care. When we started the presentation my group members had zero clue of what they were going to talk about, and they read of note cards, and looked/ stood facing the screen. This hurt our grades significantly. I was furious with them.
3. I would say Communicating Diplomatically, because it is not always easy to work with someone else or many people. Everyone has different opinions, and everyone thinks different. So you have to learn how to work together as a team, and assign jobs to the right people. There will always be fights and disagreements but you have to work them out. I would do this by stepping up and being the leader, the 1 that assigns different jobs to the right person. Also, I would do my best to stop any disagreements before they get out of control. Some critiquing is ok but don’t take it to heart. Second I would say Critiquing a team members work, this is a really good one because sometimes you may not know as much as the other members, or maybe you get tired and you put some wrong words or you completely do the project wrong. And healthy critiquing is ok. You do not want to offend anyone, but sometimes the truth hurts.
Getting team members to be open to critique is hard, but if you have good communication early in the process, that can build a foundation of trust.
Delete1. As an intern at the National Foundation for Ectodermal Dysplasia I collaborated with other researchers across the country. Collaboration was essential to my final report. The other professionals broadened my knowledge base. I was not experienced enough to make important calls. I did not always understand the writing in publications. My mentors aided in my understanding skills. The final report was the foundation for a larger reclassification project. My data is currently being used to provide statistics and information as a means to aid in research funding. The conclusion has to make since to all employees at NFED.
ReplyDelete2. The difficulty of this project came with communication. It was hard to get the information I needed by only working via email and phone. While I independently drafted the report, I was guided by other researchers. Each researcher recommended different strategies. I had to pick and choose which methods I wanted to use.
3. If employed I would focus on managing your project. I strongly believe this is essential for success. A well-structured project makes the process run smoothly. The goal is clear for all employees. This will help my stay on track and organized. With strong management it will be easier to collaborate and ask for clarification when need.
Sounds like your internship provided you some *great* collaborative and communication experiences!
DeleteSpencer Sweetin
ReplyDelete1. My senior year of high school was in a group with well acquainted friends. We had to write a six page paper on the book The Hobbit. We decided on an outline and split it into sections for each member of the group. After writing our sections using good communications we proofread each other's sections and put it all together.
2. I had to write a paper in my summer inorganic chemistry class at a community college I attended. I tried to apply the same communication and organization tactics as I did for The Hobbit book writing project. However, one of my partners forgot to do their part and the other partner’s writing was not relevant to the project. This great lack of motivation among the team led to me writing the paper by myself and my partners reaping the benefits. It is clear this was ineffective.
3. In the future I plan on working differently with coworkers. Both positive and negative previous experiences have given me new insight. Conducting meetings, collaboration among individuals means actually collaborating and the best way to do that is in person. Feedback along the way is much better than feedback at the very end of a project.
In a previous class, I had to write a group report where everyone took a section and then put it together on a Google Doc. The only positive aspects of this project were the communication that we had and the fact that we were all friends. When there was a problem, we talked it out and were never too critical of ones part of the paper. Although we might have not liked certain things, we did not let that affect our work; we knew that we needed to get a good grade.
ReplyDeleteIn another class I took we had to do a group report on how we could make a company better. Everyone had their own parts, but it was hard for us to meet and we really didn’t know each other to really communicate. We did not care about getting to know each other and our strengths and weaknesses and it showed through the work. The negative aspect was that we did not care so we basically took on the ideas of one person instead of thinking on our own. We put in less effort. Also Personally I am not a good listener, so when we met up because I did not know the group members and the project was mostly on one person I would tune them out.
Throughout the chapter the elements I thought would be most effective in the work place would be conducting meetings because co-workers can communicate in an open space and so that body language can be used to understand a person’s point of view. In order for this to be effective, I would make sure that I make the space comfortable, not have a table so that it won’t feel as professional, and make sure that everyone is on time as well as attentive. Another important element is being flexible. Everyone should take on a work load and help when needed. This will be effective in group work because everyone will be on the same page.
1. During last semester in my New Media class, I worked with two others to create a promotional flyer for the humanities annual essay contest. Some positive parts of this group assignment was that we all presented great ideas and we worked to incorporate parts that everyone thought would better the project. We listened to each other very well and had good chemistry while working together. We held productive meetings that were brief and to the point so we were able to accomplish a lot during our time together.
ReplyDelete2. A project last semester started out less than positive, but soon turned into a project where my partner and I were able to accomplish a lot. My partner and I had schedules that conflicted so we were unable to meet in person and hold successful discussions about what we should do. The work was very unbalanced in the first portion of the project as well. Since we ended up working more as individuals through this, our projects design elements did not mirror one another. It was clear the pieces we created were from two different people but for the same company.
3.From chapter four, the elements that have the most positive impact would be positive communication, organization, and having a leader. Having good communication helps with organization for the team. It is important to set a timeline of when portions of the project need to be completed by to make sure you and your team stay on track. Also, having a leader is a smart choice because it puts somebody in charge that everyone can go to. A leader can help things move smoothly and keep problems from arising.
My successful collaborative group utilized multiple meeting times. We divvied out individual sections and help each other out with ideas. Where one of us had a weakness, the others could fill in the gap. We all had a really good time together and enjoyed what we were working towards.
ReplyDeleteMy least successful collaborative group just didn’t mesh well. We were all wanting to go in different directions. I think this was mainly because we didn’t really care for our assigned topic (we all hanad wanted a certain topic, but were assigned out least favorite). One group member came to one group meeting out of three and brought about 200 words to everyone else’s 1,200 words. So were all picked up her slack and wrote her part too. We ended up deciding to take a late grade, losing 20 points total, in order to spend time combining our work and writing the slacker’s half the proper way.
Breaking the project down into smaller tasks always seems to be one of the keys to success in collaborative (and individual) work. Scheduled meetings, be they face to face or by video, should be when everyone can be involved. It may be very hard, because of the number of people and conflicting activities, but it is important so everyone can ask questions to enhance the collaboration. Also, constructive criticism is important to the group as well. We are all working towards the best end product possible. We wouldn’t want to allow something to be off because we’re afraid to speak our mind.
a. When I was a sophomore in high school our big grade from our communications class was a decade’s project. We were allowed to pick our groups and which decade we did which worried me a bit because I chose my friends that were in the class. However, once we elected myself as team leader the work was done with impeccable timing. We all voiced our opinions and I was able to keep everyone on track when we would have a disagreement.
ReplyDeleteb. Last year in one of my sport management classes we had a huge group project where we raised money for Ronald McDonald House. The group were randomly chosen for us by our teacher and because of that my friend and I were placed in a group with two guys who had absolutely no care in the world for how the project went. He and I had to do everything and when we would hold team meetings they would not show up or would joke around the entire time so the group was lacking effective communication and organizational skills.
c. The most positive impact for future collaborating writing projects would be to have a cohesive group that all has the same end goal and is able to get there through their own determination and organization. With my first group we had all of these aspects and our grade was much higher than the second project because in that one, half of the members did not care whether they received an A or D in the class.
1) I experienced a positive collaborative writing project, because everyone in the group listened and worked well together. We all brought something different to the group and with that we were able to be successful. Sometimes I feel like it can be hard to collaborate when it’s like that because people don’t want to listen to each other; but this time we all listened and were able to do a good job. My group also communicated well between everyone. We talked through every step and understood where everyone was coming from. We also all did our part, not one person was doing all the work. I feel like that helped to keep the tension down.
ReplyDelete2) The time I experienced a less-than positive collaboration, we all did something on our own without communication and then just through it together. This did not work because we never met, we thought that if we just broke it up everything would work out. Truthfully though, we needed to get together and discuss what everyone had in mind and see what we needed to do. From there we should have broken the project up and each did our part; this way everything would have come together smoother because we would have already known what everyone was thinking.
3) Listening would have a positive impact on a future collaborative project; because by everyone listening to each other you are able to work to the group’s full potential and figure out the best way to execute the project. Also being flexible with your schedule, because that makes it easier for everyone to come up with a time to meet. If you aren’t flexible then the group will have a hard time meeting up. I would try and make sure that everyone came with an open mind. I would also try to get everyone’s schedule; and then set up times when we could all meet to discuss what to do and then to discuss how everything is going periodically.
Sounds like you're probably a logistical leader!
Delete1. Back when I went to community college I had a 10 page collaborative paper for a final. Everyone got a partner and each team got a topic they had to write about. My partner and I got WW2 and we decided to brainstorm out topic options. We made a list of topics and chose which ones would be in the paper, which we split up evenly. We then wrote 5 pages each but we always wrote together so we could talk to each other about it. Our separate papers fit together for a perfect essay and we got a perfect score on our final.
ReplyDelete2. A bad collaborative paper project experience was in literature class. I didn’t know anyone in the class and I sat at the end of the table and the kid next to me turned to me when group paper was announced. I knew the kid was lazy and not very smart in class so I had to write a four page paper on Shakespeare by myself, but I didn’t mind too much because I knew it would get done right.
3. The book talks a lot about making a schedule for your group project. I have been in group projects before that don’t have a schedule and most people try to do it the day before and throw something together last minute. I believe making a schedule and sticking to it will make your final writing much more professional.