Achieving Group Goals discussion posts

Learning Goal: I’m working on a research & summaries question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.

Make sure to read each of the sections to understand the expectations for our discussion topics. All discussions are out of 100 points.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of the discussion boards is to start and build an informed conversation about each module’s concepts. Regular participation on the boards helps build community with your fellow students. Please share your experiences and knowledge with the rest of the class through your discussion posts. Your voice matters, especially in a course like this!

POSTING REQUIREMENTS:

At a minimum, you will answer three discussion questions for each module and respond to two posts made by your fellow students. You must make your initial posts before you’ll see the posts of your classmates.

Do not post all of your responses on the same day. Posts should be spread out over several days. You should post on at least two different days for each discussion forum (i.e., your answer to three discussion questions–spread out over several days; response to two posts of your colleagues–spread out over several days as well). Make your initial post early so others will have time to respond.

Posting all of your answers or responses to other students’ posts in one day is not active participation; it is “hit and run” posting. Making all of your posts on one day will result in a large point deduction. Doing this will ensure an automatic deduction of 15% of your discussion grade for not following directions. This is a minimum of five (5) messages for each module.

Post your answers to the discussion questions in separate posts. Do not answer all of the questions in one post. Doing this will ensure an automatic deduction of 15% of your discussion grade for not following directions. This is a minimum of five (5) messages for each module.

For your post, you should start with your   name, the post number and the question number you answer. Your 2nd and 3rd discussion post should follow the same format. See the example:

John Doe (provide your name)

Post #01 for Q1 (you chosen question number)

(provide your answer)

For your response to other students’ posts, just provide your name and response number. Your 2nd response should follow the same format. See the example:

John Doe (provide your name)

Response #01

(provide your response to other student’s post)

For your original post (total three posts are required), the length of one single post must be a minimum of  300 words (i.e., minimum 300 words/post x 3 posts = 900 words) and submitted by the deadline on the course calendar. If your post (one single post) is less than 60 words, an automatic zero point will be given to that post.

For your responses (total two responses are required), the length of your response (one single response) must be a minimum of 100 words each (i.e., 100 words/each response x 2 responses = 200 words).

Failure to meet this requirement results in penalty in your discussion grade.

WRITING QUALITY:

Writing should reflect full sentences, proper grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization are required. Avoid writing as you would text (e.g., “u” in place of “you.”)

Student responses to discussion questions must be thorough and reflect an understanding of course material. Be organized in your thoughts and ideas. Incorporate correlations with the assigned readings or topics. Stay on topic. Avoid summarizing. Contribute to the learning environment with depth and with the goal of motivating discussion. Scientific discourse is based on evidence. Opinions are just that, but if used in a discussion, they must be informed opinions.

In your 3 original posts (answers to discussion questions), you should have two types of citations: in-text citation in your post and reference citation at the end of the post.

Cite the textbook, refer to concepts in the textbook, and/or include an outside source (e.g., link to relevant information/website) in your answers.  Cite textbook material and/or website information according to APA style both in-text and at the end of your post. Please see the example to follow the proper format.

John Doe Post #01 for Q1

Group Dialectics

The leadership/followership dialectic set deals with group members working

as a team rather than one member domineering others and ideas going

unheard or discouraged. After all, “effective leaders have the confidence to

put their egos aside and bring out the leadership in others” (Engleberg &

Wynn, 2013, p. 17),… I hope to incorporate the same balance into both work

and school based groups I am apart of in the future, by not only delegating

tasks but participating and encouraging as well.

Engleberg, I, & Wynn, D.(2013). Working in Groups: Communication

principles and strategies. 6th ed. Pearson. Upper Saddle River, NJ.”

Make an effort to read your classmates’ posts. When responding to other classmates’  posts, write complete, insightful comments, just as you would for a discussion question. You must do more than say “I agree”, “You’re so right,” “I like it,” or “it’s cool” by making a thoughtful response to what your classmate has written.  You must engage the original post in some way. You may cite the textbook or include a link to relevant information/website in your responses. You may support, agree, politely disagree, etc. and explain why. Your post should add to the discussion.

Please use the reply button rather than starting a new topic/thread when replying to others.

Additionally, do not make insulting or inflammatory statements in the discussion board. Be respectful of others’ ideas. Philosophical differences exist and we can all agree to disagree in a professional manner. Be patient and read the postings of others thoroughly before posting your responses. Since learning takes place over time, the responses should not be made all at once, but spread out, in order to allow dialogue to develop. The aim is to encourage interaction among students and faculty, not simply to present information.

PUNCTUALITY:

Discussion posts and peer responses are always due by the deadlines (Refer to the course calendar for due dates).

Once the time has passed for the module, you cannot make up discussion board posts.

Late posts will not be accepted and you will not receive credit for missed discussion boards.

Module 03 Discussion

Please remember to adhere to the required discussion guidelines for each discussion in the course.

For this discussion, you should answer three questions listed below for credit.

1. Describe a recent group decision-making and implementation experience in which you were troubled with the final decision or during the implementation of the decision. Reflect on that situation and answer the following questions:

1) How effectively did the group discuss the decision or the implementation actions?

2) Did you participate in these discussions? Why or why not?

3) Did you express agreement or disagreement with any part of these discussions? Did you remain silent? If so, why?

4) How did your actions contribute to the group selecting the final decision?

5) If you could go back in time to the group deliberations, what would you change about your own behavior? How do you believe the group outcomes would differ?

2. Meetings can be both a blessing and a curse.

1) Compare and contrast the best meeting and worst meeting you have ever attended. What made it so good? What made it so bad?

2) For worst meeting, what could have been done to improve the meeting?

3. Effective decision making requires a large skills set. Discuss why group members need relational skills (i.e., social skills) in addition to task and procedural skills for group decision making. Provide an example.