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Rachel Littell's ePortfolio        


Graduate Competency 1

    Group Interaction 

Group interaction means collaborating effectively with others. Groups are often able to achieve more than individuals in time, expertise, and learning.
 
Attributes:
 
    *Create shared understanding and expectations.
    *Understand and choose roles and tasks.
    *Make decisions and track progress collaboratively.
    *Negotiate consensus, compromise and conflict.
 
The two work samples I have provided are group projects, one from JMC 270, Intro to Public Relations, and ENG 374, Technical Editing.  The JMC 270 project included researching and analyzing MacIntosh in a public relations perspective.  The ENG 374 project consisted of editing an RFP.  In both groups we first set an understanding as to what was asked of us for the assignment and then determined each person's role in the group.  Throughout each project group members responded to participation differently and there were times that we met to track our progress and compromise when conflicts arose.
 
When meeting the group members for the first time in JMC 270 we all introduced ourselves and talked about what the assignment included.  Then us six students began talking about their personal lives.  I interrupted and suggested we determined what responsibilities everyone would take on.  I also suggested swapping emails in order to communicate and keep track in case some of the members were unable to attend class.  Our professor gave us three weeks to work on the project and about half of us worked really hard finding research and putting it into our own words while the other half did not do so much.  By the second week, us who were actually working on the project confronted the others and gave them suggestions on how to contribute to the team.  The final project was supposed to be in Powerpoint.  I took on the role of creating the Powerpoint so long as everyone sent me their information. By the time presentation rolled around, everybody had contributed and we felt like a strong group.
 
My ENG 374 class consisted of approximately 25 students, so when we were placed into groups we had already known a little bit about each other, so we got right down to business by brainstorming how to conduct our project and who would take on what roles.  We were required to evaluate each other by the end of the project, so we all wanted to contribute as much as possible in order to benefit ourselves as well as the group.  We set up meeting times and although some people were late at times we still accomplished our goals.  There were no conflicts throughout this project because everyone did what they were supposed to and on time.
 
All in all, I felt like a productive group member in both situations because not only did I perform my tasks, but in the JMC 270 project I took the role as the leader in keeping contact with everyone and made the most suggestions.  Please look at the resulting projects below.
 
Artifact 1:  Apple Presentation
 
                   
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