I was elected group leader for the research project I completed with my
classmates, Misty Burnworth, Joel Rodriguez, and Craig Wilsie. Craig set
up a wiki and I populated it with pages designed to house different aspects of
the project and provide reference materials for writing the research
paper. I wrote the Literature Review section and compiled the report an
presentation from individual contributions as well.
Link to Standard In this project, my working role with classmates shifted from peer to
leader. Since we were working at a distance, I felt that effective
communication was key to our success. It is easy to feel out of touch
with a project's progress when working at a distance. We used a tool that
was familiar to all group members to keep everyone on the same (virtual) page.
Craig established a wikispace then I populated it with asynchronous elements to
enhance our productivity. Synchronous communication was established
through Skype for group meetings and Google Chat instant messages for a quick
check-in. I coordinated group meetings and posted meeting notes on the
wiki. I also added job aids to support the mechanics of the report.
Challenges and Opportunities The course in which we completed this project was held about halfway through
the COMET program. I had established a relationship with Misty,
communicating with her often to discuss class work. My communication with
Joel and Craig was limited to class discussion. I identified the first task in
my role as group leader as facilitating my and my group mates mental shift from
Denise as classmate to Denise as project leader. I'm not sure exactly why
the transition of roles proved to be effortless on my part. Perhaps this
was an easy transition because my peers asked me to be the project
leader. It was relatively easy for me to make the mental shift as
well. I am the person who "plans for the plan" and am
comfortable in leadership roles. I thoroughly reviewed Dr. Wang's course
web site. This helped me to be a resource for my group mates; I was able
to quickly answer questions and clarify project expectations.
My goal for the project communication structure was to listen to my group
mate's expressed need and then create a communication tool to support their
work. I also anticipated needs based on our discussions of the project
and questions group members posed. I used active listening skills,
questioning for clarification and paraphrasing, to be sure that my
understanding was correct. I felt that a democratic approach to
developing our work environment provided all group members with a sense of
ownership in the decision-making process. If I assumed I understood the
group member's perspective, I would risk becoming an overbearing, presumptuous
project leader.
The first challenge was organizing each group member's contribution to the
final product. We were a group of novice researchers tasked with delivering a
semester-long case study and research report. The group needed to begin
work immediately. I was concerned that we would overlook required
components of the project due to our lack of prior knowledge in this type of
work. One of our group members took the initiative to create a project
management tool, a Wikispace page. Craig set up the wiki and I populated
it with elements to manage communication and the project's tasks. The wiki
served as an effective asynchronous communication tool. For example, we were
able to determine group meeting dates by posting our availability on the wiki
rather than engaging in lengthy email threads.
I used active listening skills during our meetings. When confusion arose about
research processes and the development of the final report, I added job aids to
the wiki. The reference materials assisted the group in maintaining
adherence to the project's requirements. Rather than criticize a group
member's lack of knowledge, I steered him toward a job aid. My
non-aggressive, open communication style promoted a friendly working
environment that focused on group member's strengths rather than deficiencies.
It would have been easy for the project to lag and for the group to lose sight
of our goals had I not been proactive in my role as group leader. Morale
sagged at one point midway through the project when a member missed a couple of
meetings and did not reply to emails. As the group pressed forward, I
began to send reminder emails to everyone about upcoming meetings. This
prompted communication to the group by the member who had missed meetings,
which eased anxiety about his commitment to the project. I feel that I
supported the project's workflow by developing an effective asynchronous and
communication structure (the wiki) and facilitating communication among
members. In the end, we successfully transitioned from four,
geographically separate individuals into a research team whose members who were
able to work closely to achieve a common goal.
Professional and Personal Growth This work demonstrates my capability to transition into the role of leader with
individuals who are my peers. I am sensitive to group member's needs and can
fill the role as leader without becoming an overbearing autocrat. I am
developing the ability to recognize individual's strengths and facilitate the
effective application of skills and knowledge to complete tasks. Craig
and Misty continued to use me as a resource to answer questions and clarify
assignment criteria in subsequent COMET courses. Craig once commented
that he thought I was much older because I am "so responsible".
Since
this project, I've become comfortable in informal and formal leadership
roles, both locally and in state-wide collaborations. I'm learning how to
facilitate effective horizontal and vertical working relationships and manage
projects in face-to-face and virtual environments. Educational technologists
can shift roles from peer to leader depending on the nature of the work at
hand. The refinement of leadership skills will allow me to be a more
limber Instructional Design professional who is able to understand or assume a
variety of roles particular to a given task or project.
