One team that I was a part of about a year ago was a VIVA (Voice Ideas Vision Action) ISEA (Iowa State Education Association) project called Re-Imagining School Leadership for the 21st Century (VIVA Teachers, 2012). I happened to stumble on to this collaborative group as I was perusing the ISEA site one day last year in September. I was immediately captivated by a question about teacher leadership and mentors and responded to a question from the site administrator. Based on my response and the responses of some other teachers throughout the state of Iowa, we were invited to become a collaborative group to write up a detailed proposal entailing the mechanics of implementing stronger teacher leader programs in schools that would not necessarily replace mentoring programs but add and/or enhance existing teacher leader programs. This proposal would first be presented to the ISEA in Des Moines, Iowa and then to the Iowa Governor and the Department of Education.
I could not believe I jumped into this group because I had just started taking my Master's classes online with Walden and in order to participate in this group, there would be a month of intensive online communication with the VIVA administrators and other teachers from Iowa. But I felt honored to be asked to be a part of this group of nine and was very passionate about the topic of teacher leaders and how they can enhance the teaching experience in schools. So this collective group went through the five stages of team development in a matter of four months (Abudi, 2010). I was thankful that the VIVA team leaders had a clear vision in mind and kept us on track in such a short time (Abudi, 2010). The team leaders were also very respectful of all of our input and time we were committing to this project (Abudi, 2010). We were basically working off of a Google document which was a new and rewarding experience for me.
In November 2012, we met for the first time in person as a group which was scary and exciting all at once because not only were we meeting for the first time face to face but we were also presenting together for the first time at the ISEA. Our proposal had been printed for the ISEA and we were requested to be at their meeting to field any questions that they might have in order to revise our report for the Governor. The ISEA was very receptive to our group attending and praised us for our hard work and dedication to this project. This aspect was part of the performing stage (Abudi, 2010). The team leaders were so grateful for our time and commitment that they offered to take us out for lunch after the meeting to show their appreciation and celebrate our project (Abudi, 2010). That lunch gave us a chance as a team to talk to each other face to face and find out a little more about each other. We also knew as a team that this might be the only time we would be able to get together because there would only be about 2 or 3 of us able to go back to Des Moines in December 2012 to present to the governor.
Although I did not get to be part of this group for very long, I felt connected instantly to the people on this team because we shared a vision and wanted our vision to become a reality. I believe the adjourning process for teams disbanding is very important because so much time and energy is contributed by team members and the adjournment process helps to recognize those contributions and allow the team closure.
One of the things that I appreciate at the end of each Master's classes I have had at Walden is when our instructor encourages us to let our colleagues know how much we have appreciated them in class through their blogs and/or final discussion posts. This helps to bring closure to that particular class and also with the people in class.
One song that comes to mind when thinking of closure is Green Day's "Time of Your Life" (YouTube, n.d.). You can watch and listen to it above:)!
I could not believe I jumped into this group because I had just started taking my Master's classes online with Walden and in order to participate in this group, there would be a month of intensive online communication with the VIVA administrators and other teachers from Iowa. But I felt honored to be asked to be a part of this group of nine and was very passionate about the topic of teacher leaders and how they can enhance the teaching experience in schools. So this collective group went through the five stages of team development in a matter of four months (Abudi, 2010). I was thankful that the VIVA team leaders had a clear vision in mind and kept us on track in such a short time (Abudi, 2010). The team leaders were also very respectful of all of our input and time we were committing to this project (Abudi, 2010). We were basically working off of a Google document which was a new and rewarding experience for me.
In November 2012, we met for the first time in person as a group which was scary and exciting all at once because not only were we meeting for the first time face to face but we were also presenting together for the first time at the ISEA. Our proposal had been printed for the ISEA and we were requested to be at their meeting to field any questions that they might have in order to revise our report for the Governor. The ISEA was very receptive to our group attending and praised us for our hard work and dedication to this project. This aspect was part of the performing stage (Abudi, 2010). The team leaders were so grateful for our time and commitment that they offered to take us out for lunch after the meeting to show their appreciation and celebrate our project (Abudi, 2010). That lunch gave us a chance as a team to talk to each other face to face and find out a little more about each other. We also knew as a team that this might be the only time we would be able to get together because there would only be about 2 or 3 of us able to go back to Des Moines in December 2012 to present to the governor.
Although I did not get to be part of this group for very long, I felt connected instantly to the people on this team because we shared a vision and wanted our vision to become a reality. I believe the adjourning process for teams disbanding is very important because so much time and energy is contributed by team members and the adjournment process helps to recognize those contributions and allow the team closure.
One of the things that I appreciate at the end of each Master's classes I have had at Walden is when our instructor encourages us to let our colleagues know how much we have appreciated them in class through their blogs and/or final discussion posts. This helps to bring closure to that particular class and also with the people in class.
One song that comes to mind when thinking of closure is Green Day's "Time of Your Life" (YouTube, n.d.). You can watch and listen to it above:)!
References
Abudi, G. (2010). The five stages of team development: A case study. Retrieved from
http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.html
VIVA Teachers. (2012). Re-Imagining School Leadership for the 21st Century. Retrieved
from http://vivateachers.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/VIVA-ISEA_2_Final.pdf
YouTube (n.d.). Time of Your Life (Good Riddance) Lyrics. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bTdLi0YUVM
What an amazing post! I can't say I've ever been part of such an awesome group. It sounds like you were a great candidate and are very professional in this area. I love that you posted that song on your blog because a lot of schools play that at graduation, and that just goes to show that every good thing has an end and there is always something greater out there waiting for you! Great blog post!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Shanda! Interesting to hear that Green Day's song is often used at graduations. I remember it fondly from the final episode of Seinfeld- I thought it went well with the closure of their show.
ReplyDeleteNicolette
Nicolette,
ReplyDeleteIt seems like this was a great group to be a part of. I haven't had the best experiences with being in groups, but it is good to hear about your positive experience. I also think that it is a good thing that we are given the opportunity to tell our colleagues how much we have learned from them. Thanks so much for sharing your story!
Amber
Thanks for your comments Amber! I actually felt very intimidated to join this group at first because of the time commitment and I wasn't sure if I could "hang" with this group of professionals, especially since I was the only early childhood educator in the group. I quickly found out that it was well worth the effort to go out of my comfort zone and not only work on the project but throw myself into getting to know 7 people face to face the first time we were presenting! I was excited that I did it!
ReplyDeleteNicolette
I think you are one creative person and you should keep it up...I enjoy your blogs...they are cool...lol
ReplyDeleteObadele,
DeleteThank you for your thoughtful comments:)!
Nicolette
Nicolette,
ReplyDeleteI wanted to thank you for your great posts during this class. I have enjoyed the visuals you included in your responses. I also live in Iowa. I teach at the Child Development Lab School at Iowa State. It was exciting to see another Iowan working towards their Master's. Good luck to you as you finish your program. We are so close. I hope you are able to meet all the goals you have for your life.
Laurie
Thanks Laurie for your comments! We will have to meet up some time- I would love to see the Lab School!
DeleteNicolette