SPC Reflections - Ariana Beingolea

GROUP 1

Group 1, which I was a part of, talked about Intercultural Communication (Chapter 3). 

I believe everybody did a good job diving in into their topics. The examples given were really good and it made me understand the topic more. I really liked that they didn’t read word by word off the PowerPoint like robots and that they gave examples that were not on the screen, it felt like everyone knew what they were talking about which made the presentation more engaging. I would have liked for some slides to not include too much text, but very educational regardless. Every video was on point and were able to provide different explanations of the various topics

         

The pictures included in the slides were eye catching. The majority of the slides had precise and concise text information. When they talked about religion, I liked that the speaker did not talk badly about any of them. I learned a lot from my classmates. For example, to communicate to people with different backgrounds effectively, I learned which strategies to use, such as studying other cultures, adopting an attitude where I´m willing to communicate with others, be open-minded, etc. I will definitely use this in the future. As I read the socioeconomic status slide, I found shocking how people from low socioeconomic status will more likely be in poor health and have chronic health conditions and disabilities than those in higher levels, truly unfair. Another thing that I learned is that immigrants were expected to quickly adapt to the US culture before, they were expected to learn English quickly, and some of them even changed their names to sound more ´American´. Now, things have changed and the American culture has learned to honor and respect the other various cultures present in the US. Something from the presentation that I will use to educate others is that our Constitution professes equal rights and opportunities for everyone, yet some individuals are still treated unfairly based on sex, race, ethnicity, age, disability, or sexual orientation.

                                                            

GROUP 2

Group 2 talked about Communicating in Groups (Chapter 9). 

At the beginning of the presentation, I noticed that the speaker was reading everything off the Power Point which was a little boring, I would have liked for her to not include too much text and for her to add more pictures, nevertheless, she explained everything really well. For Age/generation, the slide was very didactic and the speaker did a great job explaining the information. I learned the name of each generation with respect to the year people were born, for example, my mom is part of Generation X because she was born in 1975 and I am Generation Z because I was born in 2003. I loved that they included movies that talk about Disabilities and the reason why they exist. Livian did a great job at explaining at how family communication has changed during the years because everyone is more focused on their phones than anything else. For 9.2, I would have liked for some slides to have a small summary of what the speaker was saying instead of none but the pictures used were eye catching nevertheless. 

Something I learned is the new ways to prevent my future groups from not doing their part, it was explained really well. Synergy was a new term for me but now I know its meaning and will have that in mind from now on. Effective goals are something everyone should know about when working in teams, and the speaker made sure to tell us how to identify them so we can know if we, as a group, are doing a great job. I loved the explanation the speaker gave when talking about Forming (first age of group development), she really made it known that is a very important stage and introduced the things that should get done during that stage. The slide for ´Performing´ was well put together, not too much text and a good picture. I learned that during the Performing stage, the group feels the most connected, they start to trust each other and give positive feedback as well. I liked this presentation; everyone knew their stuff.

GROUP 3

Group 3 talked about Chapter 10 which was about Group Leadership and Problem Solving

The video that was first shown was a good and simple way to explain how leadership works, it was very fun to watch. I learned that even though a group has a formal leader, there are informal leaders as well. The speaker did a great job at explaining the different types of informal leaders that exist and their roles. I love that they used eye catching pictures for the Key Shared Leadership Responsibilities slides. The speaker used her own experiences as explanations for the topic she was talking about­, and I love the fact that she used her own pictures in the PowerPoint, it made me pay even more attention. For Procedural Roles, I loved the graph that was used because it made the information easier to understand. Then, I learned what every leader should do in a meeting, for example, they have to manage meeting logistics, distribute an agenda, etc. This is very useful information for any student and I will definitely keep it in mind for the future. I also learned about systematic problem solving and what groups need to do to resolve a problem, for example, groups have to divide work between members, share information, etc. I know is fundamental to ask questions to connect better as a group and to avoid any miscommunication.

 

The speaker made it very easy to understand the Decision-Making Methods and I liked that her slide was organized and concise. Every picture used in the PowerPoint was great, some of them even gave me an idea of what the topic was about before the speaker could talk; the texts were on point, always concise; lastly, the examples given were easy to understand and made the presentation more engaging because they were examples most of us could relate to.