I can't believe that it has been a year since I decided to join this journey into receiving my Masters. It wasn't something that I thought about for a long time, I literally attended NAEYC and met a professor. I have learned so much in my journey! Although I wasn't always happy on Wednesdays, Saturday and Sunday because that was when assignments were due, it was nice to read all of your post and discussions. Thank you colleagues for providing your points of views and challenging my thinking. There were times when I had to reflect on a discussion post that was written because it was so different from my view, but I was able to understand the topic through your lens, which made our assignments more meaningful.
I remember being really nervous about joining an online community, but really glad that I have had some great interactions with you all! Now that the journey is almost over, I wish you nothing but the best of luck in your specializations!
If you every need me, leave a comment on my blog!
Cierra
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Adjourning after a Meeting
So....over the course of my career, I have attended many meetings. People in the early childhood field are always trying to find a better way to things because we are in a field that is every changing.
A couple of years ago I worked with the best team I have ever worked with. We had to come together to put together a conference for all the Child Care Directors in our community. We had our ups and downs, but it was a joy to work with all those women from different aspects of the ECE profession.
We worked together for a month, and the more we worked together, the more we were able to effectively communicate with each other. Relationships and trust begin to form over time. When we knew that we would have to be done with conference soon, we all hated it. We had some together and did some really great things for our community, and we all wished we could continue working with each other.
On our last day we had to close our project because we where done. We all hugged and gave each other our phone numbers. To celebrate our success with the conference, we all went out to Happy Hour. Going out to Happy Hours was so nice and I am glad to say that we are all still friends and have worked on more projects together.
Even though the adjourning step can be tough, it is nice to properly close a project. I am so glad that the adjourning process was a great process for me.
A couple of years ago I worked with the best team I have ever worked with. We had to come together to put together a conference for all the Child Care Directors in our community. We had our ups and downs, but it was a joy to work with all those women from different aspects of the ECE profession.
We worked together for a month, and the more we worked together, the more we were able to effectively communicate with each other. Relationships and trust begin to form over time. When we knew that we would have to be done with conference soon, we all hated it. We had some together and did some really great things for our community, and we all wished we could continue working with each other.
On our last day we had to close our project because we where done. We all hugged and gave each other our phone numbers. To celebrate our success with the conference, we all went out to Happy Hour. Going out to Happy Hours was so nice and I am glad to say that we are all still friends and have worked on more projects together.
Even though the adjourning step can be tough, it is nice to properly close a project. I am so glad that the adjourning process was a great process for me.
Saturday, February 6, 2016
Conflicts
I hate conflicts! I hate being upset and frustrated, especially if it's with someone that I love. I find myself throwing up my hands, leaving or saying something rude to end the conversation. Since I have taken this course, I have been reminded of what effective and respectful communication looks like.
Last weekend I threw a friend of mines a baby shower. I was the host and planner of the baby shower. When some her of friends showed up, they wanted things to go a different way than what I had planned. For example, if I wanted to play three games, then they wanted to play one. If I asked them to sit at one table, they wanted to sit at another. After being at the party for an hour, I begin to get frustrated with all the last minute changes.
I asked one of the friends, I'll call her Claire (so that I can protect her identity), to come into the kitchen with me. Once Claire came in the kitchen I said, "Hi Claire, thank you so much for coming. I noticed that there are somethings that you would like to change, so lets do this, lets make a compromise, I have planned out the party, but if you see something that could be done better, let me know and we will figure it out together." Claire was super shocked that I said this and replied, "No everything is great, I was just trying to help." I told her I understood, and we went back to the party and Claire didn't tell me anything else.
I can think of a million different ways this problem could have been solved, but it would probably result from me being in jail. I think because I was respectful, responsive and really trying to include Claire, this helped our conflict. At the end of the party, she came and gave me a big hug, and said that it was a great party.
One of my goals last week was to remain calm. Along with nonviolent communication, the three R's and remaining calm, my conflict had ceased, and what I originally viewed as a negative, turned into a positive.
Last weekend I threw a friend of mines a baby shower. I was the host and planner of the baby shower. When some her of friends showed up, they wanted things to go a different way than what I had planned. For example, if I wanted to play three games, then they wanted to play one. If I asked them to sit at one table, they wanted to sit at another. After being at the party for an hour, I begin to get frustrated with all the last minute changes.
I asked one of the friends, I'll call her Claire (so that I can protect her identity), to come into the kitchen with me. Once Claire came in the kitchen I said, "Hi Claire, thank you so much for coming. I noticed that there are somethings that you would like to change, so lets do this, lets make a compromise, I have planned out the party, but if you see something that could be done better, let me know and we will figure it out together." Claire was super shocked that I said this and replied, "No everything is great, I was just trying to help." I told her I understood, and we went back to the party and Claire didn't tell me anything else.
I can think of a million different ways this problem could have been solved, but it would probably result from me being in jail. I think because I was respectful, responsive and really trying to include Claire, this helped our conflict. At the end of the party, she came and gave me a big hug, and said that it was a great party.
One of my goals last week was to remain calm. Along with nonviolent communication, the three R's and remaining calm, my conflict had ceased, and what I originally viewed as a negative, turned into a positive.
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Communication Scale
This week I had two very important people in my life take quizzes about how they felt I was as a communicator. The two people was my mom and my goodfriend Karissa. I felt that both of these ladies know me very well, and out all of the people in the world, I have probably communicated the most with them.
Scale 1: Communication Anxiety Inventory
All three of us was the same! We all said that I feel comfortable communicating in most situations. My mom added, "Sometimes too comfortable!" It makes sense because for a living I am a Early Childhood trainer, and train in a different part of the United States every week. So we all agreed via phone and text, that I am pretty much a social bug, and love to meet new people.
Scale 2: Verbal Aggressiveness Scale
Okay, this is one scale I can definitely improve with, and we all said that. My mom and I both said that I landed in the significant zone, but barely, I was right on the 69 that was required. Karissa gave me a moderate, because she said, "That she only sees that side of me when I am upset, which makes sense."
Scale 3: Listening Styles Profile
This was one area that both ladies said I could improve on. My mother shared with me that I am on my cell phone quite a bit during our dinner dates, and that she can't finish an entire story without me showing her a picture on Instagram (guilty!). Karissa mentioned that I am often day dreaming during our conversations, which sometimes makes her feel like I think she is boring (not true...I just get distracted easily). My mom and I both said that I was people-oriented, however Karissa said that I was very content-oriented. Karissa said, "You always have to know every little detail in the story, or exactly what someone said. It's like you are a detective."
I found it interesting that my mom and I was the same for every scale. Karissa was close for the most part but I was a little surprised that she said I was content-oriented, because I like to know details. I just thought it was because I was nosey, but she told me that I am always asking questions and making her repeat stuff.
I learned that I really need to work on my aggressiveness score, because it was high. It's funny, I always thought of myself as a nice person, but both ladies agreed that I am nice until we have a disagreement. I don't want to be that person, and I was to improve, so now I have some stuff that I can improve on.
Until next time!
Cierra
Scale 1: Communication Anxiety Inventory
All three of us was the same! We all said that I feel comfortable communicating in most situations. My mom added, "Sometimes too comfortable!" It makes sense because for a living I am a Early Childhood trainer, and train in a different part of the United States every week. So we all agreed via phone and text, that I am pretty much a social bug, and love to meet new people.
Scale 2: Verbal Aggressiveness Scale
Okay, this is one scale I can definitely improve with, and we all said that. My mom and I both said that I landed in the significant zone, but barely, I was right on the 69 that was required. Karissa gave me a moderate, because she said, "That she only sees that side of me when I am upset, which makes sense."
Scale 3: Listening Styles Profile
This was one area that both ladies said I could improve on. My mother shared with me that I am on my cell phone quite a bit during our dinner dates, and that she can't finish an entire story without me showing her a picture on Instagram (guilty!). Karissa mentioned that I am often day dreaming during our conversations, which sometimes makes her feel like I think she is boring (not true...I just get distracted easily). My mom and I both said that I was people-oriented, however Karissa said that I was very content-oriented. Karissa said, "You always have to know every little detail in the story, or exactly what someone said. It's like you are a detective."
I found it interesting that my mom and I was the same for every scale. Karissa was close for the most part but I was a little surprised that she said I was content-oriented, because I like to know details. I just thought it was because I was nosey, but she told me that I am always asking questions and making her repeat stuff.
I learned that I really need to work on my aggressiveness score, because it was high. It's funny, I always thought of myself as a nice person, but both ladies agreed that I am nice until we have a disagreement. I don't want to be that person, and I was to improve, so now I have some stuff that I can improve on.
Until next time!
Cierra
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Cultural Diversity in the Workplace
This week we have been discussing Cultural Myopia and the Platinum Rule. For this week's blog post, I am going to use my colleagues for my diversity post.
On my training team there are 11 trainers, and we are all very different. We all live in different places in the United States, we are different ages and pretty much different everything. The biggest similarity that we have is that we are all trainers.
I do find myself communicating differently with people from different and cultures, but not in a disrespectful way. I change how I communicate more on the situation than the actually people. For example, I might use more slang during a dinner with the coworkers, but use more academic English when we are at a meeting a work.
If I am honest with myself, I do think that I am an effective communicator, but when I am upset or feel threaten, the effective part goes out the window. I am a sensitive person and grew up in a family where sometimes "pushing buttons" were a norm and you felt threaten quite a bit. I am working on getting better at controlling my nonverbal behaviors and really staying true to the Platinum Rule.
When you are trainer you learn how to effectively communicate with people who are culturally different from you, because all of the participants you meet are different from you. However one strategy that I thought was amazing, was the strategy of creating a third culture. A "third culture" is when you take your own culture and the person's culture, and make one culture instead of two separate (Beebe,Beebe & Redmond, 2011).I thought that was an amazing idea.
Reference:
Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
On my training team there are 11 trainers, and we are all very different. We all live in different places in the United States, we are different ages and pretty much different everything. The biggest similarity that we have is that we are all trainers.
I do find myself communicating differently with people from different and cultures, but not in a disrespectful way. I change how I communicate more on the situation than the actually people. For example, I might use more slang during a dinner with the coworkers, but use more academic English when we are at a meeting a work.
If I am honest with myself, I do think that I am an effective communicator, but when I am upset or feel threaten, the effective part goes out the window. I am a sensitive person and grew up in a family where sometimes "pushing buttons" were a norm and you felt threaten quite a bit. I am working on getting better at controlling my nonverbal behaviors and really staying true to the Platinum Rule.
When you are trainer you learn how to effectively communicate with people who are culturally different from you, because all of the participants you meet are different from you. However one strategy that I thought was amazing, was the strategy of creating a third culture. A "third culture" is when you take your own culture and the person's culture, and make one culture instead of two separate (Beebe,Beebe & Redmond, 2011).I thought that was an amazing idea.
Reference:
Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Saturday, January 16, 2016
Learning and Understanding Communication Skills and Styles
The blog assignment this week was very interesting and I truly enjoyed it. I think I laughed harder at the fact that I was completely "off target" with one of the scenes, than some of the jokes in the show.
This week we were supposed to watch a show on mute, try to understand the characters relationship and focus on their feelings and expressions based on nonverbal ques. After watching the show on mute, we were to go back and re-watch the show, with the sound and reflect on our assumptions that we made about the show.
This week we were supposed to watch a show on mute, try to understand the characters relationship and focus on their feelings and expressions based on nonverbal ques. After watching the show on mute, we were to go back and re-watch the show, with the sound and reflect on our assumptions that we made about the show.
The show that I decided to watch was "The Big Bang Theory"
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| Google Images |
Part 1 (Watching the Show with no sounds):
1.What do you think characters' relationship are based on the ways in which they are communicating?
-So I think that the lady in the blue and the guy in the beige jacket are in a relationship, because they are seen taking to each other a lot, and both of them are wearing wedding rings. Also I noticed the woman in the blue dress grab the guy with the beige jackets' face to make him look into her eyes.
-The guy with the beige jacket is friends and might live with the guy in the green shirt.
-The guy in the green shirt, and lady in the purple sweater, are mad at each other, or she is made at him, because she pointed her finger in his face.
-All the guys seems to be friends in the show.
2. What are they feelings and expressing based on nonverbal behavior you are observing.
-The lady in the pink sweater seemed to be sad, because she was frowning with her face.
-The lady in the purple sweater was upset because she was frowning and pointing her finger at the guy in the green shirt.
Part 2 (Watching the Show with Sound):
1. What assumption did you make about the characteristics and plot based on the ways in which you interpreted the communication you observed.
-So I knew the lady in the purple sweater was upset with Sheldon (the guy in the green sweater) because he was talking bad about her during his flag show.
-The people that I thought were married, are actually married and they live with Sheldon.
-The lady in pink, was not sad, she was feeling guilty after spying on her husband, which is the guy in the red sweater.
2. Would your assumptions have more correct if you had been watching a show you know well?
Of course! I would have been watching Empire, I would have been able to know the plot without any words, and my lip reading action would be more accurate because I know the characters, and some possible outcomes that could happen in the show. With the Big Bang Theory, I didn't know the characters or the plot. I thought there was only one plot taking place, but there were three different situations happening in the show, I was confused.
I really liked this activity because it really taught me to focus on nonverbal communications, and I realized how much I take verbal communication for granted.
Reference.
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1242&bih=606&q=the+big+bang+theory&oq=the+big+&gs_l=img.1.0.0l10.4506.5824.0.7110.8.7.0.0.0.0.220.974.0j4j2.6.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..2.6.969.iDrIvx-GJ2s#imgrc=_tvbzyOf2lbd3M%3A
Saturday, January 9, 2016
Someone Who Exhibits Competent Communication
This week I had to think about a person someone who exhibits competent communication and the one person who comes to mind in my Supervisor Lisa. Usually I have supervisors who are not effective communicators, so when I met Lisa I was very surprised.
What makes Lisa a competent communicator is that she not only listens, but she respects different point of views. Often a supervisor is really about their own agenda, but Lisa is not like that, she welcomes our thoughts and opinions, and it's great to see our suggestions in the final product.
I have learn a lot from Lisa because she effectively communicates with all of her employees, and it really makes our careers and routines easier. I don't think that I could model some effective communication skills, because she already does it. For example, I had a suggestion about the training that we give. When I called her and shared my suggestion, she listen, shared with me some of her concerns about my suggestion. We had a conversation about my suggestion, and we made a compromise. For the training, aspects of my suggestion was done, but because we had a compromise, some parts of the training stayed the same.
It is a good feeling when you have a supervisor who does effective communication, it makes the process so much smoother.
What makes Lisa a competent communicator is that she not only listens, but she respects different point of views. Often a supervisor is really about their own agenda, but Lisa is not like that, she welcomes our thoughts and opinions, and it's great to see our suggestions in the final product.
I have learn a lot from Lisa because she effectively communicates with all of her employees, and it really makes our careers and routines easier. I don't think that I could model some effective communication skills, because she already does it. For example, I had a suggestion about the training that we give. When I called her and shared my suggestion, she listen, shared with me some of her concerns about my suggestion. We had a conversation about my suggestion, and we made a compromise. For the training, aspects of my suggestion was done, but because we had a compromise, some parts of the training stayed the same.
It is a good feeling when you have a supervisor who does effective communication, it makes the process so much smoother.
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