Lydia Mathis
Professor Smith And Professor Scott
LDR-102-C
4 March 2016
Individual Reflection
This project has been an entirely new learning experience for me. I have had group presentations before, but I’ve never been so aware of the inner workings of a team and how everyone brings their own contributions. Throughout the semester, we’ve been learning about collaboration and leadership in art, and this was my chance to finally see it in action. In the Berger article, we were shown the benefits of questioning, and this article was a big contributor to the formation of our project idea. When we were thinking about what our project should be about we thought about how Berger stated that questioning is what leads to innovation, and we thought about how, in high school, we are discouraged from questioning. We talked about how high school forces students to stay on a linear path, and any deviation from that path can only lead to failure.
Berger helped us get our project started, but we got help and guidance from other parts of the course. We spent a lot of time talking about collaboration in class which we saw in Womanhouse and in the work done between Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. While studying the art side of the class, we learned that collaboration is a process, and the most important part of it is planning. So, when we first started we focused on making a plan. Each of us took up roles that we believed we work best in, and I believe that was the biggest thing that led to our success as a group. The organization we had throughout the whole process allowed us to work together easily because their was no clashing.
The Maura Kelly piece should us that the individual can be lost in collaborative work, but that is something we definitely didn’t want to happen. To help with that we employed the tool of sitting in a circle like we saw in the film Womanhouse. This helped us feel like we were in a safe place and that everybody’s ideas were important and should be included. We also tried to combat the loss of the individual by only meeting if three or more people showed, and making sure anybody who missed a meeting emailed their ideas so their opinions would always be included. I believed that this project was all of ours, so everyone should be represented in some way. All of the articles we’ve read and the information we learned in class provided a base that allowed me to know how to navigate in a group with people I don’t know. The readings acted as a method of preparation, which I believed was tremendously beneficial.
I’ve always dreaded the phrase “group project,” and whenever my professors would say it, I’d immediately groan. This is because of my previous experiences working in groups. You have to rely on others and that already requires a great amount of trust. My past group experiences were always marked by tension and group members who did not do anything or they just did not show up to meetings. However, in this class, I’ve learned a new way to approach group presentations. From what I’ve learned, approaching a group project with an open mind, setting roles and goals, being willing to see things from others perspectives, and having the willingness to compromise is the best way for a group presentation to run smoothly and to have good relationships among group members.
I believe this class along with the group presentation are preparing me for future endeavors. I am applying to be a tutor at the Center for Writing & Speaking and I may have to tell students to rework their ideas or change up their topic, but I have to be aware that this is their work that they are invested in. I will have to find ways to compromise with them or help them improve upon their ideas in a way that they are comfortable with. This class has taught me the techniques I will need to do such things, not only at the CWS but in other classes as well.
