Week 4: Group Norming and Bonded Behaviors

Our readings this week and outside materials helped me to reflect on the value of cohesion to task oriented interactivity. What I am realizing is that through my conversations with Clarice, I am gaining a sense of her as a person. This is a wonderful connection, and I am far less likely to do the minimum when collaborating with her or to 'let her down' with the quality or timeliness of my contributions. Although I normed somewhat with my other group members in previous classes, I now believe, the introduction process needs to be repeated for each group. The bonds were easy to break, and we did not maintain them. Our OTL program has no sense of continuous community! This is an important part of the collaborative timeline that designers should not overlook. Opening up the groups and requiring team guidelines, as the first activity does not do the trick, I am finding. Even icebreakers only result in thinly bridged communication and behavior. The genuine connections or strong motivations bringing groups together organically are most powerful at affecting the success of the collaboration product.