Experience of Being in a Study Group.

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Reflecting on your own experience of studying in a student group, evaluate your group’s own (perhaps unaware) use of theories covered in this module and make recommendations for improvements you intend to make in future study groups. A group share a common purpose, interact with each other and are psychologically aware they are a unified group (Schein, 1980). The study group I was involved in could also be classed as a team. Brill (1976) states a team is made up of individuals with responsibility for their decisions that meet to communicate, consolidate and collaborate together at an arranged time and venue. For example, each member of our group had their own textbook to read, take notes from, writing down only the key information. Each week at or before the lecture or during the break between the two hours, we would exchange notes and discuss any major points or problems. Our group made use of various theories covered in this module, including Tuckman and Jenson’s (1997) model on team development. Belbin’s team roles (1993), Hawthorne’s (1920’s, 1930’s) work on employees, Skinner, groupthink as outlined by Janis (1973) and Adair’s three circle model of team effectiveness (1973). Our experience of being part of a study group did not match all the theories exactly, with some practices that link to the theories working better than others. The creation and performance of our study group closely matched Tuckman and Jenson’s model of team development (1997). During the first stage, the forming stage, introductions were made. For instance, I had not met some members, so names were exchanged. Bratton (2010) states this stage is often associated with members being polite to each other, which is what occurred. Arnold (2005) argues this stage can be confusing. This was the case, as after the initial meeting, no follow-up meeting was arranged. During the
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