DBF4: Topic: Based on the Reading in Chapters 5 & 6 of Barsky, List Ten (10) Challenges

DBF4: Topic: Based on the reading in Chapters 5 & 6 of Barsky, list ten (10) challenges for facilitators in group process. Select two (2) and offer specific strategies to address these challenges.

Per Barsky (2007), the ten challenges include: different agendas, no focus, domination, interruptions, silence, lost attention, difficulty listening to others, other put on defensive, not saying what they think, and confusion about decisions (pp. 188-196). As educators, these are all issues in the classroom as well. While in some ways all of these issues relate to speaking, the most dramatic differences are between interruptions and silence.

Silence. Nature abhors a vacuum and if left alone long enough, someone will generally speak just to fill the silence. Ground rules can aid in reducing silence (Barsky, 2007, p. 192). It can be a difficult conundrum to determine the cause for silence and address it without “picking” on someone and making that person feel targeted. In my classes, I have found that assigning class members random thoughts or quotes related to the discussion and then having the list of quotes can get more students engaged. Also, ensuring students have time to prepare and making them aware that their opinions will be sought helps eliminate any peevish personal quirks about speaking in class. Open discussion needs to be encouraged, without specific criticism, but with a gentle and guiding perspective – using reflective listening skills (Barsky, 2007, p. 193). My students are well aware that failing to participate will mean they are likely to be called upon directly to speak. Since our coursework is in discourse and argument, it makes it more comfortable to take more uncomfortable positions.

Interruptions come in many forms. In a lively discussion, the interruptions can be speaking over one another, of switching topics (Barsky, 2007, 191). The facilitator needs to watch body language for fidgeting students to guide the discussion smoothly, while ensuring everyone’s participation. While in some situations, a more formal approach, such as a talking piece or raising of the hand works well, doing so can “stunt the natural flow of discussion” (Barsky, 2007, 191). Interruptions can also be sideline comments, movements, or noise-making. In my classroom, while discussion is encouraged, rudeness is not. Students are guided to make notes during discussion to indicate pertinent thoughts. This way, they remember they had something to say about an issue. My task is to guide the discussion through whatever issue is at hand and ensure those who have something to say have the opportunity to speak.

Groups have as many facets as they do members or needs. As such, being a facilitator can be an exciting, albeit challenging position. While a classroom of students would seem to be a limited method of group interaction, at the collegiate level, it can be a repository for a plethora of thoughts, perspectives, and opinions. Foundational rules to guide the discussion aid in every aspect of group work. OLIVER:

Those who have taught in a middle school classroom filled with adolescent youth have experienced the many challenges of facilitating group processes. If the educator does not have a well-planned lesson without an explicit agenda, students may come to class with different expectations than the teacher. Even though the teacher may have a clear agenda, students enjoy stories and often seek to get the teacher off task. Without focus the agenda may not be accomplished, so the teacher needs to make sure transitions are punctuated and clearly defined. In some groups, there are those who speak louder than the rest. These individuals have a tendency to dominate the conversation and not give others an opportunity to be involved. Then there are the constant interruptions by those young people who are unfocused. When dealing with these young people, tact and objectivity should be used to keep these individuals from becoming defensive. On one side of the spectrum is domination and interruptions, and on the other is silence and lost attention. There are those individuals in every group who are quiet and reserved, and they only speak when asked a question. Those who may not understand everything that is going on in the group may lose attention or become bored and focus elsewhere. In this fast paced society, students have learned to change activities and focus every few minutes. This tendency causes people to not always listen closely when others are speaking. This causes miscommunications and occasionally conflicts. The miscommunications sometimes result in words being exchanged that put others on the defensive. Sometimes people are afraid to speak due to fear of what others may think, shyness, or simply afraid of being wrong. It is difficult as the facilitator to not know whether people are truly stating what they think. When decisions are needed to be made as a group, the process is sometimes confusing. In dealing with interruptions, encouraging respectful interactions and even taking note of the person who needs attention next is helpful. Using a mode of taking turns like passing a stick/pen around or writing names down is helpful in these situations. When there are individuals who are silent in the group their voice needs to be heard too. Everyone should be given an opportunity to speak and their opinion should be respected and valued. No one should consider the silent person’s lack of participation as agreeing to the topic. For as it states in Romans, for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions (Romans 14:1, ESV).

Reference

Barsky, A. (2007). Conflict resolution for the helping professions (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole. Rebecca –

I found it interesting how you wove all the issues into the middle school classroom. Middle schoolers are a special challenge and it takes a special talent to deal with them. I found your two challenges to be a bit of a challenge to ferret out of your writing as when I thought it was focused on one thing, you moved on to another. Also, I was intrigued by citing Barsky at the end, when – though the material was there – there were no in-text citations. All in all, your post shows and insightful understanding of the reading and application to the middle school environment.

Regards, Deb GRANT: Barsky 2007 identifies ten challenges to group facilitation. These challenges include varying individual agendas; unfocused discussions; discussion domination; constant interruptions; prolonged silence; lack of attention; inability to listen to others; defensiveness; not saying what you think; and uncertainty about decisions. Several of these challenges are very similar. For example, discusssion domination and constant interruptions prevent the purpose of group faciliation from being carried out. It is important for the facilitator to help set boundaries, norms, and help empower those who need assistance. Prolonged silence and lack of attention are also very similar. There is a correlation between these two processes due to the fact that the prolonged silence may be sign of lack interest or inability to share in the decision making process. In the text, the author states that people may self-censor themselves in order to avert conflict, fit in, or look good (Barsky 2007). By doing so, they do not say what they think. In addition to the reasons listed in the text, there may be other reasons why people do not say what they think. One of the reasons may be that they do not feel as if their ideas and opinions are valued. Team building exercises must be implemented to promote trust and acceptance. In my organization, we tend to engage in activities that will require us to work with leaders from various grade levels on team building exercises such as building a tower using spaghetti, tape, and a marshmallow. This activity helps individuals form relationships with other teachers in the building. Members of organizations must establish a purpose for meeting by creating an agenda that can be adhered to as a means of providing opportunities for intentionally focused discussions. The text states that is important to meet with individuals who will be sharing information at the regularly scheduled meeting to help provide a framework of discussion for the meeting. By doing this preliminary work, the discussions can be focused and allow the discussion of business pertinent to the items listed on the agenda. One way to promote the interaction of all parties involved is to provide a copy of the agenda to participants prior to the meeting. This will allow everyone involved to be prepared to actively engage in the exercises and provide additional opportunities for everyone to say what they think. During the establishing of norms for meetings, this must be addressed and all members should be expected to adhere to what has been collectively put in to place to ensure that meetings are productive.

Sabrina –

Your comments directly addressed the requirements of the posting. Well done. I have a couple of compositional concerns: When you point out that “the text states” (Grant, 2014), shouldn’t you then have an in text citation for that statement? Also, there were a couple of compositional errors (facilitation is misspelled and there is a sentence fragment), that would be resolved with typing the text into a Word document and then copying it over to the Discussion Board. Your example of the spaghetti tower was creative and insightful. Team-building can solve a host of issues within a group, at least I think so.

Regards, Deb

Reference Grant, S. (2014). Group Discussion Board 4 posting in Fall 2014-EDUC746-D01 LUO, dated November 20, 2014. PARKER:

This weeks assigned readings revealed that the practice of group facilitation presents an array of challenges to the conflict resolution process. Barsky (2007) introduces ten challenges in the manner of: different agendas where parties do not agree on the agenda, no focus due to lack of attention, domination between competitive individuals, interruptions with irrelevant topics, silence due to fear of speaking in public, lost attention because of outside distractions, difficulty listening to others, other parties being put on defensive, not saying what one truly thinks, and confusion about decisions (pp. 188-196). When serving in the capacity as shop steward for my fellow union members, I notice that these ten challenge are prevalent in the union hall meetings. To some extent these challenges appear to be a critical necessity to the human interactive process with a compelling contrast between dominance and silence. In the case of dominance, socialization allows individuals and groups to interact accordingly by way of discussion. When groups interact, there is a tendency for “certain people” dominate the ensuing discussion (Barsky, 2007, p. 190). It can be argued that dominate behavior in course of discussion is the attempt of on individual or group to gain influence over the other thus creating an imbalance of power and lack of empowerment. I see this phenomenon emerge in the union hall. At the start of the discussion a union member will dominate the discussion by expressing their emotional dismay with regard to employee’s right being violated without giving others the opportunity to speak. Despite my reminding participants of the golden rule of respecting another participant’s right to speak the domination factor prevails. I have found that using a stop watch in conjunction with inviting others to share their opinion gives everyone a sense of feeling empowered during the negotiation process with union officials. Silence unlike dominance has no distinct character. Researchers note that if someone is silent, the individual “is in agreement with what is said” (Barsky, 2007, p. 191). Additionally, one well documented menace to humans is the fear of speaking in public which is why facilitators should remain vigilant in addressing all issues related to silence (Barsky, 2007, p. 191). As a union representative, I will monitor the union member during our meetings to identify the dominate speaker(s). Once identified I will allot them five minutes to present their concerns before calling on the silent member to contribute to the discussion. Taking this approach works well because the dominate speakers have laid the foundation for the discussion that the silence members can either agree or disagree with. Surprisingly, I was approached after one union meeting by a member of the silent group who kindly informed me that they were glad that I limited the dominated speaker(s) to five minutes of speaking time. When I asked for an explanation, I was informed that the dominate speaker(s) had been classified as being arrogant and inferiorizing, therefore there was no reason for some of the union members to participate in the discussion. Today, I make it a habit to lay ground rules at the beginning of each union meeting that limits every member to five minutes of speaking time with the understanding that their opinions truly valued and respected. Reference Barsky, A. (2007). Conflict resolution for the helping profession. (2nd ed.) Belmont. CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole. Vincent:

Your example of the union meeting presented an excellent venue for the selections of dominance and silence. The use of a stopwatch or time limit, while common for a way to stop the obsessive talker who dominates the meeting was a rare choice for engaging the silent member of the group. A creative solution often allows for folks to step out in an otherwise uncomfortable arena, or so I have found. Your example provides solid evidence for the use of timing to engage the silent members. Frequently, I have found those silent members of a group are deep thinkers and have great ideas to contribute – not always, but frequently.

Regards, Deb Goad:

There are several challenges for facilitators in a group process. Some problems may begin with the large number of differing opinions when groups are created. This may lead to members being disappointed with the decisions being made. When getting a group together it may be difficult to get all membersfocused on discussing the same issue without getting side tracked. Some people tend to dominate the conversation and the facilitator must find ways to allow other members to be heard. When groups are having meetings, interruptions may occur when members get off topic. Facilitators must be able to steer the discussions back to the issue. Silence is another challenge for facilitators. Members being silent are not necessarily agreeing with what is being said. People have many things on their minds and may become distracted. Losing attention of the members is another challenge for facilitators. Conflict can occur between members of the group when active listening does not occur. This can lead to other members becoming defensive. Another challenge for facilitators may be people not saying what they actually think. They may not want to cause conflict by sharing their differing opinion. When decisions have been made, the facilitator needs to make sure all members of the group understand what decisions were made in order to avoid confusion. One large way for facilitators to keep all members of the group focused is by creating an agenda. Facilitators need to have topics on a prewritten agenda that need to be discussed at the current meeting. The facilitator needs to take notes during the meeting about topics brought up that will need to be discussed. These topics that come up that are not on the agenda can be added at the end and discussed if there is time. Or it can be added to the next meeting agenda. The facilitator must be able to lead any side tracked discussions back to the point on the agenda. It is also a good idea for the facilitator to have a time in mind for discussing each topic. This is just a guideline for the facilitator to keep the meeting progressing. Since people tend to focus on their own needs and opinions, the facilitator will need to help all group members be active listeners. This can be accomplished by having all members take turns speaking and responding. Interruptions will need to be stamped down by making a list of anyone wanting to add to the conversation. Members can be encouraged to fully understand everyone’s point of view and respond accordingly. Even if they do not agree with what is being said, it is important for everyone to respect other opinions. Barsky, A. E. (2007). Conflict resolution for the helping professions (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Meagan:

Your creative use of bold and underline caught my eye. While not standard, it made for easy reading of your text and definition of the requirements. I found it interesting that having listed them so clearly; you then used the defining elements to identify your two focal points rather than the terms themselves. The use of an agenda, for example, crosses many areas, and while yours seemed to be on the issue of focus, your points were well made as to differing agendas, lost attention, and interruptions also. Respecting others opinions also crosses over interruptions, domination, differing agendas, and silence. Your pithy comments and insights are a bit lost without the direction of a clear topic sentence.

Regards, Deb