In the organization I am a part of on campus, we have teachbacks which are presentations on our specialties that we present back to everyone in our organization to see first and to give us their feedback. This is usually more meant and helpful for the new volunteers because they have not had the chance to present to an audience yet, so to have their fellow peers who know somewhat on their topic watch, and be helpful and insightful. However, one thing I have noticed especially this semester more than ever, having a consultant or observer evaluating a small group who already knows what we are presenting may not be as effective in comparison to someone who does not know what we are talking about because since they already know what to look out for, sometimes the questions asked and the comments stated can be biased. However, at the same time, it is also very helpful to have an individual (the observer or consultant) know what the group is engaged in, so that individual will have an idea on what to look out for while observing. Overall, having an observer or consultant for a small group offers a non-biased (usually), strategic observation(s) made amongst the individual to get a look on the inside from an outsider's perspective on how this small group communicates with one another.
I felt giving my personal example ties in well with what this chapter discussed because it mentioned evaluations and how they are conducted and how consultant observers who are not affiliated with the members of the small group, will offer "excellent insights (p.248). I also agree with that statement as well because whether we use a consultant or observer for a small group, either are necessary so the group will know how they are doing based on someone else observing and taking notes on how the individuals interact and communicate with each other, how the verbal and nonverbal communication is dispersed among the group as well.
Hi Little Miss Daisy,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post! I thought that by offering a personal experience helps everyone see first hand how an observer can be very helpful. I have not really experienced having someone watch in on a group project but I defenitly feel that having an observer would have really bennefitted my group at the time. I think that people can easily get off task in a group and can have a loss of communication between members, and it seems alot of the time the member don't realize that it's a problem. By having someone from the outside evaluate their performance, they can see how they are doing and whether or not they are keeping on track with the project. Thanks for your post! I really enjoyed it!
-Jessica
(jstoltz89)