Success. A successful group has good group dynamics and is open to conversation and new ideas. Everyone needs to have an open mind, which will lead to interlocking ideas to get more done. They also need to be able to cooperate well together in order to have good teamwork: there can’t just be one leader and a bunch of followers. Everyone has to contribute equally and be willing to help and put in a solid effort. When working in groups, each person needs to be organized and take responsibility for what they say they are going to do. For example, in our group, we have started an email chain where we hit “reply all” to keep everyone informed so we can stay more connected as a group instead of seeing each other only 3 days a week. All group members have to be considerate of each other’s ideas as well. Each person’s ideas should be treated with courtesy so that everyone gets along well and they get the most out of the experience as possible. The group has to want to work on the task given to them or there will be no motivation and it will not get done.
Group Dynamics. In order for there to be a good group dynamic, one of the main contributing factors is that the group has to communicate. Each member needs to feel comfortable enough to express any ideas that they may have as well as complaints. If certain group members are afraid to voice their true thoughts about the assignment and how the group is progressing, this can lead to tension and dissatisfaction in the group. As a group, each person can make sure that they have an open and approachable personality so that their other members can feel comfortable. We also believe that it is extremely important to establish an agreement at the beginning of the group planning process that states the expectations and goals that all group members have agreed on and hope to accomplish. If expectations for the group’s relationships are laid out at the start of the group planning, then great group dynamics are sure to follow.
Colaboration. As a group of 4 girls, we are never short on words. One of the biggest things that has been beneficial to our group is being comfortable with everyone. While we initially were timid to speak up, once we got to know each other a little by making small talk, we now throw out many ideas and are not afraid to question what others say. You may ask what happens when you get too comfortable and start to disregard the feelings of others? In order to not kill each other, we take into consideration what the others have said and try to use that in whatever new idea we want to share. For example, Lindsey had an idea for a solution to our problem and Briana incorporated this idea into another to come up with our final solution. We split up the tasks based on strengths of the individuals in the group. If someone feels they can write a very good solution section, then that responsibility becomes theirs, and at the end we will come back together to smooth over the bumps. Overall our group works well together because we are considerate of each other and we know a little about everyone in the group outside of the classroom.
note: our group members are Nicola Welch, Lindsey Kresta, Stephanie Saling, and Briana Saldana
food for thought. 
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