Midterm Process Paper
Group projects can bring a level of anxiety to any student. Students can feel uneasy about their specific role or the roles of others involved. After all, there is a real grade and credibility involved. However, if a basic rule is followed, much of this anxiety can be alleviated. As I look back at the Collaborative Midterm Project, I liken it to an Improv act. The rules of improvisational acting could apply to a group project as well. One of the key rules in Improv is not to deny. Like in an Improv act, denial can cause the flow of the action to come to a screeching halt. Denial is the same in a group project. If you deny ideas, it’s very easy to stop the creative flow that the individual members bring to the table, and thus create difficulty in completing the task. It’s crucial to accept ideas, within reason, in the beginning stages. Of course full participation and acceptance is necessary by all involved.
On the surface it seems it would be hard to obtain this kind of involvement, but fortunately acceptance is contagious. As one member begins to accept ideas and remain open, the rest adopt this level of cooperation also. A key aspect in the acceptance component of the group process is allowing the independent roles to form. Often this will happen naturally and quickly. The natural born leaders will emerge immediately. The supporting roles will appear in the peripheral through the emergence of the leaders.
In Team 1 a couple of leaders emerged from the beginning, myself and Breyon Miller. Together we helped line out the work in a manageable and equal way. We decided to present our project through a website that I built after each individual section was complete. The others in the group followed, noticing our lead was the right direction for the team. It was something that just happened. We didn’t have to declare who the leaders and who the supporting roles were, it just materialized seamlessly and in an organic way. A certain confidence developed among the team and the work began to appear.
During the delegation process we realized that a particular team member was no longer in the class. This created a momentary panic within the group. Thankfully this panic was quenched when Breyon stepped in and took on the absentee’s role. A true sign of a leader was exemplified through her action to say the least. I believe this act taught the team more than anything that sacrifice is often needed to accomplish a given task. As the saying goes, “attitude reflects leadership”, and in this case everyone involved were in good spirits the entire way. The number one lesson learned in this process was that leadership and success is motivated through sacrifice and teamwork.
The reoccurring theme that seemed to appear in our peer feedback was the ease of navigation of our website. The mechanics of the project was as insightful to our classmates understanding as much as the content itself. Amira Hamilton said, “going through your website made me feel like it was an actual website I’ve seen before, like I could use this information on a future paper.” Another student, Deena Valero had this to say about some of our graphics, “…I loved the addition of pictures. There were actual still (photographs) of the text we used which brought a sense of comfort and familiarity.” The presentation is half of the battle. We could have presented our same material in a boring, monotonous manner and yet receive hardly any interest in the information. This really brought to light considering the medium of presenting to any future presentations either scholastically or professionally.
An area that could be improved for upcoming collaborative projects is assigning the tasks earlier in the process. This will help clarify any questions the individual team members might have and more importantly expose the absence of team members, therefore preventing any last minute panics. As with any task, procrastination can lead to unnecessary headache and turmoil in our lives, let alone a team project. A proactive approach is key!
My conclusion from the project sums up the process well, “The preceding work could not have been published without the solidarity of four individual students with the same common goal. While this assignment served a particular purpose for English 102, it served the students in future assignments that will require a joint effort in forthcoming classes. Continuity and cohesion were components that were nurtured and exercised in the process of this project. Most importantly, it helps provide necessary tools for a successful contribution to society in general.” This statement is just as true now as it was then.
On the surface it seems it would be hard to obtain this kind of involvement, but fortunately acceptance is contagious. As one member begins to accept ideas and remain open, the rest adopt this level of cooperation also. A key aspect in the acceptance component of the group process is allowing the independent roles to form. Often this will happen naturally and quickly. The natural born leaders will emerge immediately. The supporting roles will appear in the peripheral through the emergence of the leaders.
In Team 1 a couple of leaders emerged from the beginning, myself and Breyon Miller. Together we helped line out the work in a manageable and equal way. We decided to present our project through a website that I built after each individual section was complete. The others in the group followed, noticing our lead was the right direction for the team. It was something that just happened. We didn’t have to declare who the leaders and who the supporting roles were, it just materialized seamlessly and in an organic way. A certain confidence developed among the team and the work began to appear.
During the delegation process we realized that a particular team member was no longer in the class. This created a momentary panic within the group. Thankfully this panic was quenched when Breyon stepped in and took on the absentee’s role. A true sign of a leader was exemplified through her action to say the least. I believe this act taught the team more than anything that sacrifice is often needed to accomplish a given task. As the saying goes, “attitude reflects leadership”, and in this case everyone involved were in good spirits the entire way. The number one lesson learned in this process was that leadership and success is motivated through sacrifice and teamwork.
The reoccurring theme that seemed to appear in our peer feedback was the ease of navigation of our website. The mechanics of the project was as insightful to our classmates understanding as much as the content itself. Amira Hamilton said, “going through your website made me feel like it was an actual website I’ve seen before, like I could use this information on a future paper.” Another student, Deena Valero had this to say about some of our graphics, “…I loved the addition of pictures. There were actual still (photographs) of the text we used which brought a sense of comfort and familiarity.” The presentation is half of the battle. We could have presented our same material in a boring, monotonous manner and yet receive hardly any interest in the information. This really brought to light considering the medium of presenting to any future presentations either scholastically or professionally.
An area that could be improved for upcoming collaborative projects is assigning the tasks earlier in the process. This will help clarify any questions the individual team members might have and more importantly expose the absence of team members, therefore preventing any last minute panics. As with any task, procrastination can lead to unnecessary headache and turmoil in our lives, let alone a team project. A proactive approach is key!
My conclusion from the project sums up the process well, “The preceding work could not have been published without the solidarity of four individual students with the same common goal. While this assignment served a particular purpose for English 102, it served the students in future assignments that will require a joint effort in forthcoming classes. Continuity and cohesion were components that were nurtured and exercised in the process of this project. Most importantly, it helps provide necessary tools for a successful contribution to society in general.” This statement is just as true now as it was then.
Morning Pages Process Paper
The initial idea of Morning Pages seemed like another dreaded course requirement to add to the list of tasks to perform. The feeling of duty often came and went as each Morning Page entry was developed. Each day brought positive and negative thoughts about the practice, changing as often as my mood, especially in the morning. However, as time progressed, Morning Pages became more and more second nature stopping just short of textual nirvana. Okay, my last statement may be a little facetious, but the truth is the process did become more natural along the path of the English 102 journey.
The performance of creating the daily Morning Pages surprisingly came more frequently than I had initially imagined. Figuring that there would be days missed, there were only three or four days that were missed entirely. The subject matter of the writing was really the fuel that added to the consistency of writing. Being able to write literally about anything provided a sense of freedom in the process, creating less apprehension to the task at hand. Ironically, emptying my mind to write actually lent itself to generating more critical thinking in other writing processes. Having more confidence in sitting down to write was nurtured through the Morning Pages assignment, thus allowing critical thinking to gain momentum.
As the momentum snowballed into more confidence and less apprehension, I learned that over-thinking was in fact the major hindrance to thinking critically in my writing, not only in English 102, but other courses as well. While learning about the writing process in general, the Morning Pages were and shall remain the greatest tool to my writing improvement. Incredibly, writing that flowed without much thought seemed to make more cohesive sense than that of more ‘though-out’ sentences after reading. I cannot verify I was actually releasing my conscious thoughts entirely through “clearing exercises”, such as Julia Cameron might suggest, but I would confirm that there was a sense of release, perhaps relief, once I did write.
Additionally, I learned something especially intriguing about the Morning Pages process. My surprise to the frequency of the Morning Pages’ daily completion stemmed from my lack of discipline. I will confess there has been a paradigm shift in my thinking here. While Julia Cameron may have a New Age approach to Morning Pages that I may not necessarily subscribe to, I find her following statement to be remarkably accurate; “When we are willing to try writing anyway, we find soon enough that morning writing does not take discipline– but it does make discipline.” So true! What better reason to write Morning Pages if nothing else but to make discipline, especially where it may typically lack.
I understand that Morning Pages were designed to be written longhand with pad and pen, but one thing I would adjust to customize the experience to better fit my personality would be to write using the often forgotten typewriter. The stars appeared seemingly aligned during this course and my discovery of an ESPN 30 for 30 Short produced by Bill Simmons. In the film, Author Alfred Slote shares his experience of writing. Writing in particular a book entitled, Jake, a story of a boy who plays baseball. While the story is fascinating, the process he used is even more captivating; he used a typewriter, a tool of a bygone era thanks to the computer. Slote refers to the typewriter as a “writing machine”, whereas a computer is an “editing machine.” Writing is much more enjoyable than editing and is the lifeblood of Morning Pages. The process Slote used is uniquely similar to the Morning Pages process evidenced by Slote's comment that if he used a computer to write he would spend much of his time making it right, “sucking the life out of it”, he said. I too want to use the typewriter, if nothing else just to hear it work. The melodic tapping of the keys has a nice sound to them. I think the sound would act as a metronome keeping time, encouraging the letters to shape words that produce sentences, which tell a story. Now that’s appropriate use of technology to prepare written assignments!
My Morning Pages experience is one of the better discoveries in my educational endeavors. This was totally unexpected! Not only did the process build my confidence in writing, it helped my reading and comprehension too. This was an extremely satisfying learning experience. The weekly student discussion gave rich depth to the process as individual and yet different experiences were shared that added even further understanding and legitimacy to the importance of writing. The Morning Pages met and exceeded the course objective in developing writing that demonstrates critical reading and analytical thinking skills. As a newly, self-professing member of the Alfred Slote fan club, I will close with this Slote declaration; “I don’t think thinking is what a storyteller should be doing. He should be telling a story.” Simple, yet incredibly profound. With the experience of the Morning Pages, and the inspiration of Alfred Slote, I too may find my voice.
The performance of creating the daily Morning Pages surprisingly came more frequently than I had initially imagined. Figuring that there would be days missed, there were only three or four days that were missed entirely. The subject matter of the writing was really the fuel that added to the consistency of writing. Being able to write literally about anything provided a sense of freedom in the process, creating less apprehension to the task at hand. Ironically, emptying my mind to write actually lent itself to generating more critical thinking in other writing processes. Having more confidence in sitting down to write was nurtured through the Morning Pages assignment, thus allowing critical thinking to gain momentum.
As the momentum snowballed into more confidence and less apprehension, I learned that over-thinking was in fact the major hindrance to thinking critically in my writing, not only in English 102, but other courses as well. While learning about the writing process in general, the Morning Pages were and shall remain the greatest tool to my writing improvement. Incredibly, writing that flowed without much thought seemed to make more cohesive sense than that of more ‘though-out’ sentences after reading. I cannot verify I was actually releasing my conscious thoughts entirely through “clearing exercises”, such as Julia Cameron might suggest, but I would confirm that there was a sense of release, perhaps relief, once I did write.
Additionally, I learned something especially intriguing about the Morning Pages process. My surprise to the frequency of the Morning Pages’ daily completion stemmed from my lack of discipline. I will confess there has been a paradigm shift in my thinking here. While Julia Cameron may have a New Age approach to Morning Pages that I may not necessarily subscribe to, I find her following statement to be remarkably accurate; “When we are willing to try writing anyway, we find soon enough that morning writing does not take discipline– but it does make discipline.” So true! What better reason to write Morning Pages if nothing else but to make discipline, especially where it may typically lack.
I understand that Morning Pages were designed to be written longhand with pad and pen, but one thing I would adjust to customize the experience to better fit my personality would be to write using the often forgotten typewriter. The stars appeared seemingly aligned during this course and my discovery of an ESPN 30 for 30 Short produced by Bill Simmons. In the film, Author Alfred Slote shares his experience of writing. Writing in particular a book entitled, Jake, a story of a boy who plays baseball. While the story is fascinating, the process he used is even more captivating; he used a typewriter, a tool of a bygone era thanks to the computer. Slote refers to the typewriter as a “writing machine”, whereas a computer is an “editing machine.” Writing is much more enjoyable than editing and is the lifeblood of Morning Pages. The process Slote used is uniquely similar to the Morning Pages process evidenced by Slote's comment that if he used a computer to write he would spend much of his time making it right, “sucking the life out of it”, he said. I too want to use the typewriter, if nothing else just to hear it work. The melodic tapping of the keys has a nice sound to them. I think the sound would act as a metronome keeping time, encouraging the letters to shape words that produce sentences, which tell a story. Now that’s appropriate use of technology to prepare written assignments!
My Morning Pages experience is one of the better discoveries in my educational endeavors. This was totally unexpected! Not only did the process build my confidence in writing, it helped my reading and comprehension too. This was an extremely satisfying learning experience. The weekly student discussion gave rich depth to the process as individual and yet different experiences were shared that added even further understanding and legitimacy to the importance of writing. The Morning Pages met and exceeded the course objective in developing writing that demonstrates critical reading and analytical thinking skills. As a newly, self-professing member of the Alfred Slote fan club, I will close with this Slote declaration; “I don’t think thinking is what a storyteller should be doing. He should be telling a story.” Simple, yet incredibly profound. With the experience of the Morning Pages, and the inspiration of Alfred Slote, I too may find my voice.