The Adjourning Phase of a Group

In reading about the formation for groups I did not realize that the ending or adjourning of a group and reflection on the project of the group was so important.  I believe that a group that has worked hard together and been able to respect each other through problem solving and brainstorming to finish the project by setting goals and agreeing on them would become a close group.  When you form friendships and partners in your professional field then I think this would be a hard group to leave because you have learned from each other and see the potential in each others ideas. To me this would be considered a high-performance group.

The first teaching team that I was part of was a great learning experience and we all worked well together.  We respected each other and we were able to brain storm ideas to make our environments inviting and a great learning experience for the children.  We rarely had disagreements and I enjoyed working with all the teachers.  After five years I moved because my husband got a job elsewhere.  It was hard to say good -by because I felt that we were a great team and I learned so much from my colleagues.

The closing rituals that I experienced were that the staff took me to dinner and we talked about all the fun and cray times in the classroom.  We have kept in-touch and some of us see each other regularly because we are working in the ECE field in the same region.

I imagine that I will adjourn from the group that has been formed in the Walden Masters program by saying thank you for all the information that has been shared that I was able to use or bank in my memory as an example that I can refer to later in my career.  It has been refreshing to talk and learn with others who have the same passion that I do about early childhood education.

I have come to understand that adjourning a group is important because it is a time to acknowledge the hard work that everyone has put into the project or into reaching goals.  It's a time to say thank you and relax, talk and laugh about what was accomplished.  We all need that closure of the project but to also talk with new friends and colleagues in a casual way.