In the adjourning phase of team developing, “the project is coming to an end and the team members are moving off into different directions” (Abudi, 2010, p. 1). I was once part of a school project that turned out to be very successful and all team members were very satisfied with the accomplishments that we all achieved together. Before this team building experience I was part of other team building experiences, but they weren’t as successful and there were a few issues like roles were not clearly determines, there were some trust issues or the leader of the group showed poor leadership skills. Saying goodbye to the team members were hard as we all had a good mutual understanding, everyone trusted each other and the leader of the team showed good leadership skills throughout the project. I think it was hard to leave this group as I was not sure if I would ever be part of such a productive group again. Therefore I also believe that it is indeed harder to leave high-performing groups. One of the best closing rituals that I have experienced was when the team analyzed the project. The leader asked all the team members to look back from the start of the project and evaluate all the accomplishments and failures, and also assessing what each of us could have done differently. We were also asked to give the leader some suggestions on where he could improve his leadership skills by completing a feedback form about his leadership skills throughout the project.
The adjourning stage of team development is an essential stage of teamwork as it gives the team the opportunity to celebrate their successes and also to evaluate their failures (Abudi, 2010). Adjourning from the group of colleagues while working on this master’s degree program will bring up a lot of mixed emotions as I will be sad to not have as much contact with other experienced early childhood educators from who I can learn from. As in Thailand, there are very few early childhood educators that have nearly as much experience and knowledge on early childhood development as my classmates in this program. At the same time, I will also be very excited as completing this degree is going to allow me and other classmates to take on other projects and also open up new doors for us.
Reference
Abudi, G. (2010, May 9). The Five Stages Of Team Development: A Case Study. Retrieved from https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.php
Laying a Solid Foundation for the Early Years 
Hi Lindie
Knowledgeable thanks, I have experienced both sides of adjourning stage the side in a positive form and the negative side also. When learning sharing and building with different individuals on knowledge for the greater good of the children helps me realize that I am part of the winning team that will make a different in children/family lives and assist them with growth and development for futures to come.
Abudi, G. (2010). The five stages of team development: A case study. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.html
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Hello Lindie,
It will be sad not to have the learning contact with so many professionals that I have had the opportunity to share experiences with and learn from their knowledge. But, as Abudi (2010) mentions adjournment is necessary to keep on growing and experiencing new adventures to come. I hope when the time comes to celebrate our accomplishment with our graduation we get to meet.
Thanks for all the knowledge you shared.
References
Abudi, G. (2010). The five stages of team development: A case study. Retrieved from
http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.html
Anna
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I agree, it is harder to leave high-performing groups. The relationships, camaraderie, and trust required to create a high-performing team are the same elements that make it so difficult to separate.
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I like the evaluation phase after the group accomplished its goal. I think it is a good idea. I have seen it one other time and that is in my daughter’s 5th grade class. This particular year she went through a “project based learning” test. Her class and another were testing the new learning style to see how successful the kids could be. I loved it. It taught kids life skills and one was self and peer evaluations. It was done with honesty. That made a difference. Not always were the opinions cookie cutter and sweet, but they were honest. Each child took it well, again great life skills.
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I have not worked in many team settings in most of my teaching positions. I did work in a group setting in a few of my graduate classes and one assignment we had, a group member stopped coming to class so her part of the assignment was never done. We explained this to the teacher and luckily our grade was not effected. The team member never communicated with us that she was no longer going to be in the class and it frustrated us. So by the end of the assignment we were happy it was done. I like working independently and struggle working in a group setting. I am trying to get better with working with other people but it will always be a challenge to me.
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