John Suler's PhotoPsychology
Group Dynamics
The semester has ended. All the exams are scored, papers read, and final grades calculated. This particular batch of papers are from my group dynamics course. It’s a very experiential course in which the students participate in a group that is devoted to exploring the personalities of its members and the relationships that form among them. The objective seems simple enough – and yet, as these sociograms illustrate, the patterns of interaction among group members can get quite complex. It’s my job, as the facilitator of the group, to keep any eye on things, and to help the group navigate through the developmental stages of “norming, conforming, storming, and performing.” At the end of the semester, despite what often seems like a roller-coaster ride, I tell the students that we only scratched the surface of how deep the group dynamics go.
Group Dynamics
The semester has ended. All the exams are scored, papers read, and final grades calculated. This particular batch of papers are from my group dynamics course. It’s a very experiential course in which the students participate in a group that is devoted to exploring the personalities of its members and the relationships that form among them. The objective seems simple enough – and yet, as these sociograms illustrate, the patterns of interaction among group members can get quite complex. It’s my job, as the facilitator of the group, to keep any eye on things, and to help the group navigate through the developmental stages of “norming, conforming, storming, and performing.” At the end of the semester, despite what often seems like a roller-coaster ride, I tell the students that we only scratched the surface of how deep the group dynamics go.