Communicating Effectively

Communication can take presence in three different ways: written text (email, memo, & letter), as audio (telephone), and as video. Using the various forms of communication, the recipient may interrupt the message in many different ways according to how the message is sent.  I watched three forms of communication of the same message where I thought about the content and tone of the message. In addition, I reflected on the interpretation of the message after watching, listening and reading each modality.

Email

Reading the message via email created a very negative affect for me. The line, “Because your report contains data I need to finish my report, I might miss my own deadline if I don’t get your report soon.” I interrupted this in a negative way where I feel like I would be the one being blamed for a possible deadline being missed when it is not my responsibility for that person’s procrastination. Emails can be formal but, I feel that they are more informal where it is a form of communication that “occurs as people think of information they want to share” (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, & Kramer, 2008, p. 357).  

Voicemail

Listening to the voicemail regarding the message of needing a report as soon as possible so that person is able to make their deadline was much better than the email for a number of reasons. First of all, the listener is not reading between the lines and misinterpreting the message and tone of the email. However, if this was the only way of getting ahold of the person, then I believe that using the voicemail is the best option for communicating the need of the report. I would not have let the message as the person did but, I would have state the understanding that the person has been in meetings, but is in need of a the report that contains data that they need for their report. Therefore, could you please get back to me as soon as possible where we are able to discuss this issue more in depth? I would then conclude the voicemail with, “thank you so much for your attention to this mater. “

Face-to-Face

Face-to-face is the most formal form of communication where the content is preplanned and conducted in a standard format for a scheduled time. However, in the face-to-face message, I would have interrupted the message much more offensive then the email because the facial expressions and hand gestures. During this interaction, I feel as though it was not a schedule meeting, but a stop by to inform that the person is in desperate need of a report because they are lacking on their deadline.

Overall, communication is very effective when it is conducted according to the type of information and format that it needs to be in, in order to effective communicate the information. In addition, after hearing the information that Dr. Harold Stolovitch discusses and our text book addresses it seems as though one must determine whether the information is information that just needs to be share for a friendly FYI or check up or it needs to be preplanned with information that is essential for all members and stakeholders.

Resources:

Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project Management:Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Learning from a Project “Post-mortem”

In 2008-2009, my school district at that time was in the process of adopting a new mathematics curriculum for the middle grades. The math content specialist of elementary, middle, and high school selected three programs that they conduct literature reviews, analyzed, and would align with the elementary and high school curriculums from past adoptions. The process that was communicated to math teachers of the middle schools was, teachers would pilot a variety of lessons from each of the three curriculums to gather information that would be communicated at delegated in-services to help gather information that would later be develop into a proposal for the school board at the end of the school year.

General Questions from the Project "Post-mortem" Review Questions

What was the single most frustrating part of our project?

As a three year teacher, the most frustrating part of the project of piloting the three curriculums to determining the best fit for the school district with the district, state and NCTM mathematics standards was the negative feelings and thoughts with the adoption process and having to pilot the three. I believe that this could have been simplified if the content specialists would have chosen three different standards where we could compare and contrast the three curriculums. Whereas it was a free for all and no structure which created frustration because most of the veteran teachers did not want change and refused to pilot the curriculums to participate in the adoption process effectively and efficiently.

 

Phase-Specific Questions

Phase I: How could we have improved our need-feasibility or analysis?

Prior to piloting the three curriculums, the math teachers were told on the first day of in-service at the beginning of the school year that they are to pilot lessons of the curriculums where we would collaborate about our experiences during certain in-service days throughout the school year. The timeline of the project could and would have been smoother and more effective if there was a plan, a timeline, and what needs and analysis did the content specialists, superintendent, and school board need to see and know to ensure that they would make the best choice of curriculum for the students, teachers, and district. Without having a plan or structure in place for the project creates much disorganized and negativity.

Overall, the adoption of the new curriculum could have been very successful and much more effective during the pilot process is a ID plan. The content specialists should have created an objective, what need to be analyzed and done by the teachers to provide the best information with a compare and contrast of the three curriculums. In addition, this would allow them to have a strong presentation for the school board and superintend with the literature review, teacher interaction, and feedback.

Hello Project Management Class

Good Morning!

I am extremely excited for this project management class for a few reasons: First, my center has been bought and I will be stepping into a new role where I am the ID/PM for SES (Supplemental Education Services, Title 1 program) for the Pittsburgh area. Therefore, I will be developing educational programs, teacher trainings, and overseeing all the school districts in which we will be providing services to. Secondly, the materials that we will be learning will carry immediately into my daily roles of occupation.

I look forward to learning, collaborating, enriching my knowledge with you all.