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My group decided to pick the topic В« crisis in Syria В» for this assignment. We used Conn’s article В«Syrians al-Sad says he welcomes return of U. N. Inspectors” by Tom Watkins. In this article, the reporter gives us a different angle regarding the crisis in Syria. It is not about military actions, not about massacres. It is the only article I have read that does not hold a bias against Basher AAA-Sad. Giving a fair Judgment, the reporter also mentions that Syrians government expressed the possibility for the extinction of its own chemical weapons.
Thanks to the angles that we studied in this group project, I realize that we are stepping into another part of the conflict. We settle in political negotiations, and putting on hold the military actions. The first group assignment for this semester reminded me how complicated it can be to work in a small group. Scheduling conflicts often arise, making it difficult to collaborate. Issues of individual responsibility of each group member, and some not fulfilling their obligations to the project become obstacles to the success of a group assignment.
Immediately, we encountered the challenge of collaborating online, without meeting. It was a slow process in the beginning; however, as soon as we settled on a topic, it was easy for the group members to start focusing on the research and writing. The most evident weakness we had was the organization. We did a quick brainstorm, and didn’t settle on group member roles. In the end, we completed our final draft, but we could have focused more on specific aspects of our work in order to improve it. Just like many other group projects Eve been involved in, he work has not been divided equally.
Out of the four group members, only 3 responded and worked on the assignment. It is difficult to keep up with the work that needs to be done, when all the members of the group are not providing a valuable amount of information. Nevertheless, we followed Dustman’s four stages of teaming, even though we did not spend enough time on the forming stage. Finally, we ended up with a good final draft, that represents the common idea of the group regarding the topic of focus. Journal 1 ENGLE 1301 By Remain-Tipper