Overall, I think the group on care of pets went well! Timing went well as far as the warmup activity, activity, and wrap-up. Everyone was willing to introduce themselves and their pet schedule. While everyone participated from the start, I think I should have started out having everyone introduce themselves and their pet, then we could have moved into the warmup activity. Instead, I had everyone introduce themselves, their pet, and their pet schedule all in one which was a lot to remember. The warmup activity went well, but I should have given the group members their Bingo sets from the start because it got a little chaotic after I passed out the cards since everyone wanted to see the pictures of their pets on the cards. I did feel like the activity went slowly, so I think there could have been improvements made to let it be a little more exciting. Everyone was willing to participate in the sharing portion. I really enjoyed hearing everyone's strategy to being a pet owner and how rules might vary depending on the owner's house, pet, and roles. Generalizing went well as everyone was able to share how some things such as consistent exercise and keeping up-to-date on vaccinations can be difficult. Everyone had time to share and seemed to grasp the importance of maintaining a balanced lifestyle as a pet owner and student.
When evaluating my performance as a facilitator, I feel like I did pretty well making sure to include everyone and ensure they felt validated. I did think that I should have done a better job of trying to focus on areas that need improvement as far as pet ownership goes. Maybe the warmup activity could have been more of a name one thing that works with your schedule and name one thing that's not working so they have an idea of what they need to focus on during the group. All in all, I think the group went well, and everyone seemed to enjoy sharing about their pets.
When evaluating my performance as a facilitator, I feel like I did pretty well making sure to include everyone and ensure they felt validated. I did think that I should have done a better job of trying to focus on areas that need improvement as far as pet ownership goes. Maybe the warmup activity could have been more of a name one thing that works with your schedule and name one thing that's not working so they have an idea of what they need to focus on during the group. All in all, I think the group went well, and everyone seemed to enjoy sharing about their pets.
Lauren, Thanks for your Blog post. I must say, I think you are pretty hard on yourself. I realize that there are always ways to improve, but I want you to know that I thought that the group that you facilitated went exceptionally well! The thing that stood out for me about your group facilitation was how extremely organized and apparent it was that you had put tremendous effort into preparing for the group. I just want you to cut yourself a little slack, because sometimes even the most prepared and well organized and planned group sessions can move in directions or go too long (or not long enough) despite the effort and energy we have put into controlling for it. In any case, thank you for sharing, and I do appreciate the time you spent reflecting on potential changes. This really speaks volumes about how much you care about the groups that you lead!
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