Week 16: D1

After reading Chapter 16 in its entirety, answer the following question: Why do you think people have such negative views of conflict?  Do you think that as people know more about conflict, they fear it less?   Why or why not?

I believe that a lot of people have such a negative view on conflict because of past experiences. Not everyone knows how to handle conflict in an ideal way and it is easy for relationships to turn sour because of it. Most of the time due to the bad past experiences, people will try to avoid the conflict, afraid that something similar will happen again. I know that many people do not like conflict because they see how the issue can be the beginning of ending a relationship they treasure. Also people do not know how to positively come up with an outcome when they are in a conflicting situation with others.

It is good for people to learn more about how to deal with conflict, or conflict issues in general. I think when people know more about conflict they will fear it less. I can see how people’s perspectives change once they learn how the outcomes of conflicts can be good for the relationship. I was one of those people who did not like to be involved with conflict, but once I have learn more about the subject I saw how beneficial conflicts could be.  

Week 16: D2

Summarized what you liked most and what you liked least about this class.  In other words, what were the strengths and weaknesses of this class?  Would you recommend this class to another student? Why or why not?

There were a lot of things that I liked in this class. One thing in particular I liked about this class was some of the materials we covered. I thought that it was very relatable since we all tend to get into conflicts with our relationships. I also liked the project that we had to do for the class. Even though it was a lot of work, it was fun to teach the concepts that I have learned.

One of the strengths of this class to me was that it was flexible; I was able to do assignments and quizzes on my own time. I guess a weakness of this class was the fact that we don’t really get to meet anyone in the class.

I would recommend this class to other people because I feel people can learn very practical skills. I also thought that a lot of students could benefit from the concepts I have learned and be able to try to solve their own conflicts. Professor Perez also made it super easy to be able to communicate with her, which was crucial in a class that meets online.

Week 16: D3

What did you learn over the course of the semester? Please give extensive detail. 

I think one concept that stuck out to me this semester was the communication options in conflict. It was so fascinating to me that it was something I talked about in my workshop. I saw how relevant these options were to myself and everyone else. I believe that we chose the options unintentionally as well. By seeing the table of the concerns and outcomes of each behavior was helpful as I saw how each approach showed what behaviors.  

Another thing I learned this semester was to rather resolve conflict with collaboration instead of a compromise. I used to always think compromising was the way to go since it looked ideal to have a mutual agreement. It is because collaboration seems to last longer than a compromise solution. After learning about the difference, I now strive for more of a collaboration approach.

All in all I learned a lot over the course of the semester. Many of the concepts were very practical as I applied them in my life.