Training Session Conflict

Late in the evening on Wednesday, training coordinator Alan Brown sat in his room reviewing the events of the day. The training group he was responsible for had erupted that morning when one member confronted another about his earlier actions in the group. The confrontation had been quite direct and blunt, followed by other members of the group vociferously expressing both agreement and disagreement with the substance of the attack. Alan had had difficulty moving on with the planned agenda during the remainder of the morning and through the afternoon. The group, previously active and animated, had lost its momentum and become distracted and unable to focus, threatening to derail the entire training program. Now, he wasn't sure whether to raise the issue with the group again in the morning, and if so what to say, or to move on and let the issue die. He felt it was important to think through the situation and its effect on the group and make a decision as to how he would proceed. The Setting On a Sunday in July, a group of college and university instructors arrived at a remote coastal lodge and conference center near a small town in Oregon for a week-long training program. The focus of the training was to help participants learn how to increase student learning by integrating more student-centered cooperative learning methods into their courses. All of the participants stayed in on-site housing, ate their meals together in a dining area, participated in daily morning and afternoon training sessions, and socialized during the evenings at the training site or in the local town. Sunday Opening Session At the opening session on Sunday evening, after some introductory comments from Alan, the training coordinator, all participants were asked to state their names and to share something about themselves. Most gave their names and university affiliations, and shared information about their hobbies and interests. When Paul's turn came, he took a little different approach, stating "My name is Paul. First, I would like to say that I am a Christian first and foremost; second, I am a family man with a wife and four wonderful daughters; and third, I am a teacher." After the last participant had introduced herself, Paul raised his hand and was acknowledged by Alan, "Yes, Paul." Paul, who was at that time sitting in the first row, stood up and turned to address the class. He stated that he believed it was very important to remember names and indicated that he wanted to demonstrate a name recall technique to the class. Alan gave his approval, and Paul proceeded to recite the name of each of the 29 participants and trainers in the room. Paul did not merely state the name of each person but accentuated and dragged out the pronunciation as he went through the set of names. For example, rather than merely saying the name Matt, he would drag out the pronunciation as "Maatttt." In addition to the manner in which Paul articulated the names, he used accompanying hand gestures to provide added emphasis to the pronunciation. Despite the unusual verbal and nonverbal communication methods used by Paul, he successfully remembered and stated every person's name. The participants appeared to be quite impressed with Paul's skill, and a few complimented him on his accomplishment. Paul offered to teach the class the technique at a later time during the conference if Alan and the trainees were interested. Alan was visibly pleased with Paul's ability to recall everyone's name, and he, too, stressed the importance of instructors learning students' names as quickly as possible. Alan informed Paul that he would work him into the training schedule the first thing on Wednesday morning. Background Paul had been in the military and now served as a university professor. He was approximately 35 years old and clean-cut in appearance, had short hair, dressed neatly, appeared athletic, sat up straight, was articulate, and had a youthful yet professional air about him. …