Recent research on problem-based learning (PBL) has shown that students need support when dealing with conflicting ideas in PBL-tutorial discussions. In the present study, we examined tutor facilitation during tutorial discussions, and particularly how the facilitation helped students to collaboratively resolve conflicts on knowledge. The study…

This article troubles the established discourse of free choice and free play in early childhood education, and develops post-structural approaches to theorising children's agency in the context of institutional and relational power structures. It is widely accepted that planning a curriculum based on children's needs, interests and patterns of…

Six participants each from Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya participated in a workshop to search for solutions to the border disputes between Somalia and her two neighbors. This pilot venture, a mixture of successes and failures, can provide the basis for improvement and extension of the concept. Followed by critical comments by John E. Harr, Otto…

Personal dispositional variables conflicting with social pressure and the resulting behavior, which follows a cusp catastrophe, were investigated. Female undergraduates (N=200) completed a set of attitude questionnaires using a Crutchfield console. Results indicate that: (1) when social pressure is low, behavior is a smooth, monotonic function of…

The "psychological isotope" technique was used to study the effect of leadership style on group process and productivity, by planting identifiable units of information with specific group members. Data indicated that the movement of these traceable bits provides data on the flow of information in the group, the relative influence and…

The objective of the study was to (1) systematically study the process by which small group cooperation develops and to (2) produce guidelines that will be useful to teachers. The sample consisted of 84 seventh grade boys and girls of middle class families. Three randomly assigned samples (rotating, solid, and control) comprised the experimental…

A THEORETICAL PARADIGM FOR ANALYZING THE DYNAMICS OF TASK AND PROCESS COMPONENTS OF GROUP LIFE AS THEY ARE RELATED TO THE MANIFOLD FORCES OPERATIVE IN THE CLASSROOM IS PRESENTED. PUPILS ARE VIEWED AS MEMBERS OF A PREDOMINANTLY WORK-ORIENTED CULTURE--THE CLASSROOM. WITHIN THIS CULTURE, TWO KINDS OF CONFLICT-PRODUCING DEMANDS TO WHICH PUPILS MUST…

Argues for the development of group intervention techniques to improve the efficacy of course teams in the preparation of distance education materials, reviews recent commentaries on course teams and discusses related issues, and conludes with recommendations to enrich the quality of course team life and output. (Author/EAO)

Three large, unstructured workshops (500-800 people) demonstrated how large groups of people can participate together and collectively choose ways of action aimed at satisfying all. Particular significance given to participants' shift away from looking for outside sources of answers, values and standards to discovery of strengths and answers…

The purpose of this study was to develop an observation system which would describe some of the important phenomena in groups that have the task of making a decision about a controversial issue involving value conflicts. The basic design to develop the observation system involved the analysis of transcriptions of group discussions of controversial…

Studies published in the last five years (since 1975) concerning how groups behave, with particular emphasis on implications for the administrator who wishes to deal more effectively with groups, are reviewed. The 25 studies represent 11 journals, written by authors from six related disciplines. For discussion purposes, the studies are divided…

This resource manual presents guidelines and effective techniques for people who want to acquire group facilitation skills. It is a valuable resource for anyone planning or presenting a workshop; trainers or teachers interested in innovative classroom techniques; and anyone involved in a group as leader, facilitator, or participant. The manual…

"Teachers and students play games quite as much as lovers, diplomats, husbands, and wives. Teachers come to class equipped with 'Threat' cards and students with 'Mischief' and 'Defiance' cards." Exercises in this book can help people, including teachers, students, administrators, and community groups, to overcome their reliance on "game-playing".…