Understanding allyhood as a developmental process will allow educators and program directors to reach a broader number of students with more powerful outcomes in line with student learning and development goals. Designing programs that promote ally development as a component of social justice education will allow programs to tailor ally…

Erving Goffman's concept of the gathering: the co-presence of two or more individuals in a common location in space and time. Research has shown that most gathering members assemble, remain and ultimately disperse together with one or more companions. "Singles" assemble and act alone but may intermittently interact with other "singles: or "withs"…

In our paper we talk about what it is like to be a group of people with and without learning disabilities researching together. We describe the process of starting and maintaining the research group and reflect on the obstacles that we have come across, and the rewards such research has brought us. Lastly we put forward some ideas about the role…

Thousands of schools have tried the Mix It Up at Lunch Day program since it started 10 years ago in 2001. Teaching Tolerance continues to get glowing reviews from around the country. Teachers and administrators are understandably eager to make their Mix Day better--to reach more students. Here are 10 proven ways to give Mix an extra stir.

The study described looks at the effects of learning style profile of teams on the quality of materials developed in a collaborative learning process. The study was carried out on collaborative teams of four or five university students, formed through learner preferences. Learning styles of the teams were determined using Kolb's Learning Styles…

This article discusses some strategies and principles of intervention that will lead to a more effective group behavior and enable the group to be proactive about improving its work. The author also discusses some of the common challenges and reliable interventions faced by a facilitator: (1) Redirect conversational altitudes; (2) Correct problems…

This article explores student perceptions of social task development in an online group project and poses recommendations for implementation of group projects. Qualitative methods were used to analyze student perceptions of social task development in online group project. Respect, "being nice," follow the rules/follow the leader, communication,…

This research examines how individualism-collectivism and goal orientation impact training effectiveness through study of an internationally diverse sample of engineers who were undergoing technical training. In light of contemporary views of individualism-collectivism, we argue that collectivism will moderate the influence of learning and…

In this landmark book, Scott Page redefines the way we understand ourselves in relation to one another. "The Difference" is about how we think in groups--and how our collective wisdom exceeds the sum of its parts. Why can teams of people find better solutions than brilliant individuals working alone? And why are the best group decisions…

Social loafing research has spanned several decades and fields of study. Research has provided support for both the existence of social loafing and its antecedents within the laboratory, classroom, and work place. Studies regarding the perceptions of social loafing and its effects in the online learning environment, however, are largely…

For greater effectiveness, attention should be paid to how group decisions are made. The process of consensus-seeking encourages appraisal of more information and provides a broader range of potential alternatives. (SK)

Analyzes proposition that scapegoat role emerges in small groups to permit member distancing from intrapsychic and interpersonal conflict through displacement. Describes small group scapegoating and its consequences. (Author/CM)

Theory and research are presented relating the need for cognitive closure to major facets of group behavior. It is suggested that a high need for closure, whether it is based on members' disposition or the situation, contributes to the emergence of a behavioral syndrome describable as group-centrism--a pattern that includes pressures to opinion…

This article reports on the use of group and individual diaries to control social loafing on the group project. Although both forms of the diary were designed to prevent social loafing, neither appeared to do so. An unexpected result of the individual diaries is that they appeared to make the majority of the class, namely the "nonloafers," more…