IN RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS ABOUT ORGANIZING CHILDREN FOR LEARNING, A SURVEY OF THE RESEARCH AND LITERATURE ON GROUPING OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PUPILS WAS CONDUCTED BY THE U. S. OFFICE OF EDUCATION. AFTER MANY RELEVANT STUDIES WERE EXAMINED, THE AUTHORS CONCLUDED THAT--(1) LEARNING RESULTS FROM MEMBERSHIP IN MANY DIFFERENT GROUPS, (2) ACHIEVEMENT GAINS…

This report describes an exploratory study of Telelink, a social application of telephone conferencing which is providing group communication among housebound veterans and war widows in Melbourne, Australia. The study is based on interviews with present Telelink participants and with social workers who might use the service in the future. Included…

This Personalized Activity Kit deals with one aspect of preparation for group process, that of orienting members and obtaining consensus on basic issues prior to convening the group. The participants will learn the delphi technique and use it in a hypothetical situation. The delphi technique can facilitate the working of a group by familiarizing…

The paper analyzes the development of the women's movement, indicating how this particular movement empirically documents the theoretical suppositions of a sociologically defined social movement. A social movement is defined as "a group venture extended beyond a local community or a single event and involving a systematic effort to inaugurate…

REVISED TO INCLUDE UP-TO-DATE MATERIALS, THIS BOOK IS CONCERNED WITH COOPERATIVE THINKING AS A DEMOCRATIC PROCEDURE. IT IS ADDRESSED TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATE IN OR LEAD INFORMAL DISCUSSION IN SMALL GROUPS--COMMITTEES, STAFF MEETINGS, BOARDS, AND COUNCILS--AND TREATS IN DETAIL DISCUSSION IN THE CLASSROOM, RADIO AND TELEVISION, THE BUSINESS…

This paper contains a theoretical analysis and empirical study that support the major premise of Robert Dubin's minimal-linkage construct-that restricting communication links increases organizational stability. The theoretical analysis shows that fewer communication links are associated with less uncertainty, more redundancy, and greater…

This study investigated whether dominance relations observed during free-play are apparent in children's drawings of themselves with another classmate. A total of 16 hours of observational data were collected from 37 children, 9 to 11 years of age, during 40-minute free-play periods in their school setting. Dominance assessments were based upon…

After a brief historical look at personal growth groups, this paper traces the steps involved in the development and evaluation of simulation materials which were designed to aid the group leader's understanding of his affect in the member/leader relationship. It examines the concept of this specific relationship in personal growth groups. Groups…

A science education process model was proposed for ultimate use in research on science teaching. In this model, classroom interaction was presented as the middle component of a three-phase system. The on-going process of classroom interaction was viewed in terms of a communications model: interaction exchanges provided communications paths through…

In response to Washington rural residents concerned about availability and distribution of health care, a study was conducted to: (1) better understand the physicians serving rural Washington and (2) determine if their services could be increased by taking physicians out of their traditional solo practitioner roles and placing them in groups of 2,…

The project attempted to learn whether group counseling could be used effectively to move into employment, or into training for employment, hard core clients of a state vocational rehabilitation agency who, though apparently ready for employment consistently failed to obtain or retain satisfactory employment. A sample of 99 clients were involved…

The question whether individual study of risk problems (familiarization) leads to greater risk taking was investigated. Several explanations of the risk taking shifts are explicit in their requirement for group or social interaction. Investigations of whether risk shifts can be produced in the absence of group interaction have produced conflicting…

Notes that ethnicity is important to American blacks because it allows for an honest and fair appraisal of social, economic, and political circumstances and the creation of policies and programs that can best serve the needs of a heterogeneous community. (Author/AM)

This article is excerpted from Principals and Open Education, a study of two principals at work in schools making the transition from traditional to open education. These principals, along with many open classroom teachers, view change as a slow process. (Author/AM)

Summarizes research on small group processes by giving a comprehensive account of the types of variables primarily studied in the laboratory. These include group structure, group composition, group size, and group relations. Considers effects of power, leadership, conformity to social norms, and role relationships. (Author/AV)