Courses: Small Group Communication, Online Groups and Communities. Objectives: The objectives of this activity are to expose students to common-bond and common-identity group dynamics, including the differences between memberships, as well as member motivations, goals, and outcomes.

This popular text provides essential knowledge and skills for conducting creative, strengths-based group work with adolescents. A rich introduction to the field, enlivened by numerous illustrations from actual sessions, the book provides principles and guidelines for practice in a wide range of settings. The book covers all phases of group work,…

Twenty conference participants shared their experiences regarding how each had become involved in a process where significant learning was taking place. After all the experiences (stories) were told, the group collected the insights they had gained. These 50 morals sounded like platitudes or cliches; they had very little power without their…

Research on leadership in gifted education is reviewed, focusing on studies conducted with various age groups in education settings. Leadership research is examined through three general approaches: the trait approach, leadership styles, and the situational approach. A leadership training model for high-school students is presented, based on the…

This workbook takes the theories and research from many disciplines and experts and combines them into short, easy-to-assimilate units that facilitate group participation at the high school and college level. Group skills are presented as 26 distinctive lessons. Each lesson begins with an explanation page, then an activity page gives the group an…

Examines the cooperative learning approach to elementary and secondary school history and social science instruction. Defines cooperative learning. Explains that students work in small, heterogeneous groups, in positive interdependence and are accountable both as individuals and group members. Provides details for teachers on how to get started.…

Discusses the group investigation teaching model, which combines inquiry and cooperative learning. Identifies the steps of group investigation as (1) establishing a focus, identifying subtopics, and forming groups; (2) planning the investigation; (3) carrying out the investigation; (4) preparing to share; (5) sharing; and (6) evaluation. Offers an…

Adventure educators must elevate participants' experience beyond a parade in the environment. Innovative right-brain strategies that can be used before, during, and after the encounter to capture the wonder of the "natural moment" include visualization, sensitizing, treating flora and fauna as celebrities, thematic photography, the mind…

Task groups (consisting of three-five students per group), for hands-on, inquiry-oriented activities can provide meaningful learning experiences, develop interpersonal skills, and save money in the classroom. Suggestions for using task groups are provided, describing a recommended instructional model, instructional strategies, and student roles in…

Schools need collaboration to keep teachers and students learning and for the implementation of new ideas. Community college students who strive to become teachers can learn to collaborate with colleagues. Through a review of literature, this paper presents a variety of purposes, definitions, types and methods of collaboration. A practical guide…

The article summarizes 12 group sessions intended to decrease inappropriate behavior and increase the self-esteem of 10-12 learning-disabled seventh and eighth graders. Art projects culminating in a group mural were a prominent part of the group activities. (DB)

A review of studies of mentoring for new college faculty suggests practical guidelines for maximizing the mentoring experience. Recommendations include "cataloging" (of past, current, and planned activities); group mentoring; and application of a theory stressing involvement, regimen, solving the right problem, and social networking. (DB)

This article describes a variety of collaborative writing strategies that teachers can use within the four subprocesses of writing (prewriting, drafting, revising, and publishing). The strategies include, among others, brainstorming, semantic maps, directed reading and writing, discussion tests, editing groups, and group efforts in layout and…

This article offers a description of critical literacy practice and/as professional development as it evolved in a teacher inquiry group investigating critical literacy. The authors describe this professional development experience as an instance of critical literacy in practice. The entirety of this article is a collaborative product in which the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of teacher learning in a cohort-based, master's degree program in curriculum and pedagogy that was intentionally designed to be responsive to teachers' personal needs and preferences. The program aimed to: (1) provide teachers with the confidence to connect what they do in their classrooms to…