This exploratory study examined the impact of three process groups for first-year, first-semester master's degree students (N = 20, total). The Group Environment Scale (GES; Moos 1994, 2002), Forms I (Ideal) and R (Real), were utilized to measure the participants' ideal perceptions and real perceptions of the small group environment. The overall…

The goal of this research was to highlight the role social regulatory processes play in making students' teamwork in reciprocal teaching (RT) groups (a classroom activity in which students take the teacher's role in small group reading sessions) effective. In addition to teamwork quality, we expected peer feedback to be a key factor in enhancing…

Five studies on the advantages and disadvantages of small groups in teaching in higher education are discussed. These include works by M. L. Johnson Abercrombie; Barbara Cockburn and Alex Ross; M. L. J. Abercrombie and P. M. Terry; and Jean Rudduck. (JMF)

Peer counselors (N=16) trained in human relations techniques, group dynamics, and decision-making skills conducted small groups with 122 potential dropouts. A five-way factorial multivariate analysis showed significant improvement in counselee attendance and decisiveness over the control groups, but results were inconclusive in demonstrating the…

A study was conducted to assess the psychological effectiveness of cooperative small group learning among junior college students with less than 11th grade skill levels. Three English classes, reflecting the overall student population, were chosen. All classes met three days a week and had the same instructor and out-of-class assignments. Two of…

Foremost among many recent trends in education has been a surge of interest in small group instruction. Questions remain concerning the relative educational value of small group computer assisted instruction (CAI) or CBT (broadly defined as instructional use of computers). This paper presents the results of an investigation of 55 works on this…