This is an account of practice. It explores the meeting point between action learning and action research, as a way of doing capacity building in organisational development (OD) in the NHS in the UK. The authors were part of a short cooperative inquiry (Heron, J. 1996. "Co-operative Inquiry: Research into the Human Condition." London:…

In this article we present an integrative model of team learning. Literature shows that effective team learning requires the establishment of a dialogical space amongst team members, in which communicative behaviours such as "sharing", "co-construction" and "constructive conflict" are balanced. However, finding this balance is not enough.…

This ethnographic study answers calls for research into the ways that virtual organizations (or innovation-driven collaborative teams) form and develop, what supports and constraints their development, and the leadership models that support the organizations' work. The study examines how a virtual organization emerged from an intersegmental…

This paper reviews and integrates best practices for online teamwork for students and instructors from current and classical literature as well as the author's own six years of online teaching experience (over 40 online courses). A qualitative reflection of six graduate and six undergraduate courses in management, human resource management and…

Virtual teamwork is a growing mode of operation within organizations through the increasing sophistication and accessibility of computer-mediated communication. The purpose of this paper was to develop a new conceptual framework and propositions to assist understanding of a new training phenomenon. The approach used was the integration of related,…

This document consists of three papers presented at a symposium on the learning organization moderated by Roger Miller at the 1996 conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD). "Creating a Learning Organization: A Case Study of Outcomes and Lessons Learned" (Laura L. Bierema, David M. Berdish) reports a study…

This Project Brief focuses on the Ford Foundation's Rural Community College Initiative (RCCI), which aims to help selected community colleges in distressed communities expand their capacity to increase access to postsecondary education and to foster regional economic development. RCCI is geared to specific geographic regions where communities face…

Sir Sandford Fleming College in Ontario, Canada is in the process of transforming itself from a teaching-based college to a student-centered organization. Faculty-led teams are a critical element in this transformation. With active support from its faculty union, Fleming has reduced its administrative ranks by one-third and created a host of teams…

This book describes approaches to professional development for cooperative learning and how the use of cooperative learning for teacher learning is leading to new insights into professional growth in schools. Part 1, "Begin with the Teacher: Focusing Professional Development for Cooperative Learning," offers "Introduction:…

Stephen Brookfield has written and edited 10 books on adult learning, teaching, and critical thinking. He is a recipient of a number of awards, including the World Award for Literature in Adult Education (in 1986, 1989, 1996, and 2005), the Imogene Okes Award for Outstanding Research in Adult Education (in 1986), and the Leadership Award from the…

This paper explores the use of cohort structures in administrator-preparation programs. The paper considers how cohorts operate effectively as communities and how the cohort promotes the enhancement of the individual. Data were derived from an analysis of the journals of 51 students enrolled in cohort programs at four university sites in…

This document contains three papers from a symposium on team-based work in human resource development (HRD). "Toward Transformational Learning in Organizations: Effects of Model-II Governing Variables on Perceived Learning in Teams" (Blair K. Carruth) summarizes a study that indicated that, regardless of which Model-II variable (valid…