Group social structure provides a comfortable and predictable context for interaction in learning environments. Students in face-to-face learning environments process social information about others in order to assess traits, predict behaviors, and determine qualifications for assuming particular responsibilities within a group. In online learning…

Presented are guidelines for developing and conducting a group counseling program with the mentally retarded. Advantages of the group counseling approach (such as peer influence), goals for the group (such as teaching skills), and characteristics of an effective group leader (such as empathetic understanding) are outlined. Factors related to group…

Describes an adolescent outpatient pretherapy training and orientation program considered to have speeded group cohesion; increased expression of positive expectations; reduced time-wasting discussion; decreased concerns over confidentiality; and facilitated verbal feedback skills. (Author/DB)

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 purpose of this Personalized Activity Kit (PAK) is to describe a leadership style in which leadership is less a matter of who holds what position or role and more a matter of each member performing the function needed by the group at any particular time. This style is called functional leadership. The PAK identifies two key functions essential…

The group that is properly set-up and operating can save hours of group time. Once the group members know and trust one another it is necessary to identify the specific group tasks that need to be accomplished and to establish ground rules such as kind of meeting, meeting arrangements, expectations of members, and requirements for membership in…

This guide presents tasks a planning group should consider when implementing a program. Although implementation may not occur in this sequence, the total array of implementation tasks includes selecting a planning group leader, defining the problem, selecting objectives, designing the program, developing an implementation plan, developing an…

This consultation was structured to provide a forum for participants to grapple with issues surrounding ethnic group identity, ethnic studies, intergroup conflict, and essential new roles for schools, colleges and community groups; and to chart new courses of action for New Jersey. The document includes a brief summary of the program. The morning…