This article presents a strategy for an idea exchange system appropriate to many situations in which a group--teachers, colleagues, staff members--needs to collect individual ideas and reach group agreement. This model, a Nominal Group Technique, is appropriate for student groups as well. (Author)

Tested the hypothesis that hidden communication reflects basic assumptions, such as dependence on a leader or fight/flight movements within the group, by observng 10 informal teenage groups in the classroom. Found that the teenage leaders dominated both the physical and psychological space and that group movements changed continuously during the…

Analyzes and categorizes directional factors, and exploratory sequences related to them, via videotaped sessions of two teenage school work groups. Shows stimuli which initiate exploratory sequences are found for all directional factors in problem solving or decision making. Reveals rule-governed or routinized behavior relates to directional…

The author describes an experimental group activity designed in England for 13 to 14 year olds which allowed participants the freedom in the art of building of social relationships. Discussed are the rules for the self-directed group activity, the group pressures and processes experienced by the adolescents, and the teacher's role. (Author/RM)

To investigate collaborative learning with multimedia, four groups of three ninth-grade math students worked for one hour with a multimedia package presenting the relationships between distance, speed, and time. Interactions were videotaped and transcribed. Groups engaging in cycles of observation, reflection, discussion, and feedback were seen to…

In 3 of 5 Australian grade 8 math classes, 5 students, most high ability males, dominated teacher-student interactions in whole-class activities. These students' involvement was facilitated by behaviors of teachers and students and by management problems prevailing in these classes. In a fourth class the teacher systematically involved a larger…

Investigated the types of reception strategies and the frequency of their use by students of French as a second language at different levels of language proficiency, measured by an oral proficiency interview. A number of distinct strategies were identified: kinesics, global reprises, hypothesis testing in English and uptaking. Results are…

This book provides a sequence of 10 skill-building games and follow-up activities (beginning with "Getting Acquainted" and ending with "Arriving at a Consensus") designed to give students necessary practice in proper discussion techniques. Fifteen remedial exercises to treat such weaknesses as extreme aggressiveness or a habit of straying from the…

Examines code switching occurring during group work in English-as-a-Second-Language classes in Spain in which the learners share a first language. Argues that the discourse produced in this context is layered as the participants oscillate between a literal (off-record) and a nonliteral (on-record) frame. Suggests that the significance of language…

This study recorded and analyzed 96 student discussion groups to identify successful dialogue strategies; to highlight difficulties deriving from group characteristics; and to examine how students behave, what they gain, and which students benefit most. A model of a successful discussion is outlined and study findings considered. (Author/SJL)

Relationships between patterns of family interaction and child development are investigated in this study on how family environment and quality of interaction relate to an adolescent's psychological and social functioning. A sample of 99 white middle-class families participated in a 2-hour structured interview in their homes. The interview…

The results of this research have relevance for sport educators who are integrating sport classes and who are concerned with the interpersonal interactions of boys and girls playing together. The author hypothesized that males and females would prefer to interact in a sport setting with members of their own sex and ability level. The results of an…

This pamphlet is the second in a series of ten stemming from the view that language is central to learning, that teachers can gain insights into their work and into learning by examining the language of the classroom, and that current language theory can be the means to such insights. The pamphlet contains a description of a study designed to…

During the 1968-72 years, Northwestern Junior High School had the reputation of the "most racially troubled" junior high school in Battle Creek, Michigan. The BACSTOP (Better Acquisition of Cognitive Skills Through Outdoor Programming) was implemented to address some of the negative problems facing the school. BACSTOP aimed to: create a…

Group participation by Israeli youth is examined in light of the Theory of Status Characteristics and Expectation States. This theory maintains that social and/or group status influences expectations of competence and triggers self-fulfilling prophecies of performance. An experiment designed to prevent unwanted dominance of high status…