Collaborative problem-solving (CPS) involves the interaction and interdependence of students' social and cognitive skills, making it a complex learning process. To delve into the complex dynamics of CPS, previous research has categorized socio-cognitive roles, providing insights into social-cognitive frameworks. However, despite the specific…

Two experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that persons process a stimulus less extensively when they are part of a group that is responsible for the task than when they are individually responsible. Subjects were college students. (Author/MP)

This monograph, one of a series initiated by the North Dakota Study Group on Evaluation, describes the background and workings of a set of seminars in which experienced teachers from different schools meet regularly to study children's thinking. Anecdotal accounts from seminar discussions are utilized extensively throughout. Chapter I examines the…

Presents literature relevant to initial group structure and advances a model of group development based upon personal construct theory. The proposed model illuminates the relationship between initial structure and the psychological processes underlying group development. Research questions are posited to advance empirical tests of the model. (RC)

Research bearing on three aspects of small group learning is examined: (1) the relationship between interaction and achievement, (2) cognitive process and social-emotional mechanisms bridging interaction and achievement, and (3) characteristics of the individual, group, and reward structure that predict interaction in small groups. (Author/PN)

This study examined the issue of how groups of students attempting to solve problems can be taught to consider moral aspects of the problem at a mature level. Classes in Swiss cantons (N=42) were given one of three different moral problems. Each class was divided into eight groups. The three treatments were: (1) provision of additional background…

This study is an attempt to integrate two theoretical approaches in child development: ethology and cognitive theory. An ethological approach suggests that children structure their social world hierarchically and are emotionally involved in perceiving and participating in interactions involving dominance. It is through this involvement that…

The paper describes the basic features and techniques of a specific kind of discussion group, the Grouptalk. Grouptalk, especially useful in the elementary grades, is a formal discussion of a question by a small group and a leader. Participants follow the specific rules that all contribute relevantly to the discussion and that all help in the…

Mentally retarded children were studied for their conceptual development and movement from the ability to perceive persons as separate entities but not in significant interaction (aprasia) to group activity. A quasi-projection technique was used to test six groups of 20 boys each, including institutionalized and family-based normals (aged 6 and…