The study examines the interactive functions of gesture repetitions as a specific form of interpersonal synchronization in argumentative decision-making processes of peers (1-6 graders). Based on a collection of 13 instances, gesture repetitions are investigated in the process of collaboratively co-constructing arguments. Drawing on multimodal…

Coaching is a powerful tool for improving special education teachers' use of evidence-based practices. Recent technological advances have great potential to influence the manner in which coaching is implemented. Virtual coaching is an innovative cycle of coaching that utilizes video-conferencing and bug-in-ear technology in internet-mediated…

This paper reports the results of an empirical examination of the effects of personal experience and social interaction on individual knowledge and performance in a specific decision making task context. The study revealed a differential effect of increased experience on the quality of participants decisions. In particular, increased experience…

Drawing from data generated in more than 100 hours of interaction within 15 leaderless groups, a study investigated the interaction characteristics of emergent leadership--leadership that is earned through face-to-face encounters in a group. Each group was instructed to reach consensus decisions on two tasks, both of which provided the possibility…

A study investigated whether the interaction patterns of high consensus groups differed significantly from the patterns of low consensus groups in the final stage of a decision-making task. Eighty-four college students placed into 19 groups were told to select a social problem, investigate it, and develop a solution. At the end of the three-week…

A study analyzed the decision making process of a dual-career married couple debating whether they should relocate for his or her career. Their interaction was examined and interpreted through multiple components of conversational context, such as institutional constraints influencing the couple, their shared knowledge and perceptions, the…

Examines and explains relational control interaction patterns in two decision-making groups and two women's consciousness-raising groups. Analyzes the interaction data using a Markov model and tracking the control dimension of relationships over time. (JMF)

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 12 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: communication and perceptions of organizational climate; perceptions of communications between federal and local educational agencies; intraorganizational conflict…

In a multiunit school, teachers are organized into relatively autonomous groups. Each group has a unit leader responsible for management and coordination of unit activities, who serves as a linkage to the principal. Decisionmaking functions and the influence system are lodged in the group, thus diffusing what would be the principal's authority in…

Seventy-seven fourth- and fifth-grade students were placed in either a cooperative or a competititve learning structure and the teacher either supported or did not support their decision-making competence. As hypothesized, students whose teacher supported them indicated that they were more confident and committed to making a classroom decision…

A study analyzed and compared four selected models in the cyclical tradition of group development as a basis for identifying possible issues and implications for future theory building. The theorists whose models were examined were Leland Bradford, Jack Gibb, William Schutz, and Theodore Mills. Both historical and conceptual perspectives of the…