This study investigated social development and demonstration in preadolescent girls within the context of an outdoor adventure-based program. Researchers implemented an 11-week outdoor adventure-based program for seven girls aged 10 to 12. A case study design including pre- and postsurveys, weekly small-group discussion responses, comment box…

The present study aims to incorporate a group leadership promotion approach into collaborative learning tasks in the hope of developing students' creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, we recruited 59 cross-professional students from a university in northern Taiwan, and…

This paper focuses on the parameters of a semester-long project called the "Do Good" project, geared towards developing small group communication skills in undergraduate students. This project highlights participation in a social engagement project that allows students to bridge concepts learned in small group communication lectures…

Theories of collaboration exist at the interfirm and intergroup level, but not the intragroup or team level. Team interactions are often framed in terms of leadership and followership, a categorization which may, or may not, accurately reflect the dynamics of intragroup interactions. To create a grounded theory of collaboration, the Farmer's…

Comments on the article by R. J. Hackman and R. Wageman (see record 2006-23492-007) which offered several research questions that should be productive for furthering leadership research. This comment summarizes some recent progress on one of those questions, "Not what are the traits of leaders, but how do leaders' personal attributes interact with…

This study examined the relationship between the achieved status of the leader and productivity in group problem solving. (Author)

Human Communication in Organizations (HCO) is an introductory college course at Ithaca College, typically taken in the freshman year, in which students from a wide variety of majors examine the basic concepts, issues, and uses of organizational communication including communication theory, superior-subordinate and peer relationships, leadership,…

Techniques for achieving control of and producing results from task-oriented meetings with peers are discussed, including acquiring a perceived mandate, structuring attendance, and developing a working, narrative agenda. A productivity matrix correlates meeting activities with appropriate group leadership behaviors. (SK)

Studies on individual and group problem solving from the past 15 years are brought together in this volume. Four sections of the book consider individual problem solving and the search for a possible unique factor in creativity. The next four sections concern themselves with the various aspects of group problem solving, and a final part of the…

As society grows more cooperative, the importance of finding emerging leaders has become incrasingly crucial. Not only should these potential leaders be identified, but their talents need the opportunity to develop. Leadership education continues to be a concern in gifted education but remains an abstract concept that is often ignored in school…

Competitive forensic teams should turn to their students for leadership. Such an approach gives students valuable experience in handling responsibility, while relieving school administrators of some of the tasks involved in debate competition. Since forensic students are intelligent and highly ambitious, they should be leaders of debate programs,…

Although consultation models have expanded, research demonstrating the effectiveness of consultation has lagged behind, thus limiting the acceptance of consultation as a method of intervention in schools. This study presents a preventive consultation framework and demonstrates its effectiveness in working with school principals to change the…

Geriatric outpatients were involved in a group resocialization program. Comparison is made between experimental groups whose leader used group intervention techniques, and groups where leader played a nonintervention role. Experimental group members showed changes toward more active problem-solving approaches, while group members remained fixed at…

Group decision making has three basic goals: to develop the best solution to the problem; to gain wide acceptance for the solution; and to achieve an agreeable solution in the shortest time possible. In order to be successful, group decision making requires a highly skilled conference leader. (Author/WM)

This paper reports on the relationships between group composition, leadership and decisions through a study of small groups engaged in preferential bargaining about problems with open solution sets. The relationships were analyzed and can be compared best against the background of traditional approaches. (Author)