Describes classroom discussions with third and fifth graders based on William Glasser's "Schools without Failure". These discussions encouraged the teachers and children to experience their own feelings and understand others and to engage in democratic problem-solving activities. (SDH)

Psychodrama is the acting out of difficult situations one has experienced. It gives the actors and spectators the chance to try out alternative solutions to problem situations. When these problems are acted out, the actors become better acquainted with themselves and their peers. This awareness becomes a dominant determinant of future behavior.…

To give teachers help in understanding themselves better and in relating more positively to their students, small discussion groups were organized to provide maximum opportunities for teachers to express thoughts and feelings about themselves and about problems they were facing in the classroom that prevented them from relating positively to their…

Two programs are described: the first, the Future Problem Solving Program, is an interdisciplinary approach to studying and solving future problems. The second, Quality Circles, originally a management technique, has been implemented in schools to improve motivation, attendance, learning, and quality of life. (Author/LC)

Describes problem-solving training provided by the Discovery Program, a series of structured group discussions about common personal and social problems and how to cope with them. Discusses the program's advantages over other methods of teaching problem-solving skills. (SV)

College instructors can design discussion classes so that students use the concepts and processes of the discipline to evaluate facts and move toward reliable conclusions. Described are: discussion as a cycle of inquiry; creating tension around ideas; seeking causal relationships; scanning the factual base, etc. (MLW)

Describes how student learning from a series of laboratory practicals was improved using small group methods and a structured learning cycle that encouraged reflection on group performance and investigative techniques. Discussion includes evaluation of learning benefits by means of written records, a questionnaire, observation, and the role of…

As part of their course, the authors were asked to teach a mathematics lesson to a class of Y6 pupils. Since they did not know the pupils, they felt that the theme of the session was of the utmost importance, so they chose something which they hoped would stimulate the pupils' imagination and entice them into the session. They wanted to use…

Alex F. Osborn's group brainstorming treatment remains the most frequently applied procedure for the creative generation of ideas despite considerable evidence that demonstrates its ineffectiveness. This paper synthesizes many findings that challenge the premise that Osborn's traditional "group" brainstorming treatment is the optimal…

This paper provides an illustrative example of an approach to creating and reporting individual profiles of engagement in particular behaviours in an online asynchronous discussion (OAD). Individual results of analysis of transcripts of an OAD can provide insights different from those gained by focusing on aggregate measures of group behaviours.…

THE PURPOSES OF THE STUDY WERE TO COMPARE (1) CONVENTIONAL LECTURE, PROGRAM-DISCUSSION, AND PROGRAM-PROBLEM METHODS OF INSTRUCTION, (2) STUDENT PERFORMANCE WITH AND WITHOUT CONFIDENCE IN PROGRAMED INSTRUCTION, AND (3) ACHIEVEMENT ON THE BASIS OF TEST SCORES ON THE FIRST ONE-THIRD OF THE CONVENTIONAL COURSE. TWO EXPERIMENTS WERE CONDUCTED IN…

Trigger films are an audience involvement media designed to achieve attitude and behavior modification. They are brief (under four minutes), high impact vignettes which portray specific problem situations, focusing upon the agent's motivations, and structured so as to trigger an emotional response by the viewer and to act as a catalyst for…

The relative and combined effects of short-term group brainstorming practice and video-tape training sessions on brainstorming performance were explored. Two hypotheses were tested: (1) under group and individual conditions, performance should improve with the use of a model of a well trained and experienced brainstorming group, group performance…

This study investigated the use of various forms of computer-mediated communication (CMC) to support the formation of a knowledge-building community (KBC) in teacher education. A KBC involves students working in small and large groups to solve "real world" problems, and in the process develop skills of negotiation, communication, and…

An exercise was devised at the Middlesex Hospital Medical School, London, to facilitate medical students' ability to discuss death and dying with cancer patients. Students begin with a written situation to problem-solve and then move into pairs and groups to reach a consensus and discuss the problem. A videotaped simulation is also used. (JMD)