Many students struggle with group-based assessments. The pedagogic approach of the 'compassionate micro skills of communication' (CMSC) aims to equip students with the skills necessary to work effectively in group settings. To this end, students studying on a core psychology module involving group-work, received structured CMSC learning in…

Using Lave and Wenger's framework of legitimate peripheral participation in communities of practice, this case study explores the experiences of three novice teachers engaged with more experienced teachers in a teacher study group during their first year of teaching. The study illustrates how, over time, the novices moved from more peripheral to…

This study investigates how a teacher study group collectively examined problems in their current English curriculum and redesigned the curriculum into theme-based lessons for various grades. Comprised of seven elementary school teachers and a teacher educator, the teacher study group met bi-weekly for three hours for a total of eight meetings.…

This paper reviews and integrates best practices for online teamwork for students and instructors from current and classical literature as well as the author's own six years of online teaching experience (over 40 online courses). A qualitative reflection of six graduate and six undergraduate courses in management, human resource management and…

This paper explores a middle school teacher's and his students' perceptions of the differences between online synchronous literature discussions and face-to-face literature discussions. Each member of this literature group participated in two face-to-face and two online literature discussions. Participants were interviewed twice to discuss their…

Five studies on the advantages and disadvantages of small groups in teaching in higher education are discussed. These include works by M. L. Johnson Abercrombie; Barbara Cockburn and Alex Ross; M. L. J. Abercrombie and P. M. Terry; and Jean Rudduck. (JMF)

This Head Start study sought to determine whether or not increased communication among the four groups of adults most influential in the child's transition from preschool to kindergarten would lead to a greater similarity of goals and attitudes among these groups, and thus help the child to bridge the gap between preschool and school. The four…

Study of classroom dynamics surrounding discussion of controversial issues in middle schools and the complexity of teacher-student interactions shows that heated and difficult debate about emotionally charged issues can be constructive. Students appear more resilient and able to handle disagreement, skills they will need in a democratic society.…

In the first section of this monograph, the reasons why the personal nature of teaching makes it relatively impervious to outside influences are explored. It is suggested that change in education occurs only when the individual teacher changes. Educational innovation is viewed as a matter of facilitating and sustaining modification in the…

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…

Describes three physics-related structured discussion tasks developed in cooperation with high school physics teachers. Presents the reactions of teachers and students to classroom use of the tasks. (Contains 23 references.) (Author/WRM)

Focuses on teachers' group identity, seen as a process of co-construction of their group voices within the context of large-group dialogs. Findings identified three types of dialogs: conversation; discussion after a presentation; and interactional dynamics. Findings also indicated four types of teachers' voices: pragmatic; multiculturalist;…

The Discussion Development Group (DDG) was established by the Scottish Education Department to facilitate research on process innovation in relation to the new curriculum. The DDG resource unit trained teachers to become associates through an inservice training program focused on the observation and analysis of discussion group processes. The…

This paper examines the author's conducting a weekly seminar for eight secondary interns (preservice teachers) from Michigan State University working at three middle and high schools. The leader describes the tension he felt in trying to respond to interns' emerging concerns and needs while at the same time trying to preserve an environment in…

The Discussion Development Group (DDG) at Moray House College of Education, Scotland, is a resource center designed as an open learning system to provide inservice training, consultancy support, and resources on classroom discussion. A case study involving 17 teachers and recently conducted by the DDG explored features of process innovation and…