A professor and an administrator joined forces to provide answers to two basic questions: What is needs assessment, and how does one do it? Discussion of the conceptual framework of needs assessment is based on experiences in the design and implementation of needs assessments in many states at levels ranging from state departments of education to…

The inservice program and materials described here focus on behaviors as they occur in groups, isolating them for purposes of identification and definition. Three group roles are identified in the program: task roles, unifying roles, and anti-group roles. A description is provided of program purposes, content, activites, resources, and history of…

Student team techniques, involving two conceptually distinct components--a cooperative reward structure, in which students are evaluated and rewarded based on the performance of the group as a whole, and a cooperative task structure, in which students are encouraged to peer tutor--have had positive effects compared to control methods on academic…

In order to develop an ecological theory of teaching, the classroom must be viewed as a sociological unit. The unit of interest was the teacher-student learning group. The basic question explored was: What is the relationship between human interactions and the physical and social contexts of the group? Teams of scholars met in seminars, each…

An institute held December 10-16, 1978, in the United States Virgin Islands, trained 25 middle-level library administrators in the use of communications as a management tool. The institute was part of an on-going program of staff development in a multi-cultural, disadvantaged area. The program was based on these objectives: (1) to introduce basic…

This guide presents suggestions to committee chairpersons for making meetings more effective. The three broad sections of this guide address: (1) preparation of the agenda and physical arrangements for the meeting; (2) management of meetings to avoid negative outcomes; and (3) methods to overcome blocks in conflict resolution and decision making.…

Shared group consciousness among individuals of ascriptively deprived social categories acts to mobilize strongly identified group members, suggesting that old age identifiers among elderly Americans should also participate in politics at higher rates than those found for non-identified older people. Survey data from both the 1972 and 1976…

CONCEPTS AND METHODS FOR THE DESCRIPTION OF THE CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR SETTING ARE DEVELOPED THROUGH THE USE OF PRINCIPLES AND TECHNIQUES FROM ECOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY. THE ECOLOGICAL SUBUNITS WITHIN A THIRD-GRADE CLASSROOM SETTING WERE IDENTIFIED AND THE QUALITIES OF THESE SUBUNITS WERE SPECIFIED. THE SYSTEM, DEVELOPED QUALITATIVELY, DESCRIBES THE…

TO ASCERTAIN THEIR ATTITUDES TOWARD GROUP PROCESS, AN UNSPECIFIED NUMBER OF TEACHERS WAS ASKED TO WRITE AN ACCOUNT OF THEIR GENERAL ATTITUDES TOWARD THE PROCESS AS THEY UNDERSTOOD IT. THEY ALSO RATED THEMSELVES ON A 5-POINT SCALE, RANGING FROM STRONGLY FAVORABLE TO STRONGLY OPPOSED ATTITUDES, AND BY WHICH THE ACCOUNTS WERE GROUPED. A CONTENT…

Participating in an Indian youth leadership conference which used a group interaction model were 125 persons from various school districts, tribes, and Indian organizations throughout Arizona. Goals of the conference were: (1) to give Indian students the opportunity to express needs and exchange resources and ideas leading to possible solutions…

A description is given of a group interview process used with candidates for a nine month, field-based teacher training program. Five candidates were interviewed together by several faculty observers in a forty-five minute session. Faculty observed and noted leadership skills, verbalization and sharing of ideas, ability to convince others,…

In establishing a secondary school teacher/advisor system and advisory group, the advisor should direct his efforts toward and encourage decisions about three critical areas: the state of the group and possible enabling norm patterns; the conditions of openness, trust, and safety in the group; and the student in relation to the group processes.…

The application of behavioral technology to integrate individual needs for growth and development of secondary students with the organizational goals of the schools is discussed. It is emphasized that learning designs in the school should be utilized to give teachers, pupils, and administrators an opportunity in varied group mixes to participate…

Group interaction research typically focusses on behavior under "laboratory" conditions rather than in less contrived situations. Observation of natural group behaviors at different ages can effect a better understanding of their occurrence and patterning at various developmental stages. Knowledge of age-related group behavior tendencies could…

This resource guide is written for Head Start Directors, Component Coordinators, other staff and parents who share in the task of developing program plans. In the introduction, the concept of participatory management is defined. Advantages and disadvantages of participatory management and required skills for the effective use of participatory…