Studied social workers' perceptions of group dimensions that had negative effects on members. Found that group leaders viewed group composition as a major source of harmful interaction while members and observers saw group norms as a more frequent cause of negative effects. (Author/JAC)

An ethnographic study of instructional processes in a college class resulted in identification of the instructor's roles and various teaching methods. Positive classroom dynamics were found to be related to the instructor's willingness to help students comprehend difficult lessons. (JN)

Research addressing the use of small, semi-independent, task-centered student groups ("syndicates") as a classroom technique in higher education is reviewed. Focus is on the promotion of higher-order cognitive skills through the use of such groups. Related concerns include student achievement, group relations, and teacher style. (Author/JMD)

Information use in senior-level university decision-making councils involves organizational, interpersonal, and individual processes. Leadership styles emphasizing a group-process team approach to decision making are best for utilizing information to form policy. (Available from: Jossey-Bass, Inc. 433 California St., San Francisco, CA 94104,…

No single leadership style insures success. The relationship between leader and group members is more important. Healthy, cohesive groups tend to follow a developmental scheme beginning with testing limits and ending with commitment that leads toward personal effectiveness. (JAC)

A personal assessment of changing attitudes about the skills required in the teaching of adults, gained from over 30 years' experience in one extramural department, is offered. Teacher-performer, narrative techniques, group discussion, small group learning, communication, and discovery learning are discussed. (MLW)

Statue building complements the counselor's usual skills to help children understand and express their emotions and gain a heightened sense of awareness. Statue building promotes empathy for the feelings of others and provides an opportunity for children to increase their ability to express emotions. (Author)

Relates each of Kohlberg's six stages of moral development to the appropriate level of schooling and method of classroom discipline. Concludes that teachers can successfully solve discipline problems by choosing strategies from a stage just beyond the student's level. (SK)

Discusses the necessity of student-student interactions for enhancing achievement, socialization, and healthy psychological development. Presents evidence concerning the constructive impact of the appropriate use of cooperative, competitive, and individualistic goal structures and the power of effectively managed controversy within the classroom.…

Examines the communicative behaviors of subordinate groups with dominant social groups. Analyzes the following forms of communication performed by and seen from the perspective of a lower-statused person communicating with a higher-statused person: tomming, passing, shucking, and dissembling. (PD)

Describes METROPROB, a noncompetitive teaching game based on the theory of metropolitan locality-relevant problems and stressing their interactions. Discusses potential for teaching systemic analysis of urban problems and helping students think sociologically. (Author/CK)

A sample of gang members and a comparison group of club boys are compared on 11 factors from the Objective-Analytic Personality Factor Battery. The findings are examined in light of several hypotheses drawn from theories of personality and of gang delinquency. (Author/CTM)

Describes the national antismoking campaign in terms of various school projects funded by the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, coordinated by its new Office on Smoking and Health. Projects include utilizing peer counselors, demonstrating what smoking does to the body, and showing how to deal with social pressures. (MF)

Outlines the concept and forms of "action learning" for managers, stating that the best opportunities for learning take place in a manager's everyday job with group meetings to exchange learning. Describes a regional program in which managers from various organizations work on different projects and then have joint learning discussions.…

Effects of resource capability and interpersonal attraction on coalition behavior were studied. Introductory psychology students role played across three experimental conditions. Subjects were asked to select a coalition partner, predict formation of coalition, estimate winnings distribution. Male and female choices and predictions differed.…