Observation of mixed-age undergraduate classes and analysis of students' interactions showed that older students tended to dominate the discourse; the cognitive level of discourse was not altered by the presence of older students; and andragogical practices may not be the most effective strategies for mixed-age classes. (SK)

A discussion of the professional isolation of college administrators, particularly presidents, presents several views of the phenomenon, examines sources of leadership isolation, and suggests ways of avoiding and removing barriers to it. Focus is on relationships between individuals, group dynamics, and establishing organizational systems that…

Institutional researchers' work to support analysis and decision making can be more valuable if they are trained in group dynamics and facilitation. By practicing these arts, institutional researchers can help college and university decision-makers make decisions that are grounded in the support of institutional constituents. The Step Ladder…

Research shows that adolescent girls face developmental issues and need camp programming providing involvement with trusted adults, community service opportunities, safe places, and avoidance of loneliness. In other research, race was more important than gender in leisure choices, with blacks having smaller, less influential, peer groups than…

Discussion of cooperative learning focuses on how it can be used with course assignments that require students to use the chemical literature, based on experiences with undergraduate chemistry students at Earlham College (Indiana). Suggests factors to consider when developing cooperative learning exercises, including group dynamics and an emphasis…

Uses an analogy with a mother's cooking skills to illustrate how teachers spend years building their own "intuitive" style of teaching; how they need to constantly watch, think, and reflect, all the while dealing with multiple demands, juggling everyone's needs, seeking balance. (TD)

Describes the Vienna (Austria) School-Based Teacher Development Project, an innovative inservice-teacher-training project that views faculty development as a process that should allow teachers to participate in decision making within their schools. A key feature is that teachers acquire new knowledge and skills while they improve their group…

An Oregon elementary-school principal describes her experience of creating a peaceful school. To create the safe environment needed for learning, teachers taught students conflict-resolution skills; 15 life skills, such as integrity, initiative, flexibility, and humor; and a three-step problem-solving model. Students are taking their new skills…

Timber operators, ranchers, corporate timberland owners, environmentalists, state government, and local schools in rural northern California formed an alliance to save the local salmon from extinction. The community's struggle toward consensus was an attempt to abandon the polarization that arises from power struggles. Local nonprofessionals were…

Describes the design and delivery of outdoor-based team-building programs that enable management teams to transfer what they learn back to the workplace. Discusses a model of group development, five phases of the team-building process, combining tasks and review processes to yield outcomes, and an experiential-learning cycle. (TD)

Asserts that the social studies classroom is ideal for the development of students' civic decision-making skills explaining that decision making must include elements of group interaction and creative expression. Describes traditional decision-making models and decision making as a process and performance. Addresses group interaction, cooperative…

Describes a California free school based on humanistic philosophy where children learn in synchronicity with each other, develop leadership qualities, are treated as equals, and are given space to experience all their emotions. Recounts the preschool/elementary school's 50-year history. Describes daily activities, adult-child interactions,…

Asserts that music teachers must become active participants in the process by which school policies concerning inclusion are established. Offers suggestions for enabling music teachers to successfully educate students with disabilities focusing on language use, social interaction, and physical involvement issues. Provides sources for additional…

To integrate support staff into the camp community and encourage them to work effectively with the program: give support groups positive names; make service staff partners in camp; develop effective operating practices; maintain open communication; free staff from roles and labels; recognize support staff's contributions; and build team spirit.…

An approach to public-management instruction based on the classroom use of work groups or teams is described. Conditions conducive to high performance teamwork, a model team-learning instructional activity sequence, team selection and group dynamics, the reward or grading system, use of mini-tests, application-oriented activities, and peer…