An interdependent group-oriented timeout ribbon procedure was effective in decreasing the inappropriate verbalizations of two groups of resource room students (grades 1-3). A timeout ribbon was removed for one minute following inappropriate verbalizations, during which time the group lost the opportunity to earn tokens for activity or tangible…

Describes the Jigsaw technique, a small-group organization and instructional method which offers a highly interactive learning experience, and how it can be applied in adolescent and adult English-as-a-second-language classes or used as a model from which teachers can create their own instructional materials. (Author/CB)

The College and University Classroom Environment Inventory, a college seminar dynamics measurement instrument based on earlier research on assessment of elementary and secondary classroom environmental characteristics, is described. Its testing and initial applications in research on student outcomes and teacher and student preferences of…

Study results indicate that positive social interactions between nonhandicapped and handicapped students in the integrated music classroom, with increases in nonhandicapped students' acceptance of handicapped students, are not a result of music classroom experiences and music instruction alone, but also of the degree to which teaching conditions…

A study of 20 representative primary schools in New South Wales, Australia, revealed that a high degree of principal supportiveness as measured by the Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire was associated positively with curriculum decision making by staff groups and negatively with curriculum decision-making by individual teachers. (PGD)

Graduate students simulated school board members making decisions about educational programs. Situation contexts within the program evaluation reports were varied by conflict, quality, and time. The quality of decisions affected support for program continuation. Interactions of conflict and quality affected need for more information and more time…

The theory of object relations is applied to the group dynamics of the Open University's course development and instruction teams and to several other situations, including the relationship between the Open University and the BBC, staff support in summer schools, manpower planning, and staff development. (MSE)

Used a lexical statistics program to analyze conflict and nonconflict discussions of two different groups of college students. Found preliminary evidence for a pattern of greater redundancy and less vocabulary diversity for the discussion groups in conflict. (PD)

This study investigates students' achievement goal orientation in relation to their attitudes toward group work and perceptions of group members' collaboration behaviors. A total of 48 (33 males and 15 females) 4th year Instructional Technology Department students were taking Design, Development and Evaluation of Educational Software course at…

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…

This report is the outcome of the first attempt to research self-help groups (SHGs) systematically on a large enough scale to represent the whole of those in Great Britain. Chapter 1 explains and defines what SHGs are and how they relate, qualitatively and quantitatively, to the universe of all voluntary organizations of which they are a part.…

This manual draws together evolving information about how group size influences what the group does and how learning tasks may be designed and employed to accomplish desired outcomes. The manual includes ideas from research on class size and its outcomes; theories of learning and development; and validated experiences of expert educators. It…

One of the issues a college writing instructor grapples with in teaching writing is how best to structure collaborative groups to maximize benefit for each student in a multicultural classroom where many students might fairly be considered "marginalized"--to create an environment in which they become "insiders." Criteria sets for forming group…

Many project teams in organizations are highly structured, members have clearly defined roles, and they possess knowledge about how to effectively manage their projects and meetings. On the other hand, students in educational environments lack significant experience working in teams. Therefore, student teams are often poorly structured, members…

This document contains 20 edited presentations, each in a two-page digest-like format, from the 1998 conference of the Association for Experiential Education (AEE). Presentations are: (1) "Adapting Equipment and Teaching Methods for Persons with Disabilities" (Cindy Dillenschneider); (2) "Adventure Programming and Facilitating When You Don't Know…