Three socio-psychological programs are highlighted here: "cultural literacy," achievement motivation, and group dynamics. The introduction reviews their common aim: to provoke significant, abrupt changes in adults, i.e. changes that affect the value and attitudinal orientations of the individual in a short period of time. The objectives…

The School Personnel Utilization Project developed a series of modules to assist personnel in building the necessary skills for the development of organizational change strategies and collaborative, collegial educational problem solving capabilities. This module focuses on the dynamics of organizational change and the interpersonal skills…

During the summer of 1965, an experimental group of 12 school administrators participated in sensitivity training sessions to measure the influence of the sessions on situations involving administrative change. The study tested: (1) Behavior of administrators in meetings in their school system; (2) behavior toward subordinates; (3) skill in…

Elementary and secondary schools in the United States lack a singular pattern of organization. Each of the separate school districts can, and often does, introduce different types of changes at different times. Yet a piecemeal description of an educational system unduly complicates the task of understanding that system. As the number of changes…

Suggests that peer group instruction is one of the most significant benefits to have emerged from the process approach to writing instruction. Presents a teacher's classroom research on the peer group response method. (ARH)

To develop high-performance teams and improve student learning and achievement educators are making changes in the way they interact with colleagues. Educators are participating in various school teams-grade level teams, vertical teams, school leadership teams, study groups, and school improvement teams. This book translates what social scientists…

This book introduces newcomers to the concept of facilitation, and it presents a critical analysis of established and current theory on facilitation for existing practitioners. The following are among the topics discussed: (1) emergence of the field of facilitation; (2) development of facilitation in management; (3) development of facilitation in…

The feature story in this issue, "Managing the Collaborative Learning Environment," focuses on the growing emphasis on teamwork in the workplace. It discusses how the concept of empowering employees in the workplace is evolving and the benefits--faster decision making, lower costs and absenteeism, higher productivity and quality, and…

Comprised of excerpts from the Responsive Classroom Newsletter, this book details practices for use during the beginning of the elementary school year to build a foundation for a successful school year. Chapter 1, "The First Six Weeks of School: Building the Foundation for a Successful Year" (Ruth Charney and Marlynn Clayton) introduces…

The possibility of creating a "learning community" as a possible alternative or supplement to traditional indicators of community well-being is explored in relation to Australia's stability. It is argued that traditional economic rationalism-based indicators of community well-being, such as level of unemployment, frequently cause…

The question of whether a 15-week capstone course in agricultural communications for seniors in agricultural communications builds leadership skills beyond technical classroom learning was examined in a study of 15 students enrolled in the capstone course. The descriptive study used a pretest-posttest design and a leadership skills inventory to…

The Newspaper Division of the proceedings contains the following 22 papers: "Framing Freedom: Hoosier Republican and Democratic Newspaper Editors Frame Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation" (David W. Bulla); "Quantifying Newspaper Quality: 'I Know It When I See It'" (Philip Meyer and Koang-Hyub Kim); "Cultural Convergence:…

The progression of qualified surgical nurses toward capable proficiency was examined in an ethnographic study during which 25 nurses, including 4 who transferred to other wards, were observed to determine whether social mediation affects the process of proficiency development. The nurses were observed for 18 months. Data were also gathered through…

The purpose of this study was to identify the reasons and processes by which skin tone affects assumptions regarding competence among African Americans. As such, the study addressed two important hypotheses: (1) that African Americans demonstrate light skin tone bias as measured by perceptions of competence, and (2) that African Americans'…

Outlines four stages of group development in the classroom (Inclusion and Membership, Establishing Shared Influence and Collaborative Decision Making, Pursuing Individual and Academic Goals, Self-Renewal: Adapting to Changes), exercises to facilitate each stage, and the teacher's role throughout. (LC)