Describes four behavioral styles (relater, analyzer, director, and socializer) which often reflect the balance of individuals that make up effective administrative leadership teams. Each style has strengths and weaknesses, and each typically has a back-up style used in times of stress. This "style flex" can enable all parties to function in a…

Examines students' roles during a long-term collaborative task that required mastering complex sets of cognitive, regulatory, and social skills needed for building knowledge largely from their own and their peers' ideas and observations. Describes the eight prominent sociocognitive roles that emerged from the study. Contains 61 references.…

The diverse practitioners in adventure therapy need to be mindful of the assumptions they bring to the genre from their own fields, the interface between the different therapeutic schools and outdoor adventure, the extent to which "deep" psychotherapy will be practiced, how outdoor adventure changes the client-therapist relationship, and…

The literature reveals disagreement over the degree of intervention facilitators should make in problem-based learning (PBL). PBL requires a shift to a constructivist teaching philosophy. Instructors who serve as facilitators need training in PBL methods and group dynamics in order to be effective. (SK)

Preliminary analysis of data collected from trained expert facilitators of ad hoc creative teams (n=43) found that complex analytical techniques such as costed function modeling and decision criteria matrix may have far more impact upon a team's creative effectiveness than frequently researched measures such as idea quantity. (Contains…

Reviews the incorporation of interactivity in Web-based instruction. Discusses computer mediated learning; interactivity and learning, including instructional transaction theory and cognitive flexibility theory; advantages of Web-based instruction; content and social interactivity; asynchronous and synchronous communication; individual and group…

Responses from students after reading a story about a five-person group and their conflict behaviors indicate that the person in the story who engaged in compromise was rated as most successful both in accomplished goals and in establishing interpersonal relationships. States that relationship between attraction and conflict behaviors was found to…

Describes a process used for group assignments in a business communication course which holds all group members accountable by using a structure of rotating responsibility. Discusses selecting assignments and implementing the process, noting how this structure requires equivalent advance preparation from all members and provides opportunities for…

A study of group extension activities found differences in achievement of outcomes depending on group type. Interdependent, structured, and interpersonal interaction groups differed in terms of factors contributing to or hindering successful outcomes. (SK)

Describes a complex role play used in a high school English class in which students take on roles from a simulated society with three distinct ethnic groups with differing interests and demands. Describes how students learn the hard truths of group dynamics in this extended role-play, discussion, and negotiation. (SR)

Describes experiences of a South African rural women's organization focused on preventive health care, exchange of knowledge and skills, and empowerment. (SK)

Investigates the influence of socio-affective context on the interactive modalities surrounding problem-solving discussions conducted with 8-year-old children. Results suggests that reciprocal friendship facilitates collaboration and the organization of collective work. Discusses two rival hypotheses of socio-affective proximity and…

The use of weekly exchange of journal letters between a group leader and group members in a graduate course in group counseling is described as a way of teaching counseling students about group process and group leadership. Excerpts from letters of both the leader and group members are presented as illustrative examples of the concepts being…

Provides insights into the design of effective educational planning conversations derived from the metaphor of enthalpy (the amount of heat energy released when chemical reactions occur). Interprets enthalpy changes in the context of energy and the dynamics necessary to sustain an effective systems design conversation. (AEF)

States that the contrast of face-to-face communication with computer-mediated communication (CMC), either experimentally or experientially, may be a valuable way for teaching group dynamics and group decision making in educational settings. Suggests several ways to facilitate the use of CMC in single-session experimental and experiential…