This article sets out to offer the reader an opportunity to engage with our emerging ideas about a reflective, person centred model for students and facilitators using problem-based learning (PBL). The model developed initially through several strands of qualitative inquiry including research with students, immersion in the existing literature and…

Efforts to create systemic change in most organizations stall despite an intense push from leadership because these efforts are built on a model that does not accurately represent how organizations truly operate. Reeves argues that most leaders attempt to communicate directives about new initiatives from the top layer of a hierarchy downwards.…

This multilevel investigation examined the effect of group interaction and its influence on individual-level membership variables and group assimilation. The study is based on a model of group socialization developed by Moreland and Levine (1982) and was modified in this study to investigate the development and maintenance of highly interdependent…

In business schools across the United States, one of the most common pedagogical tools is the use of groups and group projects. "Passive" instruction (i.e., lecture only) is considered to be an inferior mode of teaching. In this article, the author suggests that the use of group-based projects as pedagogical tools should be reconsidered.…

In this article, I focus on three defining characteristics of group creativity: improvisation, collaboration and emergence. To demonstrate these three characteristics, I present several examples of group creativity in both music and theater. Then I explore how structure and improvisation are always both present in group creativity. Improvisations…

This paper explores the implications of a renewed model of citizenship and citizenship education developed on the principles of ecology and ecological interdependence. By reframing our community from a human polity to a biotic community, the scope of our citizenship responsibilities shift. While expanding to encompass a global context, this new…

This article presents findings from an empirical study on the relations between the variables comprising learning mechanisms in small collaborative groups. Variables comprising the central learning mechanisms component were "task related interactions," "knowledge elaborations," and "subjective estimation of knowledge acquisition." Student related…

Group co-leaders' descriptions of their experiences and perceptions of each other as they led groups together illuminated competency concerns as a factor that strongly influenced their relationships and performance. Based on their narratives, group co-leaders' perceptions of their ability to form intimate relationships and beliefs regarding their…

Computer-supported group-based learning requires that interaction has to be structured within the group; otherwise it will not happen. Also, it is important to pay attention to social aspects of a distributed learning group (i.e. group dynamics); otherwise a good working team will not emerge. This article proposes a process-oriented framework that…

Most colleges and universities have adopted course management systems (e.g., Blackboard, WebCT). Worldwide faculty and students use them for class communications and discussions. The discussion tools provided by course management systems, while powerful, often do not offer adequate capabilities to appraise communication patterns, online behaviors,…

A small group of training professionals within the John Lewis Partnership set up an action learning group about 2 years ago. The main aim was to explore the technique for our own learning and development. The timing and lifespan of the group reflected the generally strategic and long-term nature of our projects. One of these was to introduce…

The present article is based on the results of an expert survey and a survey of young people in the schools of two Russian cities, Moscow and Kazan (2003). The study focused on making the research problem more explicit and testing the set of instruments, which was developed with the authors' participation in the framework of the Eurogang research…

This study investigated how different tools differentially mediate the way groups interact and how the differential tool use and interactivity influence interdependence in online collaborative activity. Activity Theory is used as a framework to examine and explain computer-mediated interactions among students during group work. The findings reveal…

This study examined the effects of conversational language (e.g., asking questions, inviting replies, acknowledgments, referencing others by name, closing signatures, "I agree, but", greetings, etc.) on the frequency and types of responses posted in reply to given types of messages (e.g., argument, evidence, critique, explanation), and…

Beginning in September 2000, terror attacks and large numbers of casualties became part of Israel's harrowing daily routine. The attacks occurred throughout the country, putting everyone at risk. These events also shattered the illusion of coexistence between Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel and led to feelings of anger and suspicion between the…