Qualitative research is based on the direct observation of human activity and interaction in an ongoing, naturalistic fashion. Qualitative researchers are concerned with the internal life of schools; what is really occurring in classrooms, corridors, cafeterias, and playgrounds. Qualitative researchers look at what people ordinarily take for…

Behavioral scientists maintain that a board-superintendent relationship thrives only within a total organization that is sound and healthy. To develop such an organization, agreement should be reached at the onset on what exactly is board policy and prerogative and what is in the administrative domain. A board must develop its goals with the…

Two experienced family therapists discuss therapeutic style, involvement, techniques, methods, handling of sexual material, use of self and of cotherapists in family sessions. Issues, relating to the first session, family fights sessions, types of families, family systems, and termination are also detailed. (Author)

The author discusses the reactions and feelings black participants in T-groups experience. He suggests that integration of intellectualizing with emotional expression and using a common simple language would provide a more productive experience for black participants in groups. (SE)

Penn State York has a history of collaboration with the York community. The campus became involved in two university-community collaborative efforts to identify and take action to resolve living and learning needs of children and teachers in York County. This article presents stories of two initiatives, and the lessons that emerged from reflection…

Cooperative learning is a teaching strategy that promotes the positive interaction of children in small, heterogeneous groups. Each group contain three or four students of varying achievement levels, backgrounds, socio-economic status, and sex. Cooperative learning processes promote student motivation, build group skills, foster social and…

This packet contains materials, process guidelines, discussion questions, and suggestions that serve as a guide for a 3-hour training session on the topic of organizational culture for groups of from 7 to 21 (or more) adults. During the training session, participants simulate organizational behaviors following three different sets of cultural…

This guide was designed to help teachers consider the essential nature of communication in the teaching-learning process and to share responsibility for communication across the curriculum. The guide has four sections. The first section examines the role of communication in one teacher's classroom. A discussion of this teacher's belief that…

Leadership training materials, to be used by both students and teachers, are organized in the following sections: (1) self-awareness; (2) what leadership is; (3) goal setting, the foundation of success; (4) communication, key to leadership; (5) organization, putting all the pieces together; (6) group process, working together; (7) problem solving,…

This guidebook focuses on the problems facing teachers in small group teaching. It is organized in three parts, each dealing with a specific common problem. Part One deals with clarifying instructional goals for the group. Part Two concerns interaction within the group and between the students and the teacher. Part Three encompasses the…

Special consideration should be given to curriculum development in basic-speech-communication classrooms which have non-native speakers of English as students. Fluency, student grouping, background diversity, and degrees of freedom of speech all affect the ability and achievement of non-native English-speaking students in such classrooms. A hybrid…

The practice of hazing in college fraternities, sororities, high school clubs, professional societies, business, the military, and secret societies is investigated. Through the retelling of actual stories involving hazing, the book addresses the questions of why men and women haze and allow themselves to be hazed, how the problems of hazing can be…

The study reported in this paper attempted to find out what evidences of active learning were displayed in the "ready," i.e., prompt and appropriate responses called for in classroom oral communication. Such an inquiry leads toward the claim that the learning process itself is a suitable arena for evaluation, and thus that the evaluation…

This module is the fifth in an inservice education series for extension professionals that consists of seven independent training modules. Its purpose is to provide the conceptual foundation and practical skills needed to work effectively with groups and organizations. Five units cover networking, communicating one-to-one, moving up and down and…

Decision-making responsibilities of participants in a school based management program in Chicago (Illinois) are discussed in this report. Tension among the local school board council, principal, and professional personnel advisory committee is examined, with a focus on learning decision making skills. Shared decision-making facilitates…