We previously reported how the opinions of second-year dentistry students and faculty members can be used to construct an assessment rubric to grade group-based concept maps in physiology (14). This article describes the second phase of this study of the subsequent year's cohort. A case study approach was used to investigate how groups of students…

Participation in youth sport generally begins to decline after the age of 12. Among the reasons for this are personal aspects such as lack of desire, and social aspects including negative experiences with coaches. One way that coaches can improve the sporting environment is through group activities that promote team building. The purpose of this…

This study investigates how shared mental models (SMMs) change over time in teams of students in a manufacturing engineering course. A complex ill-structured project was given to each team. The objective of the team project was to analyze, test, and propose ways to improve their given manufactured product. Shared mental models were measured in…

The author describes the development of a model for working with staff members from non-psychoanalytic backgrounds to run therapeutic and therapy-like pupil groups in schools. She draws on her experience of co-facilitating groups at a London-based secondary school and uses examples from recent group work with Year 10 pupils (aged 14-15). Child…

The micro-time context of group processes (such as argumentation) can affect a group's micro-creativity (new ideas). Eighty high school students worked in groups of four on an algebra problem. Groups with higher mathematics grades showed greater micro-creativity, and both were linked to better problem solving outcomes. Dynamic multilevel analyses…

It is without a doubt that education is liberation and when individuals are marginalized, segregated, and have no access to education, there exists, as Paulo Freire the founder of critical pedagogy would note, oppression (1997). People are of course oppressed for a diversity of reasons--race, class, gender, age, nationality, ethnicity, religion,…

This account of practice discusses the learning of a set that met for five years as part of undertaking a research degree. It focuses on questions relating to the role of the facilitator that emerge from the experience of an action learning set that was first helped by an external facilitator and that, after 18 months, became self-facilitating.…

This response suggests that Inclusive Cultural Empathy (ICE) is a process that multiculturally aware group counselors can use to help group members move beyond the confines of social privilege and culture-bound assumptions that divide members and impede communication. (Contains 1 figure.)

This case is centered on the term "aestheticism", the discrimination or bias against those who do not possess the most desired physical qualities. In this particular case, the authors have chosen to highlight how African American administrators might be selected, assigned, or appointed based on their physical attributes and characteristics. The…

Discusses the subtle group dynamics that come into play when choosing seats at conferences or meetings. Asserts that seating choice may be influenced by early school experiences, an obsessive-compulsive nature, sociability, or a person's concern about lunchtime. (BH)

This study investigated the effects of personality on attitudes toward academic group work among a sample of 225 business students. Data were collected using pre-existing scales for measuring personality and attitudes toward academic group work. Specifically, the Neo-FFI scale was used to measure the five personality dimensions of openness,…

A grounded theory research study employing network analysis as a means of facilitating the latter stages of the coding process was conducted at a selective university that competes at the highest level of college football. The purpose of the study was to develop a better understanding of how interactive dynamics and controlling mechanisms, such as…

Today's educational reform literature abounds with convincing testimonials of schools operating as professional learning communities. The model is highly sought but often misunderstood and shallowly applied. Although much evidence exists regarding the characteristics of effective learning communities, the literature review reveals a gap in the…

A common (although not universal) goal of feminist teachers is to create a "safe environment" in the classroom. The meaning of that term, however, varies considerably--some hope students will feel they can share personal feelings and experiences without fear of judgment, some that students will feel they can state their opinions without fear of…

This article describes the theory and practice of Art Therapy Connection (ATC), an inner city, yearlong school art therapy program in Chicago, IL, for students identified as being at risk of failing grades 3-12. The ATC program helps to address the mental health needs of students living in impoverished communities and the constant threats they…