Explored how athletics meets the challenges associated with creating a community out of difference and how its processes can serve as a model for higher education. Interviews revealed traits that facilitate community-building: team members share a common goal; engage in intense, frequent interaction; share adversity; have a common enemy; and…

Describes a workshop to prepare business administration students for working in project groups, including orientation, reflection on experiences with groups, and a case study. Contains 19 references, the case study, and a handout of recommendations for improving group process. (SK)

A series of 10 workshops was held to identify racial problems and improve relations in a public service agency. The workshops focused on identifying cultural/historical myths underlying stereotypes and facilitating small group interaction to address work-related racial problems. (SK)

Uses the Cold War rhetorical vision as a paradigm case illustrating the emerging theory of group consciousness, part of Symbolic Convergence Theory. Explains that three streams of communication (consciousness creating, consciousness raising, and consciousness sustaining) characterize the life cycle of a rhetorical vision. Demonstrates that…

There is a definite distinction between violence and aggression that must be recognized before solutions to problems can be addressed. Some ways to deal with violence and aggression are teachers who invest time and energy in student relationships, opportunities for self-expression and physical activity, real-world activities, and cooperative…

Reports on an analysis through a symbolic interactionist perspective that indicates that hazing occurs because fraternities view it as a necessary component of their initiation rites. Posits that fraternities use systematic manipulation of symbols, social relations, and definitions of situations while reshaping the pledge's "self."…

Describes Tele-Immersion, and Advanced Applications initiative of the Internet 2 to develop group collaboration and interactivity beyond the current practices of the Internet. Discusses research areas that relate to this realm of virtual reality, including depth perception and rendering, which maps digital representations to a human compatible…

The ability to see interpersonal and group processes beyond the individual level is an essential skill for group therapists (Crouch, Bloch & Wanlass, 1994; Dies, 1994; Fuhriman & Burlingame, 1994). In addition to interpersonal therapy models (e.g., Sullivan and Yalom), there are a number of systems theory models that offer a broad array of…

The present study investigates the differential effects of cooperative learning with or without metacognitive instruction on making sense of graphs. Participants were 196 eighth-graders who studied in six classrooms. Data were analyzed by using quantitative and qualitative methods. Results indicated that students who were exposed to the…

In contrast to research in which an individual leader is assigned or expected to emerge, musical theater productions provide an opportunity to explore how leadership is shared among the director, assistant director, music director, choreographer, and stage manager in a naturally occurring group. This ethnographic study explores how one community…

This paper argues for the influence of the distribution of instructional time on group cohesion in the foreign language classroom and postulates that concentrating classroom time enhances group cohesion. To test the hypothesis, a comparative classroom study of two groups of Spanish learners in their second year of learning, one following an…

The greatest challenge of a facilitator is correcting individual or collective behaviors that detract from the group's work. Preparing to intervene and knowing when to do so are critical to effective facilitation. To facilitate means "to make easier." In conducting meetings, the facilitator serves the group by making easier or more effective the…

Background: Despite a vast literature on collaborative learning (CL), there is little research on preparing students to work collaboratively. Aims: This two-phase evaluation investigated whether team-skills training could enhance the performance of collaborative groups through the introduction of a team development programme to a group-based…

These proceedings contain the papers of the 14th International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA 2017), 18-20 October 2017, which has been organized by the International Association for Development of the Information Society (IADIS) and endorsed by the Japanese Society for Information and Systems in…

Organizational theory and personal behaviors are both shaped by contemporary thinking and theories regarding spirituality, history, and the order, shape, and direction of modern culture. Complexity theory, discussed in this article, offers some helpful insights into appreciating the relationships and connections often overlooked in today's…