The Higher Education Management Institute's (HEMI) management development and training program, designed to improve college and university performance by helping managers understand and carry out their responsibilities, is discussed. Management teams, program organization, identifying needs, action planning, management training, and program…

Traces the development of an approach to studying face-to-face interaction that proposes to expound the rules or procedures of interaction and to account for observed behavior in terms of how it functions as a communicational system. A selective literature review and recommendations for further study are included. (EJS)

Analysis of results of a questionnaire to measure any relationship between mid-management students' perception of their class as a social group or learning environment and their achievement in class indicates that classroom environment is not a factor in achievement. (MF)

In 1975-76 school year, a group-guidance program was initiated for trainable mentally retarded children at Austin Opportunity School in San Antonio, Texas. Parent groups were also begun. The Program confirmed that severely retarded students can learn rudiments of group process and new ways of interacting. (Author/MC)

Describes application of cooperative-learning techniques to a translation course, using small group discussions to collectively arrive at more in-depth understanding of source texts and greater grammatical correctness, accuracy, and faithfulness. Argues that social support is important as participants share difficulties, gain confidence and…

Examines assumptions underlying the use of groupwork in the teaching of English as a foreign language (FL) in China. The article concludes that the primary role of small group discussion in FL learning should be in the development of collaborative learning strategies to master content rather than interpersonal communication in the target language.…

In a study of class participation, a survey of 1,059 college students and 49 professors revealed that students perceived seven factors in student participation, four of which were class traits, none professor traits; and that faculty perceived three variables, two class traits and one student trait. Implications of these findings for teaching,…

Discusses several online and offline community-building strategies that may be used to foster a positive social dynamic in online courses. Introduces a "communal scaffolding" model which lets instructors conceptualize how affective and cognitive learning are intertwined in online learning. A "communal architect" is someone who erects a communal…

To investigate collaborative learning with multimedia, four groups of three ninth-grade math students worked for one hour with a multimedia package presenting the relationships between distance, speed, and time. Interactions were videotaped and transcribed. Groups engaging in cycles of observation, reflection, discussion, and feedback were seen to…

Examines the processes and interpretations underlying communication in English between Island Puerto Ricans and continental Americans. The article views cross-cultural communication through a lens incorporating the way members of each group interpret their own language and behavior as well as those of the other group. (50 references) (CK)

A graduate student in a nontraditional experiential program in environmental education at the Audubon Expedition Institute (Belfast, Maine) reflects on an experience in which she and her peers faced an ethical decision about whether to pay a fee to paper companies in order to hike in the North Woods. Describes the processes that allowed the group…

Examined the relation between perceived dissimilarity to peers and several peer-reported characteristics in 478 students from 26 fourth- through sixth-grade classrooms. Found that perceived dissimilarity was related positively to perceptions that a student was odd, socially excluded and withdrawn, bullying, and inattentive; dissimilarity related…

An alternating individual and group-oriented reinforcement contingency did not generate consistent levels of supportive peer behaviors between two preschoolers with handicaps and their socially competent peers. Two socially competent children were then taught to deliver supportive prompts to their peers during dramatic play, increasing the…

Investigated effects on group member satisfaction and communication behavior when male and female leaders either maintained or lost reward power during problem-solving sessions. Found group member communication was more substantive and positive when leaders maintained reward power than when they lost it; communication behavior was also affected by…

Presents a 33-item annotated bibliography of articles and books in 6 areas essential for both novice instructors and those experienced in assigning collaborative writing: (1) research implications; (2) theoretical foundations; (3) cooperative learning; (4) small group dynamics; (5) pedagogical practices; and (6) textbooks. (RS)