An important part of "doing" science is engaging in collaborative science practices. To better understand how to support these practices, we need to consider how students collaboratively construct and represent shared understanding in complex, problem-oriented, and authentic learning environments. This research presents a case study…

This paper describes research which investigated how a group of 23 postgraduate student teachers from a wide variety of international backgrounds with a broad range of previous experience perceived the significance of their own and others' prior experience in accomplishing directed collaborative tasks, related to their coursework, in…

Three experiments ("N" = 130) used a minimal group manipulation to show that just perceived membership in a social group boosts young children's motivation for and learning from group-relevant tasks. In Experiment 1, 4-year-old children assigned to a minimal "puzzles group" persisted longer on a challenging puzzle than children identified as the…

Many joint decisions in everyday life (e.g., Which bar is less crowded?) depend on approximate enumeration, but very little is known about the psychological characteristics of counting together. Here we systematically investigated collective approximate enumeration. Pairs of participants made individual and collective enumeration judgments in a…

This article depicts the intervention strategy of two faculty members on a dysfunctional student council in a residential college setting. The council demonstrated poor collaboration and productivity, which indicated signs of distrust. The group intervention helped to expose the students' lack of organization and need to learn more about each…

Information technology has played several important roles in group decision making, such as communication support and decision support. Little is known about how information technology can be used to persuade members of a group to reach a consensus. In this dissertation, I aim to address the issues that are related to the role of visual…

Based on an interactionist framework, this article examines how followers of a contemporary Chinese religious movement, Falun Gong, deal with a crisis situation and sustain their conviction in the absence of their charismatic leader. Data were collected during a yearlong ethnography of the Falun Gong in Chicago and Hong Kong. The findings reveal…

The purpose of this study was to identify student growth factors during a semester long Master's level group counseling class. Results indicated that 12 growth factors accounted for 86% of the total number of critical incidents that participants reported as influencing their personal growth and awareness during the group experience. Two other…

One has heard about personal learning networks (PLNs), but what are they and how are they different than professional learning communities (PLCs)? Find out how PLNs can help a teacher pursue his/her own professional interests and be a better teacher. This article answers questions related to PLNs such as: (1) What are personal learning networks?;…

Universities across the United States have an increasing interest in international education. Increasing global awareness through educational collaborations will promote greater cross-cultural understanding and build effective relationships with diverse communities. This paper documents one university's effort to build an effective international…

University research capacity building has now become an increasingly important task in both developed and less developed countries. In this capacity building endeavour, research late-developer universities in particular need to develop a sound research organizational structure. However, what elements are needed in organizing and structuring…

Building effective school community partnerships requires recognition of barriers along with time and commitment from both the school district and community agencies to overcome those barriers. It may seem overwhelming to fully address each of the challenges while attempting to implement each element of effective school partnerships all at once,…

This paper presents a simple model of the provision of higher educational services that considers and exemplifies nonlinear, stochastic, and potentially chaotic processes. I use the methods of system dynamics to simulate these processes in the context of a particular sociologically interesting case, namely that of the Turkish higher education…

Facilitating meaningful interaction among students is a significant challenge of teaching in the online environment. This paper presents a semester-long approach that enables quality interaction among group members within undergraduate online group communication courses while experiencing the challenges of working with geographically dispersed…

Chemistry taught in high schools typically has group interaction components designed to provide opportunities for groups of two or more students to collaborate. Such opportunities, however, can lead to diminished learning among some students, as domination, group dissonance, and/or non-participation among group members can derail the collaborative…