This article discusses techniques for organizing large classes to allow smooth transitions from whole-class discussions to individual and group work. Topics discussed include how to form groups, keeping track of groups, using colors to organize students, setting expectations, and establishing consequences.

Purpose: Teams, teamwork and team learning have been the subject of many research studies over the last decades. This article aims at investigating and confirming the Team Learning Beliefs and Behaviours (TLB&B) model within a very specific population, i.e. police and firemen teams. Within this context, the paper asks whether the team's…

The vitality of socio-technical networks, like online communities and social networks, is predominantly dependent upon active member participation. In most socio-technical networks a minority of members participate more than others and thus play key roles that sustain the value of the network. The overarching objective of this study was to extend…

The various tools available on Web 2.0 enable the interactions in a Community of Practice (CoP) to be optimized and may discourage the participation of members. Thus, the choice of the tools is fundamental for the growth and maintenance of a CoP. With a focus on this and, from the analysis of the characteristics of the group and the activities…

This study investigates the interactional work involved in ratifying mutual participation in online, multiparty, voice-based chat rooms. The purpose of this article is to provide a preliminary sketch of how talk and participation is managed in a spoken communication environment that comprises interactants who are not physically copresent but are…

The study investigated the academic literacy socialization of students at U.S. universities from the Gulf Region--Oman, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates (UAE). International students were contacted and asked if they would participate in the project. Fifty three students responded to the survey and interview, 77% of the respondents were male…

Research with adults has demonstrated a "black sheep effect" (BSE) whereby, relative to evaluations of normative group members, ingroup deviants are derogated more than outgroup deviants. The developmental subjective group dynamics (DSGD) model holds that the BSE should develop during middle childhood when children apply wider social…

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how amateur choral singers experience collective group support as a method of learning "art music" choral work. Findings are derived from a grounded-theory based, socio-musical case study of an amateur "art music" Bach Choir, in the process of rehearsing and performing the Mass in B…

In this study, the relationships among gender, empathetic responsiveness, perceived group norms, prosocial affiliations, and bullying roles were examined for 262 fifth- through eighth-grade students (n = 141 males; n = 121 females). According to the Bullying Participant Roles Survey (BPRS), participants were identified as defenders (n = 135;…

This "self-ethnography" complements the other articles in this special issue by spotlighting a set of key challenges facing international research teams. The study is focused on the relationship between information and communication technology (ICT)-based collaboration and research team dynamics. Our diverse team, drawn from researchers…

Whether moral conceptions are universal or culture-specific is controversial in moral psychology. One option is to refrain from imposing theoretical constraints and to ask laypeople from different cultures how "they" conceptualize morality. Our article adopts this approach by examining laypeople's associations of moral character in…

Using the lens of Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, activity theory, and Engeström's activity systems analysis, this qualitative study explores students' experiences in the context of a sixteen-week transpacific collaboration between seven students at Northern Illinois University (NIU) and seven students from Shandong Normal University (SDNU),…

Collaborative learning strategies are widely used in higher education to deepen learning, promote team-building skills and achieve course learning objectives. Using peer evaluation is an important strategy to ensure that engaged and active students are rewarded for their efforts, and to discourage loafing within groups. However, less is known…

This article presents an evaluation of an intergenerational education experience at the University of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain). For this evaluation, following a review of the literature regarding the state of the issue, we undertake an analysis of benefits and disadvantages from the perspective of the participants. Among the benefits we find…

Research collaboration is studied in different research areas, so as to provide useful insights on how researchers combine existing distributed scientific knowledge and transform it into new knowledge. Commonly used metrics for measuring research collaborative activity include, among others, the co-authored publications (concerned with who works…