Selected comments on Hathaway and Fiedler's paper by a sociologist, an economist, a political scientist, a K-12 facility planner, a campus facility planner, and a school architect precede a discussion of how the paper can serve as a planning guide for school facilities. (MLF)

Analyzed communication among severely disturbed adolescents, recording interactions from computer-based "conferences" and small group face-to-face sessions, to determine differences in indications of psychological state, interpersonal interest, and expressive style. Content analysis revealed that computer-mediated communication was more, and more…

To examine the effect of group support and physical activity on 75 physiological and psychological health indicators in women 40 to 64 years of age, 50 subjects were placed in exercise, discussion, exercise and discussion, or control groups. Pre- and postprogram psychosocial and physical measures were analyzed, and implications for prevention and…

Concludes that video teleconferencing may be a more effective method of dealing with complex group problem solving than face-to-face meetings. Discusses reasons for and implications of this finding. (PD)

A homeroom guidance program in middle schools is one way of helping adolescents adjust to the changes in their lives. One such program at a middle school in Massachusetts strives to develop a supportive group atmosphere where students can discuss adolescent issues and obtain useful advice. (TE)

Teachers can aid students in solving problems by developing self-help groups in the classroom. As group facilitator, the teacher has students identify their problems, respond to problems, develop action plans, and then follow up on progress. (DF)

Investigated how majority and minority arguments are positively or negatively responded to by group members and the effects of such responses on the polarization process. Demonstrated that reactions to minority arguments, not the forwarding of minority arguments per se, were significantly correlated with the degree of group polarization. (PD)

Describes the use of value analysis exercises to promote small group and class discussion. (MM)

Discusses previous research on the potential of small-group activities in both research and instructional contexts, and considers the use of a science task as a context for group problem-solving. (MLH)

Describes a college drug education course designed to: (1) devote class time to expressing and clarifying values; (2) allow students to study topics of interest to them; (3) use an essay final examination instead of a multiple choice test; and (4) study over-the-counter products. (Author/SL)

Described are group processes of goal setting and class meetings which may help emotionally disturbed and behavior disordered children to pinpoint and control their problem behaviors. (CL)

Civics courses are a source of civic skill development, yet not all American students receive civics instruction. This fact sheet reports evidence on the effect of civic education on the civic skill levels of young people. It uses "average treatment effects" to report the effects of studying various civics topics on civic skills. Civic…

"Courage Work," based on the writings of Parker Palmer, often involves the use of poetry as a vehicle for exploring and examining teachers' inner lives. This paper discusses how poetry was used with a group of undergraduate preservice elementary teachers in the Fall 2004 term, to explore how students responded to the poetry, particularly in light…

For one freshman composition instructor, the method that has brought more students out of their shells in her classes over the past three years is group conferencing. Adapted from compositionist Donald Murray's method of conferencing with individual students to discuss their papers, group conferencing gives students the opportunity to discuss…

The culminating course in the Human Biology core sequence at Stanford University, California, is a course that considers the relationship between the social and natural sciences and the development of wise public policy. A Web-based forum was developed to facilitate weekly debate on policy challenges presented in this course, and this forum was…