Current studies on group work illustrate the importance of student collaboration for enhancing conceptual understanding and participation in science. Research also documents the roles students adopt within group work, with some studies illustrating the underlying power relations. This study sought to expand on prior research literature to…

This article investigates how group speaking test candidates manage group talk during assessed, time-limited tasks. Drawing on recorded and transcribed data, it explores how higher-scoring learners manage spoken assessment tasks through their talk, moving conversations on or slowing them down in order to perform and complete the tasks'…

In this article, we explore how adults in a community shared reading group discuss the notoriously difficult poem 'The Emperor of Ice-Cream' by the American poet Wallace Stevens. Drawing on Hannah Arendt's notion of action, we explore how participants negotiate the poem, actively constructing meanings from their shared personal experiences rather…

One benefit of working in groups is that group members can learn from each other how to perform the task, a phenomenon called group-to-individual transfer (G-I transfer). In the context of quantitative judgments, G-I transfer means that group members improve their individual accuracy as a consequence of exchanging task-relevant information. This…

What is it like to be a gifted adolescent girl in today's world? Situated in the context of a five-session group activity, called Gifted+Grounded, the purpose of this qualitative inquiry study was to better understand how two groups of gifted adolescent girls (Group 1 = 11, Group 2 = 14; Ages 13-16) made meaning of being "gifted." The…

The author discusses how to teach students to extend economic models using in-class scaffolding assignments, supported by discussions and workshops. Methods include discussions of a model's strengths and weaknesses; small group, in-class assignments that provide steps toward model extension; informal presentations of the work resulting from these…

In this study, we assessed the communication structure in an educational online learning environment using social network analysis (SNA). The communication structure was examined with respect to time, and instructor's participation. The course was implemented using ELGG, a network learning environment, blended with face-to-face sessions over a…

Collaborative learning is something that all students will employ once they finish their formal education, and while it isn't something that can be objectively tested by standardized exams, it is something that can be taught. Learning to work in groups is simultaneously a way of learning and a skill worth learning. Teachers should acknowledge that…

This study investigated the negotiations and challenges experienced by five Chinese ESL (English as a second language) students of Commerce through their engagement in an academic presentation in a regular content course at a Canadian university. Multiple sources of data were collected, including interviews, class observations, group discussions,…

Presents five principles for conducting effective, successful meetings, which include: address only one topic at a time, use only one process at a time, achieve interactive and balanced participation, use cognitive conflict productively, and have all understand and agree to meeting roles. (SM)

Compares the assumptions, strengths, and weaknesses of seven approaches frequently used in the public sector to involve large numbers of people in planning and implementing change. The approaches are real-time strategic change, search conferences, future searches, strategic options development and analysis, strategic choice, technology of…

Discusses a theory of leadership effectiveness in small discussion/decision making groups developed to facilitate discussion and goal efficacy. Develops four leadership styles (coordinator, inventor, enthusiast, and director) focusing on two critical questions the leader must address. Discusses implications of the model for leadership training and…

Investigated effects of an individual's ability to process information (conceptual level) on the choice of alternative verbal conflict behaviors (tactics) in a small-group context. Members of the higher conceptual level study group made a higher percentage of overall responses, while members of the lower conceptual level group used avoidance and…

Examines two days of teacher-led large group discussion in a 5th grade class about a mathematical question intended to support student exploration of relationships among fraction and decimal representations and rational numbers. Illuminates the teacher's work in supporting student thinking through the use of a mathematical question embedded in a…

Study (n=62) at suburban community college tested method of conceptual change in which treatment students worked in small cooperative groups on tasks aimed at eliciting their misconceptions so that they could be discussed in contrast to scientific conception that had been taught in direct instruction. Treatment group had significantly lower…