Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this research is to evaluate the available literature on Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVEs). It aims to investigate the impacts, guiding principles, and problems of CVEs, giving light to their revolutionary potential in a variety of sectors, such as education, healthcare, and gaming. Background: CVEs have…

Instructors of college level business courses utilize group assignments to stress the importance of collaborative work in professional organizations for students. How instructors determine team formation, whether assigning students to groups or allowing students to form their own groups, could impact the effectiveness of the group regarding their…

This chapter describes best practices for the peer evaluation process in online team-based learning (TBL). Formative peer evaluation is an essential element of effective course delivery for online TBL classes, and when done well, shapes a group of individuals with a shared set of tasks into an interdependent team of learners. More generally,…

The thought of group work, or CLC Groups often strikes fear and loathing in the hearts and minds of both students and instructors. According to Swan, Shen, and Hiltz (2006) collaborative work presents the possibilities of many difficulties including a largely unequal contribution of group participants, an inability of the students to manage the…

The integration of hard and soft skills has become increasingly important to employers. Colleges of agriculture and natural sciences can facilitate the development of these skills in their students. The purpose of this study was to explore impacts of a behavioral style learning unit on soft skill development with 15 students enrolled in a…

The importance of parents to the success of students in schools and to school improvement has long been established and acknowledged by researchers and educators. In this article, we present a fourth--generation model of school--family linkages, one anchored in understandings of schools as communities as opposed to schools as institutions. Our…

The authors sought to gain insight on how students view group learning and development as part of their business education experience. Specifically, the authors categorize benefits and challenges using S. A. Wheelan's (2005) integrated model of group development. Additionally, they investigate (from the students' perspective) best practices that…

Organizations today often require collaboration in the form of work teams. Many tasks completed within organizations, whether in the workplace or in academia, however, can be beyond the capabilities of individuals alone. Productive teamwork and cooperative activities in business are expected and can begin very early in a person's career. The…

Many educational models emphasize that best instructional practices are effective when working collaboratively with stakeholders. Professional learning communities focus on learning, collaborative endeavors, and shared accountability. The purpose of this article is to introduce an effectual framework for developing school counselor instructional…

The explosion of technology and information has resulted in major changes in education in the twenty-first century. School librarians have a vital role to play in efforts to ensure that students are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed and participate in the digital society of the twenty-first century. This role presents an…

This case study describes collaboration between business executives and superintendents to influence local/regional K-12 educational change. Specifically, we examine participant like-mindedness about the ethics and appropriate focus of K-12 intermediary collaboration, the extent of democratic functioning, and key individuals to involve. Data…

Utilizing critical and sociocultural approaches to teaching and learning, this article presents data from seven middle grade students at a Title I school regarding their experiences in a student-constructed learning group. Findings reveal students' desires and abilities to constructively participate in work with others that runs contrary to common…

Collaborative inter-professional practice (IPP) is hailed increasingly by policy-makers and a growing number of practitioners as "the" new form of professional practice for those working within and across services for children and young people. Based on desk research, and drawing upon an increasingly invasive use of the term…

The capacity for schools to improve student learning represents an important area of scholarship for policymakers, schools, and scholars. In understanding how to support student learning, the notion of school leadership has emerged as a key area of research interest. Understanding the influence of this literature in schools is important. As such,…

Students and faculty are grappling with learning teams in the online environment - more than half of all higher education organizations offer online courses (Hoffman, 2006). As online course developers try to replicate the best practices of traditional classrooms, the asynchronous technology of the Internet has added great capability while also…