Collaboration skills have been identified as an important educational outcome, not just as a means to enable learning mechanisms to be enacted, but also as a demonstrable skill of interest to assessment practitioners. In recent years, there has been an ambition to develop models of assessment that are underpinned by the collaborative process, and…

The identification of conflict and development of common ground, important steps in the interdisciplinary research process, become challenging when applied to solving complex real-world problems that involve opposing interest groups, especially those whose members do not possess academic or interdisciplinary training. This article examines…

This paper focuses on the parameters of a semester-long project called the "Do Good" project, geared towards developing small group communication skills in undergraduate students. This project highlights participation in a social engagement project that allows students to bridge concepts learned in small group communication lectures…

School teams regularly meet to review academic and social problems of individual students, groups of students, or their school in general. While the need for problem solving and recommendations for how to do it are widely documented, there is very limited evidence reflecting the extent to which teams effectively engage in a systematic or effective…

Counselors often engage in conflict mediation in professional practice. A model for understanding the complex and subtle nature of conflict resolution is presented. The ecosystemic complexity theory of conflict is offered to assist practitioners in navigating the fog of conflict. Theoretical assumptions are discussed with implications for clinical…

Many school principals say that the toughest part of the day is recess. That's because recess is when most trouble starts. When the author asked one principal recently about recess, she promptly rattled off a list of headaches, such as "the teasing, the fights, the bullying, the injuries, the referrals." In this article, the author describes…

Defines the cooperative group decision-making process of consensus, contrasts it with voting and compromise, and presents an illustrative situation. Describes individual consensus skills, the role of group facilitator, pitfalls of the process, and use of consensus in educational settings and large organizations. (SV)

Discusses a group problem-solving method in conflict resolution which consists of three phases: problem identification (four steps); analysis (two steps); and synthesis (three steps). A matrix format for evaluating alternative solutions in terms of essential and desirable criteria or conditions, with a complete analysis of each step, is included.…

Little experimental research exists concerning third party mediation. Possible dimensions for study are type of control, including outcome control (of the third party over negotiation outcomes) and process control (third party influence on the negotiation process); and type of intervention, i.e., process or issue oriented interventions. To examine…

The problem-solving method most often used in problem-solving groups is likely to create relationships among members of the group that will lead to a win-lose solution. To avoid this, members can list conditions they feel a solution must meet before they can accept it. (Author)

Used the Interpersonal Conflict Coding Scheme to examine the conflict expression episode and the conflict resolution episode and to evaluate utterances of six problem-solving groups. Developed interaction profiles of conflict expression and conflict resolution episodes and initial, middle, and final group stages. (RC)

The author claims that open communication and extended dialog can be destructive, while bargaining and compromise can be more successful in resolving conflict. She discusses origins of the communication myth, situations where communication fails, alternatives to destructive dialogue, acknowledging incompatibility, the bargaining process, and…

This paper describes two attempts to utilize a conflict resolution approach in academic settings. The approach includes: (1) the significance of the structure of communication between parties in conflict; (2) the understanding of face-to-face interaction processes; (3) problems of perceptual distortion; and (4) political socializations. The…

Discusses how intra-tribal disputes affect Indian unity. (NQ)