A five-year experience with process-oriented discussion groups at annual four-day, off-campus retreats attended by University of Maryland School of Medicine students, faculty, and "significant others" is reported. Questionnaires sent to participants after the retreats indicated significant satisfaction with them. (Author/MLW)

Career orientation rap sessions provide the opportunity for severely physically handicapped adolescents to talk to people with similar interests and experiences. The handicapped adult discussion leader shares personal experiences to encourage the adolescents to find what works for them. (SEW)

Two brief scales were proposed to assess effectiveness of teaching in laboratory and seminar/discussion group classes. (Author)

Discusses the processes, objectives, and hoped-for results of a series of film workshops. The following topics are addressed: (1) the production of short films by the group, (2) facilitation of a film club, and (3) film analysis. The contribution made by the workshops to personal development and intercultural relationships is discussed. (AMH)

No single leadership style insures success. The relationship between leader and group members is more important. Healthy, cohesive groups tend to follow a developmental scheme beginning with testing limits and ending with commitment that leads toward personal effectiveness. (JAC)

The Danes and the Swedes have perfected a form of true community education--the study circle. Sparked by social and political issues, these discussion groups have become an integral part of the democratic process in these countries. The history, theory, and possibilities for American use are outlined. (Author/MLW)

Presents discussions that have taken place in an electronic forum by language lab professionals to discuss issues relevant to their everyday work. The discussions covered focus on the practicality of digital audio lab, good programs for instructional technology, "Systeme-D /Atajo" writing assistant programs for French and Spanish, and LCD…

The discussion teaching process learned through use of the case method is discussed. A method for leading a discussion in which authority and control remains in the hands of the faculty member and in which content and theory is still imparted by the discussion leader is described. (MLW)

Presents a theoretical formulation that integrates, within the framework of expectation states theory, theories of the emergence of power-and-prestige orders in status-heterogeneous and homogeneous task-oriented groups. Discusses a model based on this theoretic formulation. Offers a model for predicting participation rates in open interaction…

Transcribes a roundtable discussion among a group of student advisors who studied the history of slavery and worked on the public television project "Africans in America." Discusses issues about presenting history, dealing with slavery and racism, and how the history of slavery impacts students' own identities. (DSK)

Explores "type 3" online educational discussions, in which instructors create an online learning community (OLC) via a threaded discussion that allows students to collect, evaluate, and create their own learning strategies. States that through the OLC, students construct their own understanding of how learning strategies work. (NB)

Suggests that there are three types of online instructional communication: (1) interaction between student and instructor only; (2) interaction between students, controlled by instructor; and (3) student-centered and student-led online discussions. Analyzes first type as a means of moving to other types of exchange. (NB)

Quality in distance education has been studied mostly from a top-down approach, from administration and faculty to students. This study was an attempt to understand quality through the eyes of the distance learner. This study identified undergraduate and graduate students' perceptions about quality in distance education, examining factors…

As part of required coursework, 112 students in an educational psychology course made asynchronous postings to online study groups. Students permitted their course marks to be used for research purposes and completed a questionnaire that assessed a range of psycho-educational characteristics as well as personal interpretations of the online study…

This study goes beyond student perceptions of online learning experiences, satisfaction, and attitudes, to examine the actual participation and dynamics that occur in online discussions and their relationship to student learning outcomes. A content analysis approach was used to investigate students' socio-cognitive processes in an online…