How to strengthen technician education to meet the needs of the biotechnology industry was the question before the 50 people who participated in the "Educating Biotechnicians for Future Industry Needs" conference from April 28 to 30 in Scottsdale, Arizona. The participants were from higher education, secondary schools, industry, government, and…

Nontraditional students are rapidly becoming the majority group on campuses across America. These students are often hard pressed for time and in order to provide them with equal learning opportunities many universities and colleges are currently responding by offering classes using a variety of delivery methods and formats. In this study,…

Introduction: This exploratory study examines Canadian physicians' participation in online social activities and learning discussions, perceptions of online social closeness, barriers and motivators to participation, and perceptions of the impact of course duration and face-to-face meetings on learning. Methods: Formative evaluations were…

This paper reports on empirical research into formative assessment conducted in a blended learning environment within a professional doctorate in education (EdD.) programme in an English university, focusing primarily on peer discussion forum activity. This was conceptualised within sociocultural learning theories, where learning entails processes…

The use of online learning is growing very fast in universities. Consequently, understanding how to promote student contribution in asynchronous online discussions, which is considered an integral part of online learning, has become increasingly crucial. Previous research has examined how factors, such as instructor facilitation techniques may…

An examination of the effectiveness of a group leader given varying levels of leader-to-group agreement on issues. (CH)

Suggests ways of teaching how to plan and conduct conference-type meetings. (CH)

This paper introduces a new method for the detection of patterns or phases in small groups based on fuzzy pattern recognition procedures. It tells how the method provides an accurate description of all the patterns of group interaction, detects rather than assumes the number of patterns and their length, and is based on fuzzy set theory so that it…

If a small group is conceptualized as a communication system the operation of which generates discussion, that discussion is a stationary process to the extent that its parameters do not change significantly over time. This research casts some doubt on the nonstationarity conception of discussion. (Author)

Teachers can help students increase reading comprehension by instituting a student discussion period in which students are encouraged to contribute ideas without risk of ridicule or failure. Teachers introduce the discussion, observe what student participation indicates about comprehension, and summarize the discussion. Such an approach is an…

Problem solving groups have helped young pupils to solve their social and behavioral problems. Examples of students' progress are offered and the program's expansion is described. (CL)

The adversary system is a bad bargain for everybody, these authors believe, since insecurity and fear are the results. They describe an approach they found successful and recommend that teachers and students also use it. (Editor)

This book discusses the issues involved in ethical decision-making in a way that children and adolescents can comprehend. Kids will learn to recognize the impact of their actions upon others and on their own sense of well-being. These developmentally appropriate activities help children and youth internalize the concepts associated with "doing the…