In April 1984, 26 schools were selected as pilot sites for the Minnesota School Effectiveness Program (MSEP). A leadership team composed of four teachers, the building principal, and a district office representative from each site participated in a week-long training session sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Education. In August 1984,…

Group settings offer the elderly a unique outlet for interpersonal communication and can alleviate social isolation and aloneness. Group cohesiveness and instillation of hope are two curative factors in the group setting. Persons working with the elderly must be aware of their special problems and also be sensitive to their own age bias. Group…

Students must make decisions about their lifestyle, future careers, academic pursuits, and classroom and school issues. Learning to make effective decisions for themselves and for society is an important aspect of competence. They can learn decision making through interacting and solving problems with others. A central ingredient for successful…

As increasing numbers of undergraduate students in higher education are engaging in online group discussions as part of their course work, there is a need to gain insights into the nature of the experience of learning in this new context. Previous studies have reported benefits for students who engaged in online discussions, but few describe these…

This investigation assessed the importance of orientation behavior on group consensus and the individual satisfaction of participants. Students in four sections of an introductory speech course rated each classmate on a seven-point scale according to orientation behavior as manifested in the ability to resolve conflict, reinforce agreement,…

This study examined the effects of three modes of story reconstruction training on the development of children's story comprehension. One hundred and eight children in grades K to 2 were randomly assigned to one of three training conditions: thematic-fantasy play, adult lead discussion, or drawing. The children were read three books on separate…

Four treatment conditions were selected for a study examining the effects of immediate video feedback of oral assignments on group discussants' self-perceived anxiety, participants' satisfaction, and discussion quality. The subjects were 80 students enrolled in basic speech and business/professional speech communication courses. Twenty subjects…

This paper addresses the problem of college students' consumption of alcoholic beverages. A brief look at student-oriented alcohol education programs developed by university student personnel administrators is followed by a description of "My Brother's Keeper" (MBK), one fraternity's approach to alcohol abuse prevention for its 10,000…

The learning module described here provides systematic training for secondary school teachers and students in discussion skills. The content focuses on techniques to facilitate reflective, open inquiry into controversial issues. Methods of setting up and running workshops in group discussion are described. Information is provided on the purposes…

The Structured Discussion Approach (SDA) is a continuing inservice program in which faculty members mutually decide upon and attempt to solve common instructional problems. The five steps in the SDA are: identify the major instructional problems felt by the faculty, discuss with the faculty the framework behind the SDA, prepare for the outside…

This study employs a time-series analysis of naturalistic developmental functioning to describe characteristics of transition in social development. A special education classroom of eight preadolescents, ages 11 and 12, provided subjects for this study. Transitional patterns in social cognitive development were studied in children's…

TO EVALUATE THE COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE CIRCULAR LETTER, NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING, AND FARM VISIT IN GETTING A NEW FARM PRACTICE ADOPTED ON RICE FARMS IN ST. LANDRY PARISH, LOUISIANA, THREE SAMPLE GROUPS WERE SELECTED AT RANDOM FROM THE AGRICULTURAL STABILIZATION AND CONSERVATION SERVICE RICE GROWERS LIST AND EXPOSED TO ONE OF THE TEACHING…

Anthropologists have indicated that the need to act politically and to avoid the appearance of such action is marked in egalitarian societies. The perils of confrontation in such societies often foster indirect and highly allusive speech. This paper invesitgates the relationship between direct and indirect speech in an Indo-Fijian community which…

PLANNED FOR INSTRUCTORS, BOTH LAY AND PROFESSIONAL, IN UNIVERSITY EXTENSION MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS, THIS HANDBOOK PRESENTS A BRIEF SUMMARY OF BASIC PRINCIPLES, TOOLS, AND TECHNIQUES OF ADULT INSTRUCTION. AFTER A DISCUSSION OF THE STUDENT AND HIS NEEDS, THERE ARE SUGGESTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE PRESENTATION (LESSON PLAN AND WORKING…