The paper develops a theory of costly communication in which the sender's and receiver's motivations and abilities endogenously determine the communication mode and the transfer of knowledge. Communication is modeled as a problem of moral hazard in teams, in which the sender and receiver select persuasion and message elaboration efforts. The model…

When writers plan a document together, they rely on gestures as well as speech and writing in constructing a common representation of their group document. This case study of a student technical writing group explores how group members used gestures to create a conversational interaction space that they then treated like a physical text that they…

In a time when nearly half the country's employees are currently working in self-directed work groups, successful team working within organizations is more important than ever. The Problem-Possibility-Pursuit-Presentation (PPPP) Portfolio Project is designed to give students an opportunity to experience teamwork in a meaningful fashion. This…

This article presents a multilevel model of group learning that focuses on antecedents and consequences of interpersonal congruence, transactive memory, and feedback processes. The model holds that members' self-verification motives and situational conditions (e.g., member diversity and task demands) give rise to identity negotiation behaviors…

Although functional behavior assessment (FBA) has been widely recognized as a promising practice for providing proactive interventions with students exhibiting challenging behaviors in typical schools, questions persist as to how FBA should best be trained and used in such public settings. Debate has balanced the issue of what is practical for…

Because employers want workers who can successfully run meetings and manage teams with diverse characteristics, conflict management is a skill that every business graduate should possess. The purpose of the study was to identify the most popular and effective ways that students used to manage conflicts when working on team projects. A survey was…

This paper describes how two research methodologies, grounded theory and action learning, were combined to produce a rigorous yet creative and flexible method for field study of a recent IT-based innovation, virtual teams. Essentially, an action learning program was used to train facilitators of virtual teams and generate research data while…

Online learning is now a reality, with distributed learning and blended learning becoming more widely used in Higher Education. Novel ways in which undergraduate and postgraduate learning material can be presented are being developed, and methods for helping students to learn online are needed, especially if we require them to collaborate with…

Transdisciplinarity has been a veritable mantra, especially in the humanities and social sciences, for twenty years or more. Yet academic structures and research application requirements still struggle to come to grips with cross-boundary research and teaching. Making universities more trans-discipline-friendly is a tricky task, however. As Wendy…

In education, there is no one best way to do anything. There are compelling reasons why some courses should be taught in longer segments of time, which the block schedule provides. There are also compelling reasons why some classes should be taught in shorter segments. At Watauga High School in Boone, North Carolina, an alternative schedule that…

There is widespread acceptance of formalized cooperative learning (CL) programs in the schools. Research evidence of CL's power has been documented, (Vermette, 1998) but there is still an interesting dilemma for early childhood educators: a great deal of the research on CL has been done at grade levels above those holding children from 4 to 8…

Investigates the ways in which Alcatel Telecom attempts to smooth the transition of its employees from technical to business manager. Focuses on the Alcatel centre at Antwerp University, Belgium, which provides training in entrepreneurship, leadership, teamwork, the Alcatel culture and strategy, the dynamics of the telecommunications market,…

The role of interdisciplinary teaming in the induction of new teachers was examined at two middle level schools through the perceptions of three participant groups: new teachers, mentors, and principals. Data collected through a mixed-method design indicated that participants perceived inter disciplinary teams as an integral part of the induction…

A novel approach to cross-disciplinary and group learning, known as interlaboratory collaborations, was developed. The method mimics an industrial or research setting, fosters teamwork, and emphasizes the importance of good communication skills in the sciences.

Discourse, especially dialogic communication between students in collaborative problem-solving groups, plays a central role in educational reforms informed by learning science. This study examined the quality of discourse in problem-based learning groups in a university course. The study found a low incidence of high quality dialogue (dialogic…