Breaking the Circle of Solitude: Teacher Learning in Small‐Group Settings

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-166
Author(s):  
Ayelet Becher
Keyword(s):  
Small Group ◽  
Teacher Learning ◽  
Group Settings

‘Positive Preparation’: Educational Input on HIV/AIDS in British Occupational Therapy Schools

1994 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 76-78
Author(s):  
Sue Rugg
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Small Group ◽  
Occupational Therapists ◽  
Postal Survey ◽  
Occupational Therapy Students ◽  
Group Settings ◽  
Hiv Aids

This article presents the results of a national postal survey to determine the type and amount of educational input on HIV/AIDS received by British occupational therapy students. All respondents (18/25 courses, 72%) indicated that they currently provided such input, with an average of 11.9 hours of course time being devoted to it. The majority of presenters were occupational therapists, although colleagues from many other backgrounds were also involved. Much of the material was considered in small group settings, with the content being balanced among a range of aspects. The article concludes that most British occupational therapy students are ‘positively prepared’ to work with clients with HIV/AIDS.

scholarly journals Implicit signals in small group settings and their impact on the expression of cognitive capacity and associated brain responses

2012 ◽  
Vol 367 (1589) ◽  
pp. 704-716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth T. Kishida ◽  
Dongni Yang ◽  
Karen Hunter Quartz ◽  
Steven R. Quartz ◽  
P. Read Montague
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
Small Group ◽  
Cognitive Capacity ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Prediction Errors ◽  
Group Setting ◽  
Group Settings ◽  
Brain Responses ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽  
The Impact

Measures of intelligence, when broadcast, serve as salient signals of social status, which may be used to unjustly reinforce low-status stereotypes about out-groups' cultural norms. Herein, we investigate neurobehavioural signals manifest in small ( n = 5) groups using functional magnetic resonance imaging and a ‘ranked group IQ task’ where implicit signals of social status are broadcast and differentiate individuals based on their expression of cognitive capacity. We report an initial overall decrease in the expression of cognitive capacity in the small group setting. However, the environment of the ‘ranked group IQ task’ eventually stratifies the population into two groups (‘high performers’, HP and ‘low performers’, LP) identifiable based on changes in estimated intelligence quotient and brain responses in the amygdala and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. In addition, we demonstrate signals in the nucleus accumbens consistent with prediction errors in expected changes in status regardless of group membership. Our results suggest that individuals express diminished cognitive capacity in small groups, an effect that is exacerbated by perceived lower status within the group and correlated with specific neurobehavioural responses. The impact these reactions have on intergroup divisions and conflict resolution requires further investigation, but suggests that low-status groups may develop diminished capacity to mitigate conflict using non-violent means.

scholarly journals Adapting a Small Group Communication Quality Assessment to New Contexts

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Jodi Van Scoy ◽  
Whittney Darnell ◽  
Tara Watterson ◽  
Vernon M Chinchilli ◽  
Emily J Wasserman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Education ◽  
Small Group ◽  
Quality Analysis ◽  
Communication Quality ◽  
Small Group Communication ◽  
Group Settings ◽  
Communication Assessment ◽  
Communication Goals ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

Objectives: Small group learning is a well-established medical education strategy for cultivating essential communication skills. Yet, how best to measure communication quality in these groups remains understudied. This study aimed to adapt a communication assessment to medical education small group settings. Methods: This was an observational study of Preclinical Medical Humanities group discussions. Audio-recordings of 12 sessions (3 groups; n=22 students and 3 facilitators) were analyzed using Communication Quality Analysis. Three coders assessed communication quality by assigning numeric scores based on how well participants accomplished communication goals within five domains: content, engagement, relationship, emotion and identity. Coder reliability was assessed using intra-class correlations. Variance components were assessed using a generalized linear model.Results: High inter-rater reliability was established for each of five communication quality domains (ICC range 0.875 to 0.98). Variability in content, emotion, and engagement domains was primarily driven by the individual subjects (nested within the three communication groups)–accounting for 49%, 57% and 78% of the variability respectively; relational and identity domain score variability was accounted for by duration of class (accounting for 66% and 47% of the variability, respectively). Considerable variability was observed between participants, suggesting that the assessment is sensitive enough to detect nuanced differences between participants.Conclusions: Our study shows that CQA is reliable when adapted to medical education small groups.With further refinement, CQA provides an important measure that could be used in medical education to evaluate the impact of novel curricular activities or varied facilitation techniques on communication quality and other educational outcomes.

scholarly journals Teacher Learning in Scaffolding Children’s Collaborative Dialogue in a Chinese Elementary School

2020 ◽  
pp. 209653112095100
Author(s):  
Jingjing Sun ◽  
Jie Zhang ◽  
Hong Li
Keyword(s):  
Elementary School ◽  
Elementary School Teachers ◽  
Small Group ◽  
Teacher Learning ◽  
Goal Orientations ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Achievement Goal Orientations ◽  
Chinese Teachers ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Motivational Mechanism

Purpose: Dialogic pedagogies that provide students with frequent opportunities to talk have been shown to help students develop essential 21st-century skills. Many Chinese teachers, however, lack confidence and experiences in shifting from teacher-centered pedagogical practices to such student-centered practices. This study examined Chinese elementary school teachers’ reflections on learning to facilitate small-group collaborative reasoning (CR) discussions in their classrooms. Design/Approach/Methods: Two fourth-grade teachers in a public school in Beijing, China, participated in the study, where they participated in seven semi-structured debriefing interviews and wrote 13 reflective journals. Thematic analysis of the debriefing interviews and journals was carried out to understand the teachers’ learning progress. Findings: The results showed that although the teachers encountered major challenges, such as a drastic shift in their roles, the intense cognitive demands of scaffolding, and the emotional stress of handling the uncertainties of CR discussions, they also made noteworthy progress while learning to facilitate CR discussions. The teachers’ achievement goal orientations seem to have played a major role in how they responded to the challenges and whether they made progress. Originality/Value: This study reveals insights into the challenges and progress that the teachers experienced when learning to use a discussion-based teaching approach. It sheds light on the motivational mechanism of teacher learning and provides guidance on how to support Chinese teachers through the use of small-group collaborative discussions.

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