The Guided Autobiography Method: A Learning Experience

2008 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
James E. Thornton
Keyword(s):  
Psychosocial Development ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Group Learning ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Conceptual Foundation ◽  
Group Activities ◽  
Theory Of Aging ◽  
Growth And Change ◽  
Main Ideas ◽  
Small Group Activities

This article discusses the proposition that learning is an unexplored feature of the guided autobiography method and its developmental exchange. Learning, conceptualized and explored as the embedded and embodied processes, is essential in narrative activities of the guided autobiography method leading to psychosocial development and growth in dynamic, temporary social groups. The article is organized in four sections and summary. The first section provides a brief overview of the guided autobiography method describing the interplay of learning and experiencing in temporary social groups. The second section offers a limited review on learning and experiencing as processes that are essential for development, growth, and change. The third section reviews the small group activities and the emergence of the “developmental exchange” in the guided autobiography method. Two theoretical constructs provide a conceptual foundation for the developmental exchange: a counterpart theory of aging as development and collaborative-situated group learning theory. The summary recaps the main ideas and issues that shape the guided autobiography method as learning and social experience using the theme, “Where to go from here.”

scholarly journals Small Group Learning is Associated with Reduced Salivary Cortisol and Testosterone in Undergraduate Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin Snopkowski ◽  
Kathryn Demps ◽  
Shane Scaggs ◽  
Ross Griffiths ◽  
Karen S Fulk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Small Group ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
Group Learning ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
Physiological Measures ◽  
Small Group Learning ◽  
Group Activities ◽  
Student Stress ◽  
Small Group Activities

Small group learning activities have been shown to improve student academic performance and educational outcomes. Yet, we have an imperfect understanding of the mechanisms by which this occurs. Group learning may mediate student stress by placing learning in a context where students have both social support and greater control over their learning. We hypothesize that one of the methods by which small group activities improve learning is by mitigating student stress. To test this, we collected physiological measures of stress and self-reported perceived stress from 26 students in two undergraduate classes. Salivary cortisol and testosterone were measured within students across five contexts: a) pre-instructional baseline, b) following a traditional lecture, c) after participating in a structured small group learning activity, d) following completion of multiple choice, and e) essay sections of an exam. Results indicate students have lower salivary cortisol after small group learning activities, as compared to traditional lectures. Further, there is no evidence of a relationship between physiological measures of stress and self-reported perceived stress levels. We discuss how structured small group activities may be beneficial for reducing stress and improving student learning outcomes.

scholarly journals Overcoming Barriers to Heterogeneous-Group Learning in the Political Science Classroom

2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (01) ◽  
pp. 149-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan T. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Science Classroom ◽  
Group Learning ◽  
Simulated Data ◽  
The Political ◽  
Science Classrooms ◽  
Political Methodology ◽  
Science Courses ◽  
Group Activities ◽  
Small Group Activities

ABSTRACTDespite positive findings, small-group activities continue to lag behind lectures in political science classrooms. This article argues that one barrier to wider adoption of more innovative activities is uncertainty about how to efficiently and fairly create teams that each are heterogeneous and as a set are balanced across relevant characteristics. We first describe recent findings and strategies for creating teams; we then detail our concrete, general approach for incorporating several student characteristics into team creation. We then describe implementations of this approach using freely available software in two undergraduate political science courses—one in American politics and one in political methodology. In these applications and in a variety of simulated data, we demonstrate that teams created using our method are better balanced than those created by randomly allocating students to teams.

Coaching Paraprofessionals to Promote Engagement and Social Interactions During Small Group Activities

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 410-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer R. Ledford ◽  
Kathleen N. Zimmerman ◽  
Kate T. Chazin ◽  
Natasha M. Patel ◽  
Vivian A. Morales ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Small Group ◽  
Group Activities ◽  
Small Group Activities

When the Army Got Progressive: The Civil Affairs Training School at Stanford University, 1943–1945

2011 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 330-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Justice
Keyword(s):  
Small Group ◽  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Integrated Curriculum ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Field Trips ◽  
Lecture Hall ◽  
Training School ◽  
Group Activities ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
Small Group Activities

They sat in the Cubberley Education Lecture Hall to hear visiting experts. More often they could be found meeting in reduced-size classes, or working on small-group activities. They usually took notes; sometimes they took field trips. They memorized lists and sat for exams, but they also watched films and acted out scenarios. Rather than take regular courses in the disciplines, they studied an integrated curriculum referred to as “Area Relationships.” Some faculty collaborated, team taught, and drew on students' prior knowledge. Even some administrators joined in the role-playing for the big culminating activity. The head of the program explained the reason for such a break from the traditional Stanford experience: “Special effort must be made to supply the student with points of view and methods of procedure which will enable him most quickly and most surely to survey a situation, analyze a problem, and formulate a solution.”

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