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So much of our work helping others learn occurs in groups of varying sizes, so it's important to develop an understanding of how groups work -- group dynamics. That's what we'll cover in this section.
Groupthink
By John E. Tropman - The term "groupthink" was coined by psychologist Irving Janis to explain some alarmingly bad decisions (and bad outcomes) made by governments and businesses, which he called "fiascoes." He was particularly drawn to situations where group pressure seemed to result in a fundamental failure to think. In Groupthink, Janis defined groupthink as: "a quick and easy way to refer to a mode of thinking people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when the members' striving for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action. Groupthink refers to a deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment that results from in-group pressures." new (Added: 1-Nov-2010 Hits: 255 )GroupWorks: Thinking Together: Making Better Decisions in Groups
By na - When was the last time you felt good helping your group decide something meaningful? Was it a simple vote, or was there good discussion beforehand? Did people understand what was being decided? Did you look at more than one possible way to solve the problem or move ahead with an opportunity? Did everyone have a chance to talk? Did you talk about the obvious issues as well as those that are sometimes %u201Cundiscussable%u201D in your group? Was there a sense of celebration when you finally made the decision? Debate versus dialogue Did you know that the word debate comes from the French %u201Cto beat%u201D? Even %u201Cdiscussion%u201D comes from a root word meaning %u201Cto break things up.%u201D In contrast, the word dialogue has a meaning more like %u201C. . . a free flow of meaning among all participants.%u201D1 Box 1 illustrates some of the differences between debate and dialogue. Groups that aim for dialogue in making decisions believe they have heard more than facts. They have a greater understanding about the meaning of the facts, experiences and feelings shared in the process of making a decision. (Added: 19-Jan-2010 Hits: 407 )Group Dynamics
By na - Good 10 page intro to group dynamics and how groups form (form, storm...) made available by a government agency in canada. In pdf (Added: 19-Jan-2010 Hits: 499 )The Hawthorne, Pygmalion, Placebo and other effects of expectation
By Stepen W. Draper - Absolutely AMAZING material on various factors that can affect what seems to be reasonably well done research. Highly recommended for everyone, to understand what they read in the research arena. (Added: 14-Jan-2010 Hits: 356 )
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