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In search of synergy in small group performance
\"This volume critically evaluates more than a century of empirical research on the effectiveness of small, task-performing groups, and offers a fresh look at the costs and benefits of collaborative work arrangements. The central question taken up by this book is whether - and under what conditions - interaction among group members leads to better performance than would otherwise be achieved simply by combining the separate efforts of an equal number of people who work independently. This question is considered with respect to a range of tasks (idea-generation, problem solving, judgment, and decision-making) and from several different process perspectives (learning and memory, motivation, and member diversity).\" \"As a framework for assessing the empirical literature, the book introduces the concept of 'synergy'. Synergy refers to an objective gain in performance that is attributable to group interaction. Further, it distinguishes between weak and strong synergy, which are performance gains of different magnitude. The book highlights the currently available empirical evidence for both weak and strong synergy, identifies the conditions that seem necessary to produce each, and suggests where the search for synergy might best be directed in the future.\" \"The book is at once a high-level introduction to the field, a review of the field's history, and a scholarly critique of the current state-of-the-art. As such, it is essential reading for graduate students, advanced undergraduate students, and researchers interested in group dynamics generally - and small group performance in particular.\"--BOOK JACKET.
Book
The effects of scaffolding in the classroom: support contingency and student independent working time in relation to student achievement, task effort and appreciation of support
Teacher scaffolding, in which teachers support students adaptively or contingently, is assumed to be effective. Yet, hardly any evidence from classroom studies exists. With the current experimental classroom study we investigated whether scaffolding affects students' achievement, task effort, and appreciation of teacher support, when students work in small groups. We investigated both the effects of support quality (i.e., contingency) and the duration of the independent working time of the groups. Thirty social studies teachers of pre-vocational education and 768 students (age 12-15) participated. All teachers taught a five-lesson project on the European Union and the teachers in the scaffolding condition additionally took part in a scaffolding intervention. Low contingent support was more effective in promoting students' achievement and task effort than high contingent support in situations where independent working time was low (i.e. help was frequent). In situations where independent working time was high (i.e., help was less frequent), high contingent support was more effective than low contingent support in fostering students' achievement (when correcting for students' task effort). In addition, higher levels of contingent support resulted in a higher appreciation of support. Scaffolding, thus, is not unequivocally effective; its effectiveness depends, among other things, on the independent working time of the groups and students' task effort. The present study is one of the first experimental study on scaffolding in an authentic classroom context, including factors that appear to matter in such an authentic context.
Journal Article
Effects of reading interventions implemented for upper elementary struggling readers: A look at recent research
In this study, we conducted a review of reading intervention research (1988–2019) for upper elementary struggling readers and examined intervention area (e.g., foundational, comprehension, or multicomponent) and intensity (e.g., hours of intervention, group size, and individualization) as possible moderators of effects. We located 33 studies containing 49 treatment-comparison contrasts, found small effects for foundational reading skills (g = 0.22) and comprehension (g = 0.21), and decreased effects when considering standardized measures only. For intervention area, only multicomponent interventions predicted significant effects for both comprehension and foundational outcomes. For intensity, we did not find systematic evidence that longer or individualized interventions were associated with larger effects. However, interventions implemented in very small groups predicted larger comprehension outcomes. Overall, more research examining the quality of school provided reading instruction and how the severity of reading difficulties may impact effects of more intensive interventions is needed.
Journal Article
Group performance
'Group Performance' outlines the state of social psychological theories and findings concerning the performance of groups. It explores the basic theories surrounding group interaction and development and investigates how groups affect their members.
Book
Facilitating small group learning in the health professions
There is now good evidence that small group teaching provides a fruitful academic environment, which optimises learning, particularly in the healthcare setting, and especially when compared to lectures. An individual student’s understanding of knowledge is increased when they are able to actively compare and build on their own understanding in conjunction with their peers. Small group teaching provides opportunities for learners to work collaboratively, and promotes team-building skills – skills that are essential to work within healthcare settings. The aim of this paper is to provide health professional students and early career health professionals involved in peer and near peer teaching, with an overview of approaches and tips to improve learner engagement when facilitating small groups.
Journal Article
In Search of Synergy
This volume critically evaluates more than a century of empirical research on the effectiveness of small, task-performing groups, and offers a fresh look at the costs and benefits of collaborative work arrangements. The central question taken up by this book is whether -- and under what conditions -- interaction among group members leads to better performance than would otherwise be achieved simply by combining the separate efforts of an equal number of people who work independently. This question is considered with respect to a range of tasks (idea-generation, problem solving, judgment, and decision-making) and from several different process perspectives (learning and memory, motivation, and member diversity).
As a framework for assessing the empirical literature, the book introduces the concept of 'synergy.' Synergy refers to an objective gain in performance that is attributable to group interaction. Further, it distinguishes between weak and strong synergy, which are performance gains of different magnitude. The book highlights the currently available empirical evidence for both weak and strong synergy, identifies the conditions that seem necessary to produce each, and suggests where the search for synergy might best be directed in the future.
The book is at once a high-level introduction to the field, a review of the field's history, and a scholarly critique of the current state-of-the-art. As such, it is essential reading for graduate students, advanced undergraduate students, and researchers interested in group dynamics generally -- and small group performance in particular.
eBook
Dynamics at boardroom level : a Tavistock primer for leaders, coaches and consultants
\"How can boards and members of boards reach their full potential? The Tavistock Institute of Human Relations (TIHR) has been at the forefront of thinking about organisations since its inception in 1947. Today, as then, the corporate world is undergoing increasing pressure to demonstrate a sustainable, generative and meaningful impact on society and employees whilst delivering improved services and products. These tensions and others are explored in this important new book, Dynamics at Boardroom Level: A Tavistock Primer for Leaders, Coaches and Consultants. In this book, the reader gets a useful framework of theory and practice that broadens vision and deepens thinking about what is happening in boardrooms. The book opens the door to the reader to a new world of board dynamics, edited by those who really understand the deeper workings of the complex human system and its work at board level. This edited volume brings together insights and contemporary case studies from participants on the Tavistock Institute Dynamics at Board Level programme that draws on the thinking of Tavistock scholars and practitioners and their work on the dynamics of task, role, authority and power. Edited by Programme Co-Directors Dr Mannie Sher and Dr Leslie Brissett and their fellow Tavistock Associate, Tazi Smith, and with contributions from senior leadership practitioners and board evaluators from Government, International consultancy firms, FTSE 100 and Global UN institutions, this book speaks directly to issues of our time. It represents essential reading for leaders of organisations and businesses, as well as leadership coaches and mental health professionals\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
A framework for exploring small group learning in high school science classrooms: The triple problem solving space
Classroom activities using an inquiry approach often feature students working in small groups to reduce teacher-centeredness and maximize student autonomy. Within science classrooms, group work may mirror modern scientific research: successful interaction among team members (social/relational) that engages probing questioning and creativity (cognitive/content) with emotional attachment to their work (affective). Previous research on small group work in school science focused either on single dimensions of group work—mostly on needed cognitive resources, e.g., knowledge and skills for understanding and addressing the problem—or on the interplay between cognitive and social resources (e.g., science knowledge and capacity to foster group interactions), while the role of affects is relatively unexplored. We propose that group work demands the collective construction of a “triple problem solving space” in which all three dimensions—cognitive/content (the problem to be solved), social/relational (the challenges based on social interactions within the group), and affective (the emotional life of the group)—are developed on a moment-by-moment basis. Assessing whether and to what extent students collectively construct a positive triple problem solving space, we videotaped small groups’ interactions (3–4 students per group) during inquiry-based activities in three ninth grade science classes. Results showed that when a group collectively positions itself positively in terms of social and affective dynamics, it tends to engage effectively in the cognitive aspects of the assigned tasks. The qualitative analysis further highlights the socially-shared regulation processes that involve an ongoing negotiation between intra- and inter-individual resources and which are the result of each group member deploying individual resources along each dimension, monitoring and evaluating their peers’ processes, and adjusting their processes accordingly through integration of information from self and others.
Journal Article