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Modern society frequently fails to achieve the goal of improved rationality and this is largely because the conditions for ideal speech do not prevail. We do not always permit everyone an equal opportunity to explain their point of view and the force of the best argument does not always prevail. Communication becomes more difficult when people cannot meet face to face, but it is also hindered when people cannot contact one another easily. There is, therefore, a trade-off between using computer-mediated media for communication and speaking to each other in person. Although meaning can never be shared to the extent that two individuals have precisely the same interpretation of a concept, and society is not based on individuals uniformly embracing identical views or values, in every day life consensus needs to be reached and truth claims, normative validity claims and aesthetic validity claims must be made, debated and eventually accepted or refuted. Collaboration on substantial tasks that require the development of concepts and reconstruction of meaning depends on effective communication. In the distributed social structures which have developed as a result of globalisation it is important that dispersed teams are able to work together. This includes collaborative learning in distance education. In the action research undertaken first year Informatics students could choose between doing team work face-to-face, or as dispersed teams communicating via e-mail or WebCT. The discussions were recorded and were analysed to identify the different types of communicative action engaged in. This was done to understand how this group collaborate so that success factors could be identified and proposals be made regarding education in the use of e-mail. It was found that the virtual (dispersed) teams studied did not succeed in collaborating. Communication ability is defined in this thesis as the skill that compensates for the inherent leanness of the medium used. A number of depictions of factors contributing to successful asynchronous collaboration are provided. Different classes of information and time, trust and communication ability assist in constructing meaning when text is communicated electronically. This led to suggestions regarding improving the communications ability of individuals. / Dissertation (PhD (Information Technology))--University of Pretoria, 2003. / Informatics / unrestricted

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Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / Trudy A. Salsberry / Educational leadership is challenged with meeting the requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) of 2001 and Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) of 2004. The focus on accessibility and accountability is resulting in an increase in the number of students with disabilities receiving specialized instruction within the least restrictive environment (LRE) of the general education classroom. To support students in the LRE, many schools are implementing the service delivery model of co-teaching, or pairing a special educator with a general educator, to provide core instruction with appropriate special education services to students with special needs. The purpose of this case study was to investigate what practices of principals are deemed most supportive to teachers engaged in a co-teaching service delivery model. The qualitative, multi-case study was designed to analyze perceptions of district level general education administrators, district level special education administrators, building principals, co-teaching coaches, and co-teaching partners who participated in the Kansas Co-Teaching Initiative. Data were obtained primarily through interviews of the participants. Demographic surveys, building schedules and field notes served as additional information for analysis and the interpretation of the data. The over-arching research question for this study was: “What practices of principals provide the most meaningful support to collaborative co-teaching in the context of the least restrictive environment?” Sheard and Kakabadse’s nine Key Elements of Effective Teams (2002, 2004) formed the framework for the study. These key elements also guided the research sub-questions. Data collected through the study revealed sixty patterns across the key elements of effective teams. When analyzed, the patterns yielded three themes: 1) principals arranged and protected time during the daily schedule for collaboration between co-teaching partners, 2) principals paired co-teachers together with careful consideration for compatibility, and 3) principals established and maintained a culture of professional growth.

The goal of this dissertation was to explore the key factors and managerial mechanisms that influence performance of inter-organizational collaborative teams. Specifically, this research addressed five key constructs: inter-organizational collaboration relationships, project characteristics, team process, managerial mechanisms, and team performance of inter-organizational collaborative teams. Data for this study was collected via semi-structured interviews within two stages. In the first stage, interviews were done with the executives, focusing on the inter-organizational relationships, managerial mechanisms and the performance of the inter-organizational collaborative team from strategic perspectives. The next stage involved with interviews with the team members to collect the information regarding team process more thoroughly. The results suggested that (1) Inter-organizational relationships positively affect the inter-organizational team process. (2) Project Characteristics also play a role in the team process of inter-organizational collaboration. (3) Inter-organizational team process have positively influence on the performance of inter-organizational collaborative teams. (4) Managerial mechanisms, such as mutual learning, and organizational culture, also have influences on the team process and team performance of inter-organizational collaborative teams. However, we had few findings about the team incentives program or any other formal mechanisms that promote the team process and team performance.

The focus of this research was to investigate the use of a district created formative benchmark assessment in reading to predict student achievement for 10th-grade students on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) in one county in north central Florida. The purpose of the study was to provide information to high school principals and teachers to better understand how students were performing and learning and to maximize use of the formative district benchmark assessment in order to modify instruction and positively impact student achievement. This study expanded a prior limited study which correlated district benchmark assessment scores to FCAT scores for students in grades three through five in five elementary schools in the targeted county. The high correlations suggested further study. This research focused on secondary reading, specifically in 10th grade where both state and targeted county FCAT scores were low in years preceding this research. Investigated were (a) the district formative assessment in reading as a predictor of FCAT Reading scores, (b) differences in strength of correlation and prediction among student subgroups and between high schools, and (c) any relationships between reading formative assessment scores and Mathematics FCAT scores. An additional focus of this study was to determine best leadership practices in schools where there were the highest correlations between the formative assessment and FCAT Reading scores. Research on best practices was reviewed, and principals were interviewed to determine trends and themes in practice. Tenth grade students in the seven Florida targeted district high schools were included in the study. The findings of the study supported the effective use of formative assessments both in instruction and as predictors of students' performance on the FCAT. The results of the study also showed a significant correlation between performance on the reading formative assessment and performance on FCAT Mathematics. The data indicated no significant differences in the strength of correlation between student subgroups or between the high schools included in the study. Additionally, the practices of effective principals in using formative assessment data to inform instruction, gathered through personal interviews, were documented and described.