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Extension programming for commercial vegetable cooperatives should be designed to utilize community resource development (CRD) group problem-solving, interdisciplinary educational programming, and an Agricultural Cooperative Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture model for establishing a cooperative. Case study data from three commercial vegetable cooperatives suggest that such programming will increase a cooperative's ability to maximize driving forces and to minimize restraining forces associated with personality and environmental factors operating within the organizational outcome categories of membership commitment, production, administration, management, marketing, and net worth. Both qualitative and quantitative data are used to support the results of the study. / Ed. D.

This study describes two efforts: (1) the development of a learning environment that includes a hypermedia data base about Mesoamerica, and (2) an observational study of middle school students using the system within a framework of problem-based learning for mastering content and thinking skills. The goal was to create a learning environment influenced by metacognitive strategies, hypermedia interface design, and problem-solving scenarios preceded by discrepant events. Participants consisted of 25 seventh-grade social studies students. They were divided into four groups, each having access to a microcomputer with the hypermedia data base. They also had additional resources such as books and magazines dealing with Mesoamerican civilizations. Data collection included direct observations from four facilitator/evaluators, audiotape, videotape, student products, software routines, and questionnaires. Findings suggest: · the hypermedia data base navigation was usable and easy to learn for these students · a discrepant event inquiry model was among the factors contributing to sustained student activity · embedded problem-solving strategies facilitated higher-order thinking only when coupled with teacher support. The key in the environment appeared to be teacher-student interactions which allowed the teacher to dynamically assess students' abilities, then provide necessary support for independent action. The computer's role was that of a tool which mediated between the teacher and students. / Ph. D.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Western Sydney, 2003. / "A thesis presented to the University of Western Sydney School of Social Ecology and Lifelong Learning in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy" "March 2003" Bibliography: 238 - 249.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Innovation and creativity are established research areas but both are relatively new research areas within the field of organisational psychology. Early research on innovation and creativity were primarily the focus area of academics in related social sciences disciplines. Research on innovation and creativity was integrated with the orientations and perspectives of organisational psychologists over a period of time. In other words the development and identification of innovation as a success factor of the work environment is something that took place over decades. Changes in the competitive environment over the last few decades contributed to the increasing interest in the concept of innovation. Today managers recognise innovation as a necessity that needs to be managed and developed. Three levels of analyses (the individual, group and organisation) can be identified in the innovation literature. Until recently researchers focused primarily on the individual and the organisation as units of analysis. As a results of this, research that focuses on the individual and the organisation are quite comprehensive compared to studies that focus on the group as a unit of analysis. The utilisation of teams have increased in organisations, but our knowledge of the factors and dimensions that determine group innovation are still restricted. The complex nature of group innovation could perhaps be a contributing factor in terms of the amount of research studies that have been done on group innovation. It is especially in this regard that this study sets out to thoroughly investigate existing group innovation literature and to combine this with an investigation into the possible contributions of related social psychological research (for example group decision making, intragroup conflict and creative problem solving) to the innovation literature. Each one of the three units of analysis (individual, group and organisation) has a unique impact on group innovation, but not one of them explains exclusively the innovativeness of a team. An interdependent relationship exists between these factors. This stresses the complexity of the concept and as a result of this, researchers are encouraged to investigate the possible contributions of related social psychological themes to the innovation research and literature. In this regard this study focused extensively on a input, process and output model of group innovation by West and Anderson (1996) to determine to what extend some of the aspects of the model explained the innovativeness of a group. This is a comprehensive model and for the purposes of this study only certain aspects of the model were included in the research process. The size of the team and team tenure were the two input elements that were included in the study. The process elements of the model includes clarity and commitment to team objectives, participation, task orientation and support for innovation. In terms of the output aspects of the model the focus was on the following: how radical, effective, new and extensive the innovation is, as well as the number of innovations per team. The results of the study indicate that there are a relationship between the variables of West and Anderson's input, process and output model (1996) and the innovativeness of the team. The results of this study indicate that the model by West and Anderson is a valuable contribution to the research literature on group innovation behaviour. Although group innovation has not been researched extensively, it seems that group innovation is starting to make an impact on the organisational psychology domain and that it will be a central aspect of the research agenda of organisational psychologists in future. If we are able to establish a sound theoretical basis organisations will be able to understand and predict group innovation behaviour. It can be concluded that this study made a contribution to the research literature on group innovation behaviour in terms of an awareness of the impact and necessity of innovation in today's work environment, and also in extending the existing knowledge base of group innovation behaviour / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Alhoewel innovasie al VIr 'n geruime tyd as navorsingsdomein gevestig IS, het organisasiesielkundiges eers redelik onlangs aan innovasie en kreatiwiteit begin aandag skenk. Een van die redes waarom dit so lank geneem het voordat innovasie as 'n waardige wetenskaplike navorsingsonderwerp besef was, was die feit dat vroeëre navorsing oor hierdie onderwerp deur akademici in ander sosiaal wetenskaplike dissiplines uitgevoer was. Die integrering van sodanige navorsing met organisasiesielkundiges se perspektiewe en oriëntasies het skynbaar slegs met verloop van tyd plaasgevind. Die ontwikkeling van innovasie as 'n verskynsel van die werksomgewing het dus stelselmatig oor dekades heen plaasgevind. Die impak van omgewingsveranderinge op organisasies het ook oor die afgelope paar dekades beduidende belangstelling ten opsigte van innovasie ontsluit. Innovasie, as 'n komponent van organisatoriese-kompeterendheid en -effektiwiteit, is vandag 'n noodsaaklikheid wat toenemend deur hedendaagse bedryfsleiers ondersteun en bestuur word. Binne die werksomgewing kom innovasie op drie verskillende vlakke (die individu, die groep en die organisasie) voor. Tot dusver het innovasienavorsers egter in hoofsaak op die individu en organisasie as ontledingseenheid gefokus. Navorsing wat die individu of organisasie as ontledingseenheid gebruik, is volop in vergelyking met studies wat die groep as ontledingseenheid gebruik. Met ander woorde, alhoewel die gebruikmaking van spanne in organisasies toeneem, is ons kennis van die faktore en dimensies wat spaninnoverendheid bepaal, steeds beperk. Die beperkte teoretiese basis van bestaande groepinnovasienavorsing kan deels aan die omvangryke en komplekse aard van die verskynsel toegeskryf word. Dit is juis in hierdie opsig dat hierdie studie dit ten doel gestel het om bestaande groepinnovasieliteratuur deeglik te ondersoek en om vas te stel tot watter mate verwante sosiaal-sielkundige navorsing (onder andere groepbesluitneming, intragroepkonflik en kreatiewe probleemoplossing) 'n bydrae tot die innovasieliteratuur kan lewer. Elk van die drie ontledingsvlakke (individu, groep, organisasie) het 'n unieke effek op die innoverendheid van 'n span, maar nie een van hierdie kategorieë verklaar uitsluitlik die innoverendheid van 'n span nie. Die interafhanklike verhouding van hierdie faktore beklemtoon die kompleksiteit van die verskynsel en dit moedig toekomstige navorsers aan om die nuttige bydraes van verwante sosiaal-sielkundige temas te ondersoek. In hierdie verband is daar ook breedvoerig gebruik gemaak van 'n inset, proses en uitset model van groepinnoverendheid deur West en Anderson (1996), ten einde vas te stel tot watter mate sekere aspekte van die model die innoverendheid van 'n span voorspel. Vanweë die omvangrykheid van die model is slegs sekere veranderlikes in die navorsing ingesluit. In terme van die insette is daar op grootte en spandienstydperk gefokus. Die proses faset van die model verwys na die duidelikheid en verbondenheid tot doelwitte, deelname, taakoriëntasie en ondersteuning vir innovasie. Ten opsigte van die uitset faset van die model is daar op die volgende aspekte gefokus: die radikaalheid, omvangrykheid, nuutheid en effektiwiteit van die innovasie asook die getal innovasie items binne die groep. Die resultate van die studie dui daarop dat daar wel 'n verband tussen hierdie veranderlikes van West en Anderson (1996) se model en die innoverendheid van groepe bestaan. Hierdie model van groepinnoverendheid blyk vanuit die resultate van hierdie studie, en vorige studies, nuttig te wees vir die bestudering van groepinnovasiegedrag. Alhoewel daar tot dusver min lig gewerp is op die faktore wat groepinnoverendheid bepaal, wil dit voorkom asof groepinnovasienavorsing 'n sentrale faset van die organisasiesielkunde se navorsingsagenda in die toekoms sal wees. Die vestiging en uitbreiding van 'n teoretiese basis salorganisasies in staat stelom die innovasiegedrag van spanne beter te verstaan en te voorspel. Ten slotte kan dit vermeld word dat hierdie studie In bydrae gelewer het tot groepinnovasiegedrag, nie net in terme van 'n bewusmaking van die impak en noodsaaklikheid van innovasie in die hedendaagse werksomgewing nie, maar ook in terme van die uitbreiding van die bestaande kennisbasis oor groepinnovasiegedrag.

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The increasing reliance on technology for communication seems to have shown that nontechnology or traditional team building activities may not be effective in improving certain interpersonal skills (Klein et al., 2009). The researcher investigated whether the use of a serious game, i.e. an educational video game, is a better mode of delivery to improve group problem solving, team cohesiveness, team learning behaviours and, perceived team psychological safety rather than traditional team building intervention, i.e. a non-technology-based team building intervention (Emsley & Rumeser, 2018; Edmondson, 1999). The researcher conducted two post test only quasi-experiments to compare the methods of team-building. In Study 1, four teams of university students (n=15 total students) took part in either a serious game or a traditional team building intervention. The serious game was based on a scavenger hunt mobile application while the traditional team building activity was an obstacle course. Each team was assessed, after the team building interventions, on their group problem-solving skills and team cohesiveness in order to determine if there was a significant difference between the scores of the two dimensions above for intervention groups. Study 2 consisted of six teams of university students (n=30 total students) participated in either a traditional online team-building activity or an online team-based serious game. The traditional online team-building activity was a spectrum mapping activity, and the online team-based serious game was an online escape room. Each team then participated in the same thought experiment and were finally asked to answer a questionnaire. Furthermore, a field researcher participated in both activities and her experiences were noted through an interview. There did not seem to be sufficient evidence to support the hypotheses for the second quasi experiment. However, the was evidence collected throughout both quasi-experiments that suggests that serious games are more enjoyed by participants and there seems to be a clearer initiative to utilise the interpersonal skills acquired in the future.

Schools face a great challenge in recruiting and retaining quality teachers, given the documented importance of, variability in, and difficulty observing and predicting teacher quality. One option schools have is to identify what more effective teachers do and use that information to train less effective teachers to get better. Unfortunately, there is little empirical support for much traditional teacher training, as measured by gains in student test scores. Models of collaborative, team-based learning – such as Professional Learning Communities and Japanese lesson study – have been widely touted, and there is some evidence that they may be effective in certain contexts. Economic theory suggests this could be because of peer monitoring, peer pressure, specialization, knowledge-sharing, or market failure in pre-service training, particularly if learning to teach is primarily experiential. However, not all collaboration is good due to concerns about free-riding and substituting for more productive individual activity, so unbridled enthusiasm for collaborative professional development may need to be tempered. This dissertation examines the effectiveness of a specific form of teacher collaboration in the form of inquiry teams, groups of teachers and administrators jointly engaged in action research projects with the aim of uncovering innovative instructional strategies and sharing effective approaches. It takes advantage of the phase-in of teams, eventually to all teachers in a large, urban school district in the northeastern United States from 2007-2010 to estimate the results of three natural experiments using difference-in-differences and instrumental variables approaches. The effects of teamwork on teacher value-added, teacher retention, and student test scores are small and sensitive to year, specification, and outcome, although results are mostly positive and occasionally statistically significant, suggesting that overall effects are potentially positive but modest at best. Further examination of heterogeneity and four qualitative case studies of teams suggest that small average effects mask considerable differences in team processes, and that under certain conditions, inquiry team work may be far more effective. A cost analysis reveals that, although it is costly to do inquiry work well, given the low-intensity of average treatment and the large number of students affected, the benefits of inquiry work could exceed the costs if the policy were more targeted. Overall, the policy recommendation is to temper unqualified enthusiasm about teacher collaboration, as without appropriate structures and supports it has little measurable effect on the outcomes examined here. As a policy lever, a universal mandate to participate on collaborative inquiry teams is unlikely to be effective or pass a cost-benefit test. Nonetheless, smaller-scale, higher intensity forms of collaboration that allow for more active leadership support and participation may be more promising, and more cost-effective than alternative forms of professional development, particularly for some sub-groups of teachers such as those in their first year of teaching.

Specific to the recommendation of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (1980) to identify and analyze problem solving strategies and the settings in which the development of these strategies could be optimized, this study is a compilation of three case studies which describe what elementary school children say and do when solving verbal mathematics problems in small groups. Persuant to this goal, three four-member groups were selected and asked to reach a consensus within each group on the solution to a variety of routine and non-routine problems. In this relatively unstructured setting, transcriptions of verbal interactions, written records of all computations, and observer notes were compiled for each group. The resulting identification and description of the problem solving behaviors which occurred were analyzed in terms of two broad interactive functions by which children seek to understand verbal problems: the construction of mental representations or physical displays of the problems and the evaluations of these constructions. Representations, in this perspective, are constructed at two levels: a contextual level at which the problem situation is linguistically interpreted and a structural level at which a statement of a problem underlying mathematical structure is defined. Evaluations also occur which allow group members to monitor their understanding and direct the course of the problem solving effort. The findings indicate that intermediate aged children when solving problems in small groups display general patterns of behavior. These patterns of behavior include: the manner in which the groups approach and effectively isolate the contextual elements of a verbal problem, the propensity of groups to change the mode in which a problem is represented by utilizing manipulatives, diagrams, tables and other physical displays, and the manner in which groups monitor the course of problem solving and reach consensuses on solution proposals. Within this general pattern, however, specific subject and task variables characterize individual groups, affecting both the group interaction and the incidence of specific problem solving behaviors. These findings suggest practical classroom applications for group problem solving formats in the elementary school classroom. Additional research, however, must provide the link between group problem solving and individual performance.