Collaborative Group Process Research Articles

Combining graphic facilitation and animation-based sketching in higher education

This paper explores how non-design students can benefit from using visual methods as part of collaborative group processes in higher education. Based on an exploratory study, the paper analyses how analogue hand drawing in graphic facilitation combined with animation-based sketching can support humanities students in higher education to take on the role of designer. The empirical data is based on a course in a bachelor’s degree in communication and digital media in which students were tasked with designing an event for a museum. The students were not especially trained in using graphic facilitation or animation-based sketching methods as academic tools prior to this course. Thus, the educational approach incorporated two workshops in which the students were introduced to these visual methods and design approaches. Through visual examples, the students’ experiences are analysed in relation to their view on how these methods benefited or challenged their ways of working throughout the course. The paper ends by summarizing how visual methods can be considered relevant to academic practices beyond design courses.

Creativity and partnership

Creativity and partnership

Molecular Orbital Theory—Teaching a Difficult Chemistry Topic Using a CSCL Approach in a First-Year University Course

Collaboration is regarded as one of the core competences of the 21st century when it comes to complex problem solving. In response to high dropout rates among STEM students, we developed a digital-collaborative intervention on a difficult topic, MO theory, for first-year chemistry students. First, students work independently in a Digital Learning Environment (DLE). Afterwards, they collaborate in small groups and create Concept Maps on MO theory. We evaluate this intervention through knowledge tests, tests of attractiveness, cognitive load, and usability during the DLE and concept mapping process, as well as audio and screen recordings during the collaborative group processes. This paper presents the detailed study design together with results from a first study in January 2021, focusing on the practicability of the intervention and students’ feedback. Overall, each small group succeeded in creating a Concept Map. Students rated all phases of the intervention as attractive, with high usability and low cognitive load, although the interactive videos scored better for attractiveness and usability than the concept mapping process. On that basis, first adjustments for a second cycle of the intervention, which will be conducted in January 2022, were derived.

Student-generated awareness information in a group awareness tool: what does it reveal?

Group awareness tools (GATs) are used to enhance awareness among students in online collaborative settings. GATs display awareness information of group processes, so students have a shared understanding of the collaboration. They also encourage students to share their opinions regarding their group processes, which externalizes unspoken awareness information and facilitates group regulation activities. The current study observed how students generated awareness information when being guided by a GAT. The primary aim of the study was to investigate the contents of student-generated awareness information collected from the evaluations of group processes and reflections about the collaboration process. A case study, drawing upon both qualitative and quantitative data, was conducted in the study. The results suggested the validity of student-generated awareness information, and its application in evaluating collaborative group processes. Students’ reflections also identified successful as well as disadvantageous aspects of group processes in three themes: communication, efficient work processes, and commitment. Overall, the findings suggested that student-generated awareness information can reveal the real status of collaborative group process. Successful and disadvantageous aspects of group processes were discussed from the students’ perspectives.

Making and breaking families: a short essay on loss, hope and staying connected

ABSTRACTThe focus in this paper is on a specific time point in an adoption matching process. Empirical data from interviews, observations and group analytic processes are juxtaposed to hone in on emotional labor of the social work role. The author discusses the use of a ‘many minds’ research method to demonstrate how analytic practices can be enriched by collaborative thinking and group processes. This paper pays tribute to Claire Winnicott’s work by foregrounding the complexity and generative potential of the social work relationship.

Enhancing Collaborative Group Processes to Promote Academic Literacy and Content Learning for Diverse Learners Through Video Reflection

Research indicates the benefits of collaborative learning for supporting academic literacy in content classrooms, especially for diverse and exceptional students such as students with learning disabilities or English learners (ELs) who can become disengaged in content classrooms if they struggle to access complex, content-related texts. Drawing from Cognitive Load Theory, we argue that collaborative group structures support students in sharing the load of processing these texts across all members, thus ensuring better comprehension of the content. Yet, collaborative structures may not be beneficial to diverse and exceptional learners in the group, particularly if students are not supported in how to engage successfully in collaborative work. Using a mixed-methods approach, we explored the use of video reflection and guided discussions with students using collaborative strategic reading (CSR) in heterogeneous collaborative groups in one seventh-grade general education, social studies class in an urban middle school. Students’ collaborative group work was video recorded pre- and post-reflection sessions to determine change in engagement in shared learning. The reflection session included students watching the video recording of their group work during CSR, discussing their collaboration using guided prompts, and setting goals for improvement. Following the reflection session, findings revealed an overall increase in time on task for all students, with increased participation of diverse and exceptional students in richer content-related discussions. When all students understand how the collaborative group shares the cognitive load and supports each other through discussing and elaborating on ideas, academic literacy and richer understanding of the content can occur.

Mobilising knowledge between practitioners and researchers to iteratively refine a complex intervention (DAFNEplus) pre-trial: protocol for a structured, collaborative working group process

BackgroundRandomised controlled trials (RCTs) of complex interventions often begin with a pilot phase to test the proposed methods and refine the intervention before it is trialled. Although the Medical Research Council (MRC) recommends regular communication between the practitioners delivering the intervention and the researchers evaluating it during the pilot phase, there is a lack of practical guidance about how to undertake this aspect of pre-trial work. This paper describes a novel structured process for collaborative working, which we developed to iteratively refine a complex intervention prior to an RCT. We also describe an in-built qualitative study to learn lessons about how this approach could be used by future study teams.MethodsThis work forms part of a broader research programme to develop and trial a complex intervention for people with type 1 diabetes, called DAFNEplus. The intervention is being piloted in three National Health Service (NHS) diabetes centres in two waves, with refinements being incrementally implemented between each wave in response to real-time, collective learning (combining practitioner experience, process evaluation data and patient and public involvement via an advisory group). A structured ‘Collaborative Working Group’ (CWG) process, comprising monthly teleconferences and four strategically timed face-to-face meetings, is being used to identify and respond systematically to emerging implementation challenges and research findings. The group involves 25 members of the study team, including the multi-disciplinary practitioners delivering the intervention, the research teams conducting the process evaluation, the study manager and Chief Investigator. An in-built qualitative study comprising documentary analysis of meeting materials, discourse analysis of meeting transcripts, reflexive note taking, and thematic analysis of focus groups and interviews with CWG members is being undertaken to explore how the CWG works and how its processes and procedures might be improved.DiscussionThe CWG process offers a potential model for collaborative working in future pre-trial pilot phases and intervention development studies that operationalises MRC guidance to progressively develop a complex intervention and foster shared ownership through genuine collaboration. The findings from the qualitative study will provide insight into how to best support collaborative working to achieve optimal intervention design.

Investigating the Role of Social Status in Teacher Collaborative Groups

In collaborative groups, teachers negotiate the tension between working as a cohesive group and confronting differences of opinion and practice. Varied status between teachers can complicate their ability to accomplish the goals of collaboration. In this case study, we describe how a group of secondary English teachers redesigned curriculum and explain how status shaped their collaborative practice. We use positioning theory to examine how teachers managed variable status to maintain a collaborative group process. Findings suggest the high-status teacher shaped inclusive collaborative routines that afforded novice teachers the space to initiate discussions focused on problems of practice.

Hospital Administration and Nursing Leadership in Disasters

Strong leadership is critical in disaster situations when "patient surge" challenges a hospital's capacity to respond and normally acceptable patterns of care are disrupted. Activation of the emergency operations plan triggers an incident command system structure for leadership decision making. Yet, implementation of the emergency operations plan and incident command system protocols is ultimately subject to nursing and hospital leadership at the service- and unit level. The results of these service-/unit-based leadership decisions have the potential to directly impact staff and patient safety, quality of care, and ultimately, patient outcomes. Despite the critical nature of these events, nurse leaders and administrators receive little education regarding leadership and decision making during disaster events. The purpose of this study is to identify essential competencies of nursing and hospital administrators' leadership during disaster events. An integrative mixed-methods design combining qualitative and quantitative approaches to data collection and analysis was used. Five focus groups were conducted with nurse leaders and hospital administrators at a large urban hospital in the Northeastern United States in a collaborative group process to generate relevant leadership competencies. Concept Systems Incorporated was used to sort, prioritize, and analyze the data (http://conceptsystemsinc.com/). The results suggest that participants' institutional knowledge (of existing resources, communications, processes) and prior disaster experience increase leadership competence.

Reconciling research and community priorities in participatory trials: application to Padres Informados/Jovenes Preparados.

Participatory research (PR) trials aim to achieve the dual, and at times competing, demands of producing an intervention and research process that address community perspectives and priorities, while establishing intervention effectiveness. To identify research and community priorities that must be reconciled in the areas of collaborative processes, study design and aim and study implementation quality in order to successfully conduct a participatory trial. We describe how this reconciliation was approached in the smoking prevention participatory trial Padres Informados/Jovenes Preparados (Informed Parents/Prepared Youth) and evaluate the success of our reconciled priorities. Data sources to evaluate success of the reconciliations included a survey of all partners regarding collaborative group processes, intervention participant recruitment and attendance and surveys of enrolled study participants assessing intervention outcomes. While we successfully achieved our reconciled collaborative processes and implementation quality goals, we did not achieve our reconciled goals in study aim and design. Due in part to the randomized wait-list control group design chosen in the reconciliation process, we were not able to demonstrate overall efficacy of the intervention or offer timely services to families in need of support. Achieving the goals of participatory trials is challenging but may yield community and research benefits. Innovative research designs are needed to better support the complex goals of participatory trials.

Collaboration in Visual Culture Learning Communities: Towards a Synergy of Individual and Collective Creative Practice

AbstractA visual culture learning community (VCLC) is an adolescent or young adult group engaged in expression and creation outside of formal institutions and without adult supervision. In the framework of an international, comparative research project executed between 2010 and 2014, members of a variety of eight self‐initiated visual culture groups ranging from manga and cosplay through contemporary art forms, fanart video, graffiti and cosplay in five urban areas (Amsterdam, Budapest, Chicago, Helsinki and Hong Kong) were studied through interview, participant observation and analysis of art works. In this article, collaborative group practices and processes in informal learning environments are presented through results of on‐site observations, interviews and analyses of creations. VCLCs are identified as inspiring, collaborative spaces of peer mentoring that enhance both visual skills and self‐esteem. Authors reveal how identity formation is interrelated with networking and knowledge sharing. Adolescents and young adults become participants of global communities of their creative genres through reinterpretation and individualisation of shared visual repertoires. In conclusion, implications for art education from the VCLC model for creative collaboration are suggested.

English

This research aimed to develop the model of Web-based Collaborative (WBC) Training model for enhancing human performances on ICT for students in Banditpattanasilpa Institute. The research is divided into three phases: 1) investigating students and teachers’ training needs on ICT web-based contents and performance, 2) developing a web-based collaborative training model, 3) assessing the model effectiveness from implementation. The results revealed students and teachers’ needs were at high levels for using the ICT, and students’ performance of ICT levels were fair for supporting students’. In terms of input components, the model composed of six training factors for the system: need analysis, purpose specification, training curriculum, technique design selected, training process, and assessment. In terms of web-based training, there are three factors: multimedia presentation, interaction, and learning instrument. There are five factors in collaborative learning: positive interdependence, interaction, individual accountability, interpersonal skills, and group process. Three sequential stages of collaborative training started from: training arrangement, training procedure, and evaluation. Training procedures include five activities of collaborative learning: training preparation, training, collaborative training, checking outcome, and conclusion. The results of Model Implementation Efficiency (MIE index) of WBC training model were at 81.86/80.83; the Effectiveness Index (E.I.) was at 0.5582. There was a statistically differentiated significance between pre-test and post-test on the WBC training model of their usage effectiveness by the model in promoting ICT performance at level .05. The students’ responses regarding the ICT practical skills were high; also abilities on collaborative learning group processes, individual accountability and positive interdependence were significantly high. Satisfaction from the WBC training model was high. Key words: e-training, collaborative learning, human performances on ICT, Web-based training.

A wiki task for first-year university students: The effect of scripting students' collaboration

This study investigates the effect of a collaboration script - i.e. a set of instructions to improve collaboration between learning partners - for a wiki task. Participants were first-year university students in Educational Sciences (N=186) collaborating in groups of five during a three-week period to create a wiki on peer assessment in education. Two conditions were contrasted: a scripted and a non-scripted condition. The effect of scripting was measured in four ways (questionnaires, log-file analyses, group product scores, and individual pre–post-test scores). Results show significant positive effects of scripting with respect to the collaborative group processes and students' feelings of shared responsibility. No significant effects of scripting were found with respect to the developed wiki products. As for students' individual learning outcomes, results showed a significant increase from pre- to post-test for all students. Although the increase was higher in the scripted condition, the difference between the conditions was not statistically significant.

Communicating collaborative leadership

Collaborative or shared leadership has frequently been advocated as an alternative to vertical or top-down leadership. Building on the conceptual and theoretical aspects of collaborative leadership developed in previous research, this study examined the specific communication behaviors and processes used to create collaborative leadership. Based on participant observation ethnography and interviews of all the major participants, the authors collaborated on this study to explore how the leader's attitudes, behaviors, and communication supported collaboration and how the group members participated in creating a collaborative culture. The findings may be transferable to other group endeavors in which leaders and members wish to create a collaborative group process.

A pilot study of health and wellness program development in an International Center for Clubhouse Development (ICCD) Clubhouse: Procedures, implementation, and implications.

This article describes the development, implementation and results of a health and wellness initiative at an ICCD Clubhouse in North Carolina. This pilot study used a collaborative and consultative focus group process to identify sustainable health and wellness programming components, and then used networking to develop community resources in order to implement and sustain these components at the Clubhouse. The series of focus group questions was based on Glasser's (1998) choice theory; focus groups included members and staff, and had the support of Clubhouse administration. Once focus groups identified specific health and wellness categories of interest to members, program developers located and initiated links with potential presenters, volunteers, and/or local resources. Approximately one year after the final focus group, followup health and wellness surveys were administered to members and staff at a Clubhouse community meeting to assess perceptions of health and wellness at the Clubhouse after all planned components had been implemented. Using a choice theory approach to health and wellness programming development in this ICCD Clubhouse venue involved members and staff collaboratively in identifying health and wellness components for the Clubhouse that have been implemented and sustained for over thirteen months. Choice theory-based focus group outcomes are currently being assessed for another three Clubhouse health and wellness initiatives. This approach to health and wellness program development may also be effective in other programs that provide services with and/or for this population.

Implementing an Evidence-Based Parenting Program With Adherence in the Real World of Community Practice

This study examined group leaders' adherence to The Incredible Years Parenting Program's components and collaborative process during a yearlong dissemination in a large multicultural city and universal prevention context. Mixed methods were used to evaluate adherence and develop an understanding of the barriers and facilitators of therapist fidelity. Results suggest that the protocol and collaborative group processes were implemented with a high degree of adherence with the three exceptions of role plays, videotape modeling dosage, and “buddy calls.” A number of interconnected barriers with implications for future implementation were identified. Key contributors to adherence included the training and structure of the program, emphasis on accountability and ongoing session monitoring, and important aspects of supervision and group leader qualities.

Planning and implementing a collaborative clinical placement for medical, nursing and allied health students: A qualitative study

Background: Clinical placements have been traditionally offered on a profession specific basis, and as a result, we have a good understanding of salient issues related to their development and delivery. We know less about the planning and implementation of collaborative clinical placements.Aims: This paper presents key findings from a qualitative study that explored the collaborative processes connected to an interprofessional planning group who created and implemented a clinical placement for medical, nursing and allied health students.Methods: An ethnographic approach was employed to explore the successes and challenges connected with the planning group's interprofessional work. Interviews, observations and documents were gathered over two years to obtain a comprehensive understanding of this placement.Results: The study found that while the planning group achieved a number of successes in their work including the implementation of a well-received pilot placement, their enthusiasm for the placement created a number of challenges. In particular, it resulted in them neglecting their roles, responsibilities and collaborative group processes, which created difficulties in their ability to work together. In addition, a turnover of members, changes in management and a hospital reorganization inhibited the group's collaborative work.Conclusions: Collaboration around the planning and implementation of interprofessional placements is a complex venture. In striving for success in this work, planning groups need to focus their attention on both internal group-based factors as well external organizational factors.

Nursing Attitudes and Beliefs Toward Human Sexuality

The purpose of this study was to use a collaborative process between Advanced Practice Nurses and a nurse researcher to identify barriers to incorporating sexuality assessment and counseling into nursing practice. This article provides an historical account of the collaborative group processes leading to the development and testing of the Sexuality Attitudes and Beliefs Survey (SABS). Nurses often are called upon to talk to patients about their sexuality and sexual concerns. Many nurses believe that sexuality assessment, evaluation, and counseling is a part of their professional role, however, nurses do not necessarily integrate this awareness into their patient care. Discomfort, embarrassment, or strongly held attitudes about the nurse's role in discussing sexuality with patients can act as barriers to responding to these patient concerns. A Midwestern urban healthcare facility, affiliated with a university served as the setting. : Thirty-five nurses working outpatient and inpatient settings in oncology and HIV/AIDS. Instrument development and voluntary survey. The collaborative initiative developed and piloted an instrument to measure nurses' attitudes and beliefs about human sexuality. Results of the pilot study suggest that what nurses believe patients expect from them, time availability, and confidence in one's ability to address issues related to human sexuality present significant barriers to incorporating sexuality assessment and counseling into nursing practice. Successful collaboration among clinicians and researchers required administrative support as well as a individual commitment and is a model that can be adapted to other settings and for other projects. This study highlights the benefits of collaboration between clinicians and researchers to support evidenced based practice. The findings from this study will be used to develop strategies for removing barriers to sexuality assessment by nurses.

Observing collaborative problem‐solving processes and outcomes

AbstractThis study examined the problem of assessing group process in a collaborative problem‐solving situation. Students in seven collaborative groups worked on a two‐part math and logic problem—first individually, then in groups, and finally, individually again. Groups engaging in behaviors that facilitated collaboration obtained higher group and individual accuracy scores on a challenging problem set. High‐achieving students were influential in group problem‐solving outcomes. Group scores did not reflect the individual achievement of low‐achieving students. Examining collaborative group process and outcomes offers a new direction in functional and contextualized assessment for school psychologists. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comparisons among Individual and Cooperative Performance Assessments and Other Measures of Mathematics Competence

The purposes of this study were to examine how well 3 measures, representing 3 points on a traditional-alternative mathematics assessment continuum, interrelated and discriminated students achieving above, at, and below grade level and to explore effects of cooperative testing for the most innovative measure (performance assessment). Fourth graders (n = 131) with prior training and experience in cooperative mathematics activities individually completed 2 more traditional assessments; half completed performance assessments individually, the other half in dyads. The 2 more traditional measures, but not the performance assessments, demonstrated strong discriminative validity. Among individually administered measures, intercorrelations were moderate and significant; correlations were stronger for performance assessments that were individually rather than cooperatively completed, and exploratory analyses suggested that cooperative performance assessment scores corresponded better with other measures for above-grade-level students than for below-grade-level students. Findings are discussed for statewide assessment programs and instructional decision making with respect to the misalignment between performance assessment forms of mathematical knowledge and typical classroom curricula and the need for preparation in collaborative group processes on problem-solving activities.