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LEARNING TEAMS: HOT GROUPS IN HIGHER EDUCATION by Derek R. Lane, Ph.D.  I probably get more requests for information about Learning Teams than any other instructional resource. I studied with the GURU of learning teams--Dr. Larry Michaelsen--at the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Michaelsen is a professor of Management in the Price College of Business. He served as the outside committee member for my doctoral committee and became a friend and mentor for me as I became a strong advocate for the use of teams in higher education. I was so intrigued by the potential of learning teams that the focus of my dissertation became an assessment of the impact of communication (as facilitated by learning teams) on human learning. Since I completed the dissertation in 1996 I have been an assistant professor at the University of Kentucky in the Department of Communication. Graduate students and faculty alike have begun using the instructional strategies developed by Dr. Michaelsen with very positive results. At any rate, I need to spend some time with this page and provide materials to those of you interested in learning teams...but it is time I don't have right now. Until I find the time *grin* please begin by reading Beyond Groups and Cooperation: Building High Performance Learning Teams written by Michaelsen, Jones, and Watson. The article was originally published in To Improve the Academy: Resources for Faculty, Instructional, and Organizational Development, Stillwater: New Forums Press, 1993, pp. 127-145. Before
trying Teams yourself, please read Designing
Effective Group Activities: Lessons for Classroom Teaching
written by Michaelsen,
Fink and Knight (1997). They provide guidance for designing effective group
assignments. The authors examine the forces that foster uneven participation
in learning groups and identify four key variables that, if managed effectively,
create a group environment that promotes both broad-based member participation
and learning. A summary of sections of their article, “Designing Effective
Group Activities: Lessons for Classroom Teaching and Faculty Development”,
in To Improve the Academy, Volume 16, 1997, pages373–397, is found
at the American
Accounting Association's homepage.
Good Luck and Enjoy the articles! |