1

Piaget
g
the father of the cognitive psychology theory, which is the individualistic
approach, theorized that learning occurs when individuals are actually
doing the work themselves and creating their own understanding
(
(Mooney, 2000).
y, )
Vygotsky
theory expounded upon Piaget’s by supporting social constructivism.
Vygotsky b li
V t k believed th t i t
d that interaction with others h d an enormous i
ti ith th had impact
t
on cognitive development (Mooney).
2

Constructivism
Within both theories, constructivism is based on providing a learning
environment to assist learners as they explore content by designing
experiences that encourage
assimilation and accommodation.
3

Assimilation and Accommodation
Piaget defined assimilation as the process of responding to the environment with
one’s cognitive structure, and accommodation as the process by which the cognitive
structure is modified (as cited in Hergenhahn & Olson,1997).
4

Scaffolding
Vygotsky coined the term scaffolding to express when other more
competent individuals provide some form of guidance or structure that
enables learners to engage in activities and perform tasks that
otherwise would be out of the reach of the learner (Ormrod, 1999).
Scaffolding
S ff ldi can b th
be thought of as one person standing on th shoulders
ht f t di the h ld
of another person to gain a different point of view.
5

Examples of Group Work:
Action Maze:
A programmed case study, where learners are given a list of detail to take them to
the first decision point. As decisions are made, learners are directed further in the
action maze to find out the consequences of their decisions and perhaps, what the
next set of alternative actions available This activity is effective for teaching
available.
troubleshooting (Laird, 1985).
6

Examples of Group Work:
Case study:
Learners are presented with a description of a problematic situation and asked to
identify or solve the problem.
Critical incident technique:
A group of learners is given a very brief narrative of a problem or situation to which
they must respond.
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Examples of Group Work:
Formal debate:
Students are divided into teams to present opposing viewpoints. Some may act as
respondents or judges. This can be accomplished asynchronously through
discussion forums or e-mail lists.
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Examples of Group Work:
Group projects:
Groups work on projects, such as writing research papers and creating PowerPoint
presentations to be posted to the class.
9

Examples of Group Work:
Muddy Points:
Group members must each pose a muddy point to the group. Group members help
to clarify the muddy point to each other. Group members select one muddy point to
send forward to another group for help with clarifying the point.
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The “Guiding” Principle
Online education places the instructor in the role of facilitator, guiding and directing
learners to resources. Instructional designers and instructors may find that utilizing
a group charter helps learners effectively manage group assignments.
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What is a Group Charter?
A document prepared by and agreed to by group members that outline
expectations, responsibilities, time schedules, and other matters that are necessary
for the group to function as a group.
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Why a Group Charter?
Group charters allow group members to establish rules of operation at the beginning
of the group’s existence.
Establishing an agreement among group members at the onset of the course may
alleviate some of the frustrations that are inherent when communication among
individuals working on a joint activity is inadequate.
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When to Introduce a Group Charter?
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Stages of a g p development,
g group’s p
Forming
Reliance on polite, safe, patterned behavior; members looking to leader for
direction; desire for acceptance; approaches to resolving conflict not
developed; individual expectations not formed; group purpose and methods
not formed; tasks not determined or delegated; methods and procedures not
determined; rules of behavior not well developed so
members keep things simple and avoid controversy.
15

Stages of a g p development
g group’s p
Storming
Group attempts to organize for the task, and conflicts emerge; group
attempts to decide who is to be responsible for what, what evaluation and
reward criteria will be; power structure is not stable; some members may be
silent while others may attempt to dominate; confusion; loss of interest; lack
of progress; violation of code of conduct and team rules.
16

Stages of a g p development,
g group’s p
Norming
A sense of belonging and group cohesion; a sense of personal
accomplishment; individual roles understood; freedom to express
opinion; trust between group members; unified mission; healthy balance of
power; effective group process; sincere attempt to reach consensus; little or
no violation of team rules; productive; attack problems, not each other, “we”
overtakes “me” mentality.
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Stages of a g p development,
g group’s p
Performing
Fun and exciting; high commitment to group; feeling of high trust and
friendship; involvement with group inspires members’ best performance;
creative use of existing resources; highly effective orchestration of activities
and abilities; humor, flexibility, versatility, smooth task and process flow within
the group; pride in group accomplishments; volunteering participation;
commitment to decisions; expressions of appreciation and caring.
Don’t forget “adjourning,” separation anxiety.
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Forming Stage
During the forming phase, learners want to gain trust of one another. One way of
increasing trust in the group environment is for learners to agree on task
assignments, communication strategies, and timelines for collaborative activities (Tu
& Corry, 2002).
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Forming Stage
Gould and Padavano (2006) suggested that explaining the importance of group
work along with using group charters is fundamental in improving learner
satisfaction with online group work. The forming phase of group development may
be the ideal time to introduce the group charter as a tool to aid learners in
developing trust within the group.
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Components of group charter:
Code of conduct; Bandow, 2001; Doran, 2001; Gould & Padavano,2006; A.
Morgan, 2002; Page & Donelan, 2003
Conflict resolution plan; Page & Donelan
Decision making structure; A. Morgan
Group goals; A. Morgan; Salas et al., 2005
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Components of a Group Charter
Group name; A. Morgan
Meeting times (including time zone, and length of meeting); Bandow; Doran; Gould
& Padavano; A. Morgan; Page & Donelan
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Components of a Group Charter
Member roles and responsibilities; Bandow; Doran; Gould & Padavano; Page &
Donelan; Salas et al.
Member skills or knowledge inventory; Bandow; Doran; Gould & Padavano; Page &
Donelan
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Components of a Group Charter
Penalty for lack of member participation; A. Morgan
Preferable method of communication; Bandow; Doran; Gould & Padavano; A.
Morgan; Page & Donelan
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Components of a Group Charter
Standard for quality of work; Bandow; Doran; Gould & Padavano; A. Morgan; Page
& Donelan; Salas et al.
Time frames and deadlines; Bandow; Doran; Gould & Padavano; Page & Donelan
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Two Questions
(a) What is the experience of learners in online groups, with and without the use of
group charters?
(b) What components of the group charter are most critical to the learners’
educational experience?
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The Participants
The participants for this study were observed in an online accounting class
that was divided into two sections of an online course room; each section
constituted a case study or a “bounded system” (Merriam, 1998, p. 27). The
group activity that was employed for this research was the muddiest point.
“The muddiest point though extremely simple focuses on understanding a
The point, simple, understanding,
somewhat deeper level of learning than simple recall” (Angelo & Cross,
1993, p. 120).
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Two Groups
Charter and Non-Charter
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Charter Section Felt Prepared
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Charter Section Less Worried
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Charter Section More Efficient – The Section
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Charter Section Learners More Efficient – The Learners
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Charter Section More Effective – The Section
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Charter Section Assessment Scores Increased More
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Learners Identified Important Components
(a) determining the members’ roles and responsibilities,
(b) establishing the standard for the quality of work,
(c) agreeing on a code of conduct,
(d) establishing a conflict resolution plan,
(e) agreeing on time frames and deadlines.
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Thank you! Questions?
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