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How Group Dynamics Research Can Inform the Theory and Practice of Postsecondary Small Group Learning

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Abstract

After a brief review of integrative small group learning models that have appeared in the educational psychology literature, this article then looks into the group dynamics literature and describes one of that field’s most well-documented findings: that interactions among group members change somewhat predictably over time. How theorists from various traditions within educational psychology might explain and explore the phenomenon of “group development” is proposed, followed by a description of the theoretical and practical features of an increasingly popular post-secondary instructional strategy designed to stimulate group development and leverage it to instructional ends. This strategy is a very specific form of collaborative learning called Team-Based Learning (TBL), and is considered as a promising context for future research into learning group development.

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Notes

  1. We will sidestep the temptation to pit one form of nomenclature against another (e.g., “cooperative” vs. “collaborative” vs. “peer” learning) and simply refer to all of these models with the umbrella term of “small group learning.”

  2. Baylor’s TBL dissemination project was funded by a FIPSE grant (http://www.bcm.edu/fac-ed/team_learning/index.html) and has spawned the “Team-Based Learning Collaborative” a group of over 300 TBL practitioners in the medical field alone. The Collaborative has recently achieved status as a non-profit organization (http://www.tlcollaborative.org).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station Stop G2100, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    Michael Sweet

  2. Doc 400 G, Harmon College of Bussiness, Central Missouri State University, Warrensberg, MO, 64093, USA

    Larry K. Michaelsen

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  1. Michael Sweet
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Correspondence to Michael Sweet.

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Sweet, M., Michaelsen, L.K. How Group Dynamics Research Can Inform the Theory and Practice of Postsecondary Small Group Learning. Educ Psychol Rev 19, 31–47 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-006-9035-y

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