Deck 12: Tools for Assessing and Evaluating Groups

Question 1

Effective Group Discussion says that being a student of small group interaction requires spending many hours as a nonparticipant observer of small groups.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Should a consultant spend time practicing

A) A consultant should
B) A consultant should not

Answer 2

A consultant should

Question 3

A nonparticipant observer who intervenes during a large group meeting is called a(n)

A) procedural advisor.
B) assistant leader.
C) critical evaluator.
D) reminder.
E) rules guide.

Answer 3

reminder.

Question 4

Should a consultant give a descriptive analysis of the group's strengths and weaknesses

A) A consultant should not
B) A consultant should

Question 5

Critique comments to a discussion leader should be made ______________.

Question 6

How could you ethically use a group you observed as an example of inefficient or even harmful group behavior?

Question 7

Should a consultant correct a problem as soon as you see it

A) A consultant should
B) A consultant should not

Question 8

SYMLOG theory assumes that behavior of each group member can be classified along three independent dimensions. Which of the following is not one of the dimensions of SYMLOG theory?

A) friendly versus unfriendly
B) task-oriented versus emotionally expressive
C) open minded versus closed minded
D) none of these
E) dominant versus submissive

Question 9

A verbal interaction diagram shows who speaks to whom, but not how often.

Question 10

Should a consultant remind a group of overlooked principles of discussion

A) A consultant should not
B) A consultant should

Question 11

Effective Group Discussion says that a critic observer's report to a group after a meeting has ended might include comments about four major aspects observed during the meeting. Name and explain briefly these four aspects of a meeting.

Question 12

A physical arrangement in which a group of observers sit around the outside of a discussion group is called a(n) ______________ discussion.

Question 13

What technique is used to examine the topics discussed by a group?

A) postmeeting reaction form
B) SYMLOG
C) content analysis
D) critique
E) Verbal interaction analysis

Question 14

Should a consultant be thorough, cover every problem you can

A) A consultant should not
B) A consultant should

Question 15

Written feedback, consisting of reactions of participants to a meeting, is given on ______________ forms.

Question 16

A technique that examines the content of remarks made during a discussion is called a

A) content study.
B) SYMLOG.
C) critique.
D) content analysis.
E) verbal interaction analysis.

Question 17

If you plan to report any data from a meeting you observe for a class project, you should do what and when?

Question 18

While observing a meeting of a group of architects who have been asked to reduce the time required to produce plans for building, you discover that the group keeps switching topics or issues every few minutes without reaching any decisions about what is causing the problem or what to do. When asked by the group's coordinator, what might you say about what you have observed? You have been asked by your boss to help this group accomplish its assignment.

Question 19

Consultants are advised to: avoid harming group members, tell the truth, make constructive criticisms, and respect the privacy of group members. These standards of personal conduct are also referred to as

A) consulting criteria.
B) teaching standards.
C) ethical principles.
D) codes of conduct.
E) guidelines.

Question 20

What is (are) the purpose(s) of postmeeting reaction forms? How would you proceed to prepare such a document for a group of which you are the designated chair?

Question 21

You are interested in a group's topic of discussion as well of the types of questions being asked. Which is the best type of assessment for getting this information?

A) arrange for a consultant to observe the group
B) a verbal interaction diagram
C) preference for procedural order
D) SYMLOG
E) content analysis

Question 22

Rating scales are often included on PMR forms.

Question 23

Postmeeting reaction questionnaires are completed by ______________ discussions.

A) learning observers of
B) critic observers of
C) leaders of
D) participants in

Question 24

Student observers can usually gain permission to observe private small groups if they explain that they are there as students and promise ______________.

Question 25

Members of a group should be asked to put their names on PMR questionnaires they fill out.

Question 26

Which of the following is not recommended as an effective tool for providing feedback as a consultant?

A) focus on communication processes and procedures
B) don't try to force the group to change
C) start off with the negative so that the group will understand right away the improvements needed to make it function more effectively
D) give the group a chance to correct itself first
E) use descriptive remarks

Question 27

Galanes and Adams say that if you are going to give evaluations of participants you observe during small group meetings to supervisors or the personnel office, it is unwise to let the people you are observing know this. (Such knowledge might put them on guard so that you will not have valid data.)

Question 28

A descriptive analysis and evaluation of a discussion is called a ______________ of that discussion.

Question 29

A proper critique should contain which of the following?

A) individual member's personality flaws
B) the group's culture
C) all of these
D) the group process and interaction
E) issue analysis

Question 30

Regular groupmembers serving as "reminders" are not as effective in improving group decisions as groupleaders who serve as "reminders."

Question 31

Before trying to observe systematically, the textbook authors suggest that you _____________ observing discussions.

A) outline
B) none of these
C) practice
D) rotate
E) evaluate

Question 32

An observer whose major function was as a critic would report his or her personal evaluations but not ask questions of the group during a critique.

Question 33

A descriptive analysis and evaluation of the group's strengths and weaknesses is called a

A) content analysis.
B) lesson.
C) reminder.
D) none of these
E) critique.

Question 34

Verbal interaction diagrams describe

A) the content of discussion.
B) who talks to whom and how often.
C) the dominant versus submissive dimension of SYMLOG.
D) the task-oriented versus emotionally expressive dimension of SYMLOG.
E) the friendly versus unfriendly dimension of SYMLOG.

Question 35

Should a consultant stress the positive first

A) A consultant should not
B) A consultant should

Question 36

Almost any characteristic of individual behavior can be evaluated with an appropriate scale.

Question 37

Data from PMR questionnaires should be given to all group members rather than to just the leader.

Question 38

The technique made by an observer to evaluate relationships among members of a group is called

A) a SYMLOG.
B) a content analysis.
C) a referendum.
D) a verbal interaction analysis.
E) a verbal interaction diagram.

Question 39

Should a consultant teach about small group processes

A) A consultant should
B) A consultant should not

Question 40

How can you plan to observe a group problem-solving meeting as a consultant so that you focus on significant trends without becoming overwhelmed by the complexity of a group's interaction?

Question 41

A content analysis of a discussion can be made of

A) types of statements made by specific members.
B) member behaviors.
C) none of these.
D) topics discussed.
E) all of these.

Question 42

When a consultant provides basic information about small group processes, she is serving which function?

A) devising
B) critiquing
C) telling
D) teaching
E) reminding

Question 43

Imagine that you have a job as an organizational communication specialist in the training department of a large corporation. You've been assigned to serve as nonparticipant consultant observer for meetings of several research and development teams, which conduct applied research to improve products or create new ones. The purpose is to help these teams have more efficient, effective meetings-meetings for sharing and interpreting information, solving problems, making decisions, and implementing new product deigns. How (in what manner) would you make suggestions based on your observations? Remember, most of the participants in the groups are scientists.

Question 44

What technique is used to identify strengths and weaknesses in a small group's process?

A) SYMLOG
B) content analysis
C) critique
D) postmeeting reaction form
E) Verbal interaction analysis

Question 45

Any characteristic of individual or group behavior can be rated by either group members or nonparticipant observers.

Question 46

What technique is used to reveal who talks to whom, how often each member participates orally, and whether the group has members who dominate or who do not speak up?

A) content analysis
B) SYMLOG
C) postmeeting reaction form
D) Verbal interaction analysis
E) critique

Question 47

What technique describes a questionnaire given at the end of the meeting to get objective feedback?

A) Verbal interaction analysis
B) SYMLOG
C) content analysis
D) postmeeting reaction form
E) critique

Question 48

Create a hypothetical Verbal Interaction Diagram for a meeting of an imaginary group of five persons, including a designated chair, who meet in a conference room of the Jonesville Municipal Library at 7:30 P.M. on February 14, 1997.

Question 49

An observer should focus attention on one or two characteristics of a discussion at a time.

Question 50

An observer who helps participants in a discussion think of and apply beneficial small group communication principles and techniques is called a(n) ______________ observer.

A) critic
B) consultant
C) participant
D) learning
E) reminder

Question 51

An observer whose function is "reminding" should pay more attention to group procedures and interaction than to individual behavioral functions.

Question 52

Observers should sit ________________________ during a "fishbowl" discussion?

Question 53

What technique is used for a methodology that permits a three-dimensional diagram to be constructed of a group?

A) Verbal interaction analysis
B) postmeeting reaction form
C) content analysis
D) critique
E) SYMLOG

Question 54

Effective Group Discussion claims that it is unethical for a nonparticipant observer to ridicule or make fun of a participant he or she has observed.