Reviews

edited by Philip Barker

P. Race, 500 Tips on Group Learning, London:
Kogan Page, 2000. ISBN: 0-7494-2884-8. Soft-
back, vii + 135 pages, £15.99.

This is another in the long list of '500 Tips'
series, published by Kogan Page. Phil Race, the
author, is a well-known name in learning and
teaching and has published extensively. The
presentation of advice in this way is clearly a
well-tested formula and, judging by the copies
from the series in my own institution's library,
these are frequently borrowed books, but I
wonder whether this format is now a little over-
used? Advice from a guru can be very valuable,
but in an era of evidence-based practice it is even
better if the advice is backed up with references
to facilitate the reader's further research in the
area. Unfortunately in this book references are
few and far between. There is a short list of
suggested further reading but, for example, in
the section on being a group member, where the
work of Belbin is referred to, this is not
referenced and Belbin does not appear in the
subsequent reading list.

There are six chapters in the book. Each chapter
starts with a general introduction and then gives
a list of tips together with an explanation for
each one.

The first three chapters, 'Learning with others',
'Getting groups going', and 'Particular group
learning contexts', give very general advice
covering what group work means, how to
prepare learners for group work and different
sorts of groups. Section 19 in Chapter 3 purports

to cover tutorials for adult distance learners, but
only suggestions for tutorials when such distance
learners attend the institution are given.
Strategies for holding successful virtual tutorials,
such as computer conferences or Web-based chat
rooms, which are increasingly used in many
programmes and courses, are not mentioned.
Although this might have been beyond the scope
of this book, an acknowledgement of this sort of
development, with indications for further
reading could have been helpful. On the whole
the tips given in the first three chapters are
entirely common sense - who could argue with,
for example, in the section entitled 'group
learning means learning by doing' that 'listening
to each other has a lot to do with effective
group learning'? The majority of tips are at
this general level and not much new informa-
tion is presented. The blurb on the outside
back cover of the book states: 'Packed with
expert advice guidance and support, this
inspirational book will provide educators and
trainers with the tools needed to move from
instruction to facilitation.' I am sorry to say that
I did not find much inspiration in these three
chapters.

Chapter 4 explores exercises and processes for
groups and finishes by-giving a case study. Here
the tips were more focused and the case study
one of the most useful parts of the whole book.
The author presents a case study he has used
when running training workshops on chemical
hazards. This might sound a somewhat esoteric
topic, but the format of the workshop could

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Reviews

easily be translated to good effect into many
other topic areas.

Chapter 5 considers groups behaving badly and
gives tips for dealing with, among others,
disruptive behaviour, the know-all, the domin-
ator, the non-contributor and the group member
who does not listen. There is also consideration
of different behaviours of the group facilitator
that can damage group work and this is also a
relevant and helpful section. It is probably
salutary for most of us to consider the sections
on facilitators who talk too much and intimidate
learners and those who favour clones of
themselves! A section on institutional factors
that can damage group work, including lack of
provision of suitable spaces and timetable
systems that militate against group learning will
be familiar to most readers, I suspect. Many of
us might well have tried solutions such as 'use
coffee bars' or 'take the group to the nearest pub'
and had an interesting time, but found it harder
to fulfil our anticipated outcomes for those
particular group sessions! The suggestion to do a
room usage audit to identify rooms which are
regularly underused might evoke an ironic 'huh'
- who has time for that sort of task in our
increasingly loaded timetables!

Chapter 6 is devoted to how group learning
might be assessed. There are some helpful
suggestions here that cover situations where not
all members of a group might have contributed
equally to a group assessment. Advantages and
disadvantages for each method are given which
makes this a very useful chapter.

The way in which the 500 tips are presented is
somewhat confusing; it took me some time to
work out that the sections in each chapter are
numbered sequentially and cumulatively, but the
actual tips in each section always start from one.
This would make it harder to direct someone to
a particularly useful tip. At the risk of seeming
rather a sad person, I have to confess that I
attempted to count the total number of tips
presented - and could find only 473 - were we
short-changed here?

Overall I am not sure that this topic area lends
itself so readily to the '500 Tips' approach.
Issues around group and collaborative learning
merit a deeper and more considered
presentation. A format that uses numbered
statements to present suggestions and advice
precludes the introduction of critical discussion
and reasoning.

76

Who is the book for? If it is aimed at trainee
teachers or new entrants to higher education,
then I am sure they will find much to help them.
However, for the more experienced facilitators I
do not think they will find this book offers very
much that they do not already know.

Gillian Jordan
University of Greenwich

David Kember, Action Learning and Action
Research: Improving the Quality of Teaching and
Learning, London: Kogan Page, 2000. ISBN: 0-
7494-3113-X. Softback, ix + 243 pages, £19.99.

Several large-scale programmes to enhance the
quality of teaching and learning in higher
education have featured within the UK, for
example TLTP and FDTL. This book describes
a similar programme, the Action Learning
Project (ALP), which took place in Hong Kong
between 1994 and 1998 with funding from the
Hong Kong University Grants Commission.
From its inception, the project was set within a
framework of using action learning and action
research to demonstrate that, as a quality
assurance mechanism, this approach could be
energizing for those involved and could lead to
enhanced quality in teaching and learning in a
cost-effective manner. The main aim of the book
is to contribute to the quality assurance and
enhancement literature rather than the research
methodology literature, so it is not for those
looking for a detailed, theoretical review of
action research methodology. It will be of
interest to those responsible for introducing or
managing institution-wide teaching and learning
schemes, and who are looking for an effective
way of engaging participants and evaluating the
outcomes within a research framework.

The book is divided into five sections. Part A
sets the work within a framework of approaches
to quality assurance; Part B describes the
projects and participants; Part C describes the
experiences of the participants, including their
perceptions of the action research framework;
Part D describes the support provided for the
projects; and Part E provides concluding
remarks on the effectiveness of the action
research approach. The structure of the book
reflects the cyclical stages of the action research
approach. It also contains three appendices, a
reference list and an index.

In Part A, the first three chapters set out the
framework within which action research may be
considered as a scheme for assuring the quality of



A/t-J Volume 9 Number 3

teaching and learning. In Chapter 1 there is an
introduction to higher education quality schemes
in general. A distinction is made between quality
assurance and quality enhancement schemes and
these are mapped against three research
paradigms, positivist, interpretive and critical
epistcmologies. The case is made for locating the
project-based method of quality enhancement
within the critical paradigm, which includes
action research. Chapter 2 continues to explore
the rationale for considering quality enhancement
schemes within an action research and action
learning framework. The three key characteristics
of action research are defined through a reference
from Carr and Kemmis. It is concerned with
improving social practice, there is a systematic,
cyclical process of enquiry, and it is participative.
Action research is then compared with action
learning, drawing on a definition from McGill
and Beaty for the latter. Action learning, rather
than action research, was the preferred term for
the project name because the funding body
specifically excluded research. The chapter ends
pragmatically by suggesting that the two terms
will be used interchangeably throughout the rest
of the book. Chapter 3 provides more detail
about methods of observation and evaluation
that can be used by project teams to monitor and
report on their work. Overall, the treatment of so
many complex research concepts in this short
section is inevitably generalized but there are
references to other more specific sources.

Part B contains Chapters 4 to 7 and through
describing the context of the ALP, it addresses
the steps necessary for implementing and
managing a large project which itself is
composed of fifty smaller sub-projects, spread
across seven universities. Chapter 4 discusses the
ways in which academics can be persuaded to
participate in projects, and Chapter 5 describes
the project management structure that had to
involve all seven universities. Chapter 6 gives an
indication of the range of projects funded and
Chapter 7 outlines the methods used to
disseminate the project outcomes, including a
Web site, http:llalp.polyu.edu.hk.

In parts C and D, the author's associates
contribute to Chapters 8 to 15 and describe the
perceptions and experiences of the participants.
They draw on material from their own
evaluation of the project. It is in these two parts
of the book that the key characteristics of action
research and action learning are most clearly
illustrated in practice. Chapter 8 focuses on the
evaluation design and methods of data

collection. Chapter 9 considers the reasons why
participants became involved in the project, the
main one being a desire to improve the quality of
their teaching and their students' learning.
Chapter 10 focuses on the importance of
effective teamwork in the projects and highlights
the collaborative nature of action research.
Chapter 11 describes how the project teams
adopted the action research cycle. Chapter 12
reports the participants' views on the outcomes
of their projects.

In part D, Chapters 13 to 15 return to the
organization and management of the project and
focus on the various ways in which support was
provided to the project teams. This involved a
small co-ordinating team of facilitators, each of
whom supported ten to twelve projects. They
aimed to do this in conjunction with the internal
educational development units of the univers-
ities. The nature of the support varied, but much
of it centred on support for research design,
methodology, evaluation techniques and writing
up research. The facilitators found themselves to
be most comfortable in the role of 'critical friend'
to the project teams and Chapter 14 describes in
some detail the ways in which this role developed.

In the final two chapters in part E, the author
returns to the issue of quality assurance as he
reflects on the overall outcomes of the ALP.
Chapter 16 reflects on the high cost of ensuring
quality in higher education and suggests that
promoting quality through action learning
projects is cost-effective. Chapter 17 summarizes
the overall outcomes of the project and
concludes that action learning is an effective
method of quality enhancement.

In conclusion, those looking for an in-depth
understanding of the philosophy and methodo-
logy of action research should consult other
sources, for example, Greenwood and Levin
(1998), and the quality of the book would have
been increased if clear distinctions had been
maintained throughout between action research
and action learning, rather than using them
interchangeably. Nevertheless, the book is an
easy read, and should be of interest to those
involved in similar projects, both at the
institutional as well as the national level. The
frameworks and methods used will also be useful
for individuals who wish to use action research
and action learning as a framework for
evaluating their own teaching activities.

Janet Hanson
Bournemouth University

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Reviews

References
Carr, W. and Kemmis, S. (1986), Becoming
Critical: Education, Knowledge and Action
Research, Brighton: Falmer Press.
McGill, I. and Beaty, L. (1995), Action Learning:
A Guide for Professional Management and
Educational Development, 2nd edn, London:
Kogan Page.
Greenwood, D. and Levin, M. (1998), Intro-
duction to Action Research: Social Research for
Social Change, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

E. Parsloe and M. Wray, Coaching and
Mentoring - Practical Methods to Improve
Learning, London: Kogan Page, 2000. ISBN:
07494-3118-0. Softback, xiii +193 pages, £16.99.

During the last decade the increasing pace of
developments in industry and commerce,
stimulated by technology, have resulted in
significant changes in management and working
practices. There is a realization that prosperity
and economic competitiveness require an edu-
cated and trained workforce, and this is influ-
encing education, both in its content and
methods, with a widening access under a vision
of lifelong learning. Personal development of
students in skills of communication, study
methods, creativity, problem-solving and col-
laborative methods of learning, are becoming
more prominent, and institutions are having to
provide greater support for staff and students to
achieve these wider objectives. It is here that
coaching and mentoring are important, and this
publication with its emphasis "on practical
methods is both useful and timely.

The orientation of the book is towards the
workplace and community centres, but there is
much that is relevant to educational institutions.
With its direct approach and economical style,
clear sectioning, summary points, checklists and
charts, this book provides a useful and practical
introduction to mentoring and coaching that is
directed to improving learning.

The first chapter sets out the development of
coaching/mentoring that moved it from a
marginal activity to a recognized component of
training. Although the links to sports coaching,
workplace counselling, and professional train-
ing, are sketchy in their analyses within a
relatively short chapter, they do illustrate the
complexities in defining and circumscribing
coaching/mentoring. A recurring comment is
that these techniques are multi-faceted and have
to adjust to differing institutional and cultural

78

environments. Both coaching and mentoring are
directed at individual group members; coaching
typically addresses performance goals, whereas
mentoring takes a wider view of personal
development and growth. The chapter ends with
a useful set of tables distinguishing their
purposes and orientations.

The second chapter, noting the global advances
in information technology, sets out the concept
of a learning organization in which coaching
and mentoring are key components. The psycho-
logy on learning is selective and superficial,
making few references to the research literature,
but the authors make distinctions between the
learning experience and reflection. These are
loosely linked, without critical discussion, to
learning styles and to development as 'the learn-
ing of new knowledge, understanding, skills and
behaviours'. The authors' style is prescriptive but
makes useful points on the perceptions and
implementation of learning opportunities, and
the motivation that is needed to exploit them.
Having outlined this view of the learning/
development process the next three chapters
discuss the main theme of the book - that the
aim of coaching/mentoring is 'helping people
learn how to learn'.

Coaching is conceived as a process of analysis,
agreeing a personal development plan with the
learner, then implementing and evaluating that
plan. Under this framework interesting com-
ments are made on coaching style, that is, 'the
manner in which coaching is performed' and
which has to adapt to the experience and
performance of the learner. Examples are taken
from the workplace with a useful discussion on
coaching inexperienced learners using a 'practice
spiral' and a 'skills framework' technique. These
comments reflect the experience of the authors
and are practically orientated. For the more
experienced learners, the GROW technique
(Establish Goals, Examine Reality, Consider
Options, and Confirm the Will to Act) is
outlined and the chapter ends with a self-
assessment exercise to 'establish your current
levels of competence as a coach'.

In discussing mentoring, the authors point out
that this one-to-one activity is employed in many
different contexts, all with their varied demands
and constraints. In consequence, an unambiguous
definition of the mentoring process is hard to
achieve, but four key stages are discussed which
illustrate the principal features of mentoring,
namely confirming the personal development



Alt-J Volume 9 Number 3

plan, encouraging self-management of learning,
providing support and assisting in the evaluation
of success. These stages are discussed using four
examples to show the wide variations that exist in
the theory and practice of mentoring. These
examples are taken from business, institutes,
social services and manufacturing, but all
highlight the importance of preparation and
training for mentors, agreeing a format for meet-
ings, monitoring progress and evaluation. Again
the chapter ends with a self-assessment exercise.

The third chapter in this section of the book
addresses community mentoring. Much
practical illustration and discussion are provided
in contexts that can require mentors to be
guidance providers, pseudo-parents, case-
workers, as well as learning facilitators. The
argument moves to the professional develop-
ment of what are termed 'coach-mentors', notes
recent government initiatives, but points to the
care which will have to be exercised in designing
training schemes which need to adapt to varying
contexts. Overall the authors provide a percept-
ive discussion of the differing requirements of
community mentors and the need for empathy,
and establishing rapport and a sense of trust
with the person who is being mentored.

In summary, readers wishing to know more of
coaching/mentoring will find interesting topics
for discussion, practical work schemes and
checklists, and much sensible advice - all written
in a direct and pointed style.

Roger Hartley
University of Leeds

S. Ryan, B. Scott, H. Freeman and D. Patel, The
Virtual University - The Internet and Resource-
based Learning, London: Kogan Page, 2000.
ISBN: 0-7494-2508-3. Softback, xiii + 204 pages,
£19.99.

In recent years there has been much talk about
'virtual organizations'; that is, the ability to
create an entity that does not physically exist -
other than in cyberspace and in people's minds.
Virtual offices and virtual businesses, for
example, have 'existed' for some considerable
time. Now we are seeing the application of the
'vi duality' paradigm within educational
organizations. We are therefore now hearing
much talk about virtual classrooms, virtual com-
munities of learners, virtual learning environ-
ments and virtual university systems. This book
deals with the use of the Internet and Resource-
Based Learning (RBL) in order to realize the

electronic delivery of courses. Naturally, the
ultimate aim of this could be the realization of a
virtual university facility.

The material contained within the book is
organized into an introduction, ten 'semi-
independent' chapters, a reference section (con-
taining the bibliographic details for both the
conventional references and the on-line
citations) and a glossary. I describe the book's
chapters as 'semi-independent' since the authors
claim that each chapter could be read (in a
stand-alone fashion) independently of any of
the others. There is a Web site to accompany the
book. This resides at http:llwestworld.dmu.ac.ukf
vu-rbl and 'contains links to the Web pages
mentioned in the book - as well as updates and
new links'. This site is quite nicely designed -
echoing the colour scheme and design of the
book's front cover. Unfortunately, none of the
Web pages contain any dates and so it is not
possible to see when, if at all, the site has been
updated.

The opening chapter of the book 'sets the scene'
for the nine chapters that follow. It does this by
describing many of the current developments
that are taking place in higher education (HE)
and the impact that the Internet and the Web are
having. The primary focus of the chapter is on
developments that are taking place in the United
Kingdom, although some examples from other
countries (such as America and Australia) are
also included. A fundamental premiss made by
the authors (p. 2) is that 'RBL can only be done
w e l l . . . if supported by appropriate models of
learning and teaching and principles of course
design'. This requirement is 'followed up' in
Chapter 2, which deals with the various theories
of teaching and learning that are 'particularly
relevant for understanding how to do RBL well'
(p. 5). Following the somewhat brief descriptions
of learning theories (such as constructivism and
conversationalism), types of learner and
approaches to learning, the chapter concludes by
presenting an outline framework for course
design.

The real 'meat' of the book starts in Chapters 3,
4 and 5. The first of these examines the nature of
the Internet and focuses on a number of issues
relevant to the use of this medium for teaching
and learning. Although some interesting con-
cepts and examples are described, from a
technical perspective the treatment presented in
this chapter (and some of the ones that follow) is
very superficial - but then, I suppose the book is

79



Reviews

not really intended for 'technocrats'. Chapter 4
builds on the material that was presented in
Chapters 2 and 3; it deals with using the Internet
and the Web for course development and
delivery. There are three main themes in this
chapter, developing an online course (for which
the authors advocate a team approach); tools for
planning structuring and development; and
delivery issues. As this chapter is quite a short
one, the three topics (particularly, the last one)
are only treated in a superficial way. Chapter 5
continues the trilogy with a discussion of
'Resources on the World Wide Web'. The
discourse in this chapter covers a variety of
different topics such as digital/on-line libraries,
electronic publishing, discussion groups, news-
groups, museums and on-line laboratories. There
is a 'page or two' on evaluation but the treatment
given lacks depth and rigour. Unfortunately,
despite the many different types of resource that
are described, very little is said in this chapter
about the pedagogic aspects of using these
resources to support teaching and learning.

Chapters 6 and 7 are probably two of the most
interesting ones in the book. They deal with
computer-mediated communication (CMC) for
collaborative learning and computer-assisted
assessment, respectively. The CMC chapter
covers a wide range of techniques, such as real-
time chat, MUDs and MOOs, email, discussion
lists, newsgroups (again!) and conferencing.
Several types of conferencing technology are
discussed. The discussion starts off with com-
puter conferencing (using SoftArc's FirstClass
system as an example) and then goes on to
consider a number of audio, video and multi-
media conferencing systems. The chapter on
assessment covers a wide range of techniques to
facilitate both the automated and the semi-
automated measurement of students' skills,
knowledge and on-task performances. Both
formative and summative approaches to assess-
ment are considered.

In many ways, the 'climax' of the book comes in
Chapter 8. This is entitled 'Integrated Systems'.
The overall theme of this chapter is the
integration of electronic resources with a view to
creating virtual learning environments. The three
main topics that are addressed are: integrated
course delivery systems (such as Top Class and
WebCT); international standards to facilitate the
exchange and integration of teaching and
learning resources; and the integration and re-
use of 'educational objects'. On the 'standards'
theme, one of the interesting pieces of work

80

described in this chapter is the Instructional
Management Systems project. This uses meta-
data techniques in order to realize the exchange
and inter-operability of pedagogic resources.
Some mention is also made of the European
Community's Ariadne project - which is also
concerned with the reuse (and creation) of
computer-based teaching and learning materials.

The final two chapters in the book each deal
with various aspects of 'change'. In Chapter 9,
the authors discuss 'Changing Cultures in HE'.
Essentially, this chapter considers how con-
ventional HE organizations (and their staff) may
need to adapt in order to accommodate ongoing
developments in RBL and the competition that
they might face from 'real' virtual universities
operating in a global, world-wide context.
Chapter 10, similarly, looks at 'What's Around
the Corner?'. Two potentially important issues
that the authors identify include technological
developments and the role of HE organizations
in the information age in which we now exist.
My own view is that no matter how much we
automate our educational systems through the
use of RBL, we will still need people (even
though they may be virtual ones!).

I waited a long time to get a copy of this book to
review. Having now read the book from cover to
cover, I am disappointed that it did not live up to
my expectations. I say this for two reasons. First,
it does not really contain a great deal of
information about virtual universities - despite
its title. Second, I have the impression that the
book was put together in a bit of a hurry. There
are quite a few careless mistakes embedded
within it and one or two factual errors too.
Nevertheless, despite these shortcomings, many
people will undoubtedly find this book a useful
source of information. However, those who
already have some experience in RBL will
probably find that it lacks depth in most of the
areas that it attempts to cover. According to the
authors (p. 3), the book is intended 'chiefly for
teaching staff... who wish to be informed about
the changes happening around them and to
reflect on their implications critically and
deeply'. Bearing this in mind, the authors have
done a fairly reasonable job in bringing together
the diverse information 'sources that are
contained within it.

Philip Barker
University of Teesside