Transformative learning has been important in the development of adult education since Jack Mezirow proposed it more than 35 years ago as a theoretical description of the steps learners undergo in changing their worldviews. However, despite much qualitative research, little quantitative study has been made of the incidence of transformative learning or the 10 steps predicted by Mezirow to precede it. This study of 256 undergraduate business school students reports the incidence of transformative learning and each of the 10 precursor steps. The more steps respondents remembered experiencing, the more they also reported transformative learning. The highest incidence of reporting transformative learning was associated with the precursor step of critical reflection, followed by the steps of disorienting dilemmas and trying on new roles. Implications for practitioners and researchers are discussed.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to take a fresh look at how well instruments commonly used to calibrate teamwork skills reflect the reality of today’s workplace. Given the number of teamwork skills instruments that have been available for many decades, the question was, why still are so many workplace teams not successful? Design/methodology/approach This practitioner exploration identified insights from a small group of experienced Indian managers on what makes a successful team. It compares these insights to the dimensions identified in one readily available practitioner-developed teamwork skills instrument and to those characteristics identified in the literature. Findings The match was less than perfect between the criteria these experienced managers used to predict team success and the combination of the dimensions in the literature and what the tool measured. Analysis indicated these managers felt that successful teams indeed required good communication among members (as identified in the literature), but they added the specificity that the element of communication characterized as effective listening was a key contributor to team success. Additionally, they did not just exhibit effective conflict resolution techniques (as identified in the literature), but also relied upon debate, discussion, flexibility, trust and cohesiveness. The findings also suggested the importance of understanding each other’s strengths and weaknesses and of giving credit, which were not included on the instrument used. Originality/value Given the growing importance of diverse international teams and the continued high failure rate of many teams, there is a need to take a fresh look at evaluating insights of successful team members using the additional lenses of culture, technology-enhanced communications and distributed work approaches. These insights should be compared to those skills that have been historically measured by instruments commonly used to calibrate teamwork skills and described in the literature. If the measuring tools are accurate, why do so many teams fail? If instruments are to be useful in guiding improvement of teamwork skills, they need to calibrate the specific skills that differentiate success from failure in today’s real world.

Presentation software is an important tool for both student and professorial communicators. PowerPoint has been the standard since it was introduced in 1990. However, new "improved" software platforms are emerging. Prezi is one of these, claiming to remedy the linear thinking that underlies PowerPoint by creating one canvas and permitting the presenter to zoom in and out as each element is introduced. Users can move back and forth to display the separate elements and reflect how they fit into a larger context. As these new tools are introduced, there may be different responses to them depending on the cultural background of the user. In order to understand one such interplay, Prezi was introduced to students in a class in Norway and in the same way to a class in the U.S. The mixed method study compared the introduction of this new software tool to two undergraduate classes in Spring 2012. The two professors used the same introduction to the tool. The output was the final project presentation for the class done using the Prezi tool. Students evaluated each other's presentations on 10 attributes and answered two open-ended questions about the presentations. They also completed an 8-question self-evaluation of their or their team's presentation. The instructor/researchers also used the same questions to evaluate her class. An additional 13 questions were added to the instructor instrument. Each instructor/researcher also viewed videos of the presentations from the other class and evaluated these presentations using the same set of questions.Results showed that both sets of students used the new tool well despite minimal direct instruction. Most made their presentations less linear than they would have been in PowerPoint. They generally used the Prezi technique of grouping elements and constructing a pathway between groups. Most inserted multimedia such as photos, videos, and links. Some especially appreciated the Prezi feature of more than one user being able to work on a presentation at the same time.Peers liked each other's presentations and found them engaging. However, open-ended comments were more directed to actual content than use of Prezi. In student feedback the answer to the first attribute, being engaging, appeared to create a halo for most of the other attributes.In evaluating their peers' presentations, the U.S. students were significantly Material published as part of this publication, either on-line or in print, is copyrighted by the Informing Science Institute. Permission to make digital or paper copy of part or all of these works for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that the copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage AND that copies 1) bear this notice in full and 2) give the full citation on the first page. It is permissible to abstract these works so long as credit is given. To copy in all other cases or to republish or to post on a server or to redistribute to lists requires specific permission and payment of a fee.

In order to examine the effectiveness of using PowerPoint slides as a teaching aid in the postsecondary classroom, this exploratory study compared the impact on teaching effectiveness of the number and density of slides, as well as the use of visuals and other non-textual elements within slides. The number of slides used per session appeared not to affect effectiveness but lower den sity (3 bullet points and 20 words or less per slide) was associated with effectiveness. Results for the 10 instructors teaching 17 classes on information management from 2003 to 2009 were also analyzed by teaching style. Instructors identified as "Experts" and "Facilitators" more often used pictures, photos, charts, graphics, and sound in their slides compared to instructors with other Grasha-Riechman styles. Best practices for using PowerPoint slides are suggested.

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