Triad Dynamics: Investigating Social Forces, Roles, and Storylines
Source: Teaching Education, Volume 21, Issue 4, 2010, Pages 349 – 366.
This article describes a phenomenological study that aimed to explore the relationships between university supervisors, in-service and pre-service teachers (triads).
Two triads participated in a joint pre-service and in-service professional development project.
Multiple in-depth interviews were completed with each triad member to better record and resolve the varied experiences of the participants.
Through using positioning theory as a lens for interpreting data, triad dynamics were explicated to understand relationships within these groups and the factors surrounding these relationships.
The key research findings indicate that : (1) when triads were engaged in projects that promoted participants' synthesis of products as they enlist what they are learning, collaborative positioning occurred;
(2) adequate time for interactions led to another influential social force: the establishment of trust and relationships; and
(3) uncertainty in expectations can act as an inhibitive social force for collaborations.