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Letter from the Co-president October 2007 Dear Colleagues, IASCE is pleased to bring you the final member newsletter of 2007. In this issue we provide details about our January 2008, co-sponsored, international conference in Torino plus an interview with one of the conference organizers Francesca Gobbo. We also include additional information about our June 2008 co-sponsored conference in Nagoya, Japan. This is a busy time for the IASCE. We see conferences as an important part of our mission and we are delighted that, during 2008, we are able to co-sponsor conferences on two continents. In her interview, Professor Gobbo speaks of her wariness of innovations that are presented as “good practices” without careful reflection on context and complexity. As I read this issue’s selection of journal abstracts I was struck with how, collectively, they speak to the importance of context and the need for careful reflection and the willingness to engage complexity. In the abstract from the Sloan Management Review, for instance, the authors suggest that leadership style is contingent on the development of shared values and the establishment of perceptions of influence and clear task roles. With these findings, one hears the whispering voices of Kurt Lewin, Robert Bales, Morton Deutsch, and Will Schutz and one remembers that early social psychologists provided critical building blocks to cooperative learning theory and models. Through other abstracts we are reminded that “authentic” discussion is challenging, that seemingly positive innovations can have unintended and negative consequences, and that students may resist collaboration even while, simultaneously, recognizing its value. For me, these abstracts reinforce my belief that we always need to study the work of those who came before us while we, simultaneously, explore the specific complexities of our own subject, cultural, and developmental contexts. One way IASCE helps me to do this is through the member newsletter. Another is through our co-sponsored conferences where there are always opportunities to engage thoughtful and nuanced ideas, a variety of cultural contexts, and warm-hearted reflection and collegiality. With two upcoming conferences in two different parts of the world, we hope to see you in the near future. In the meantime, please share this newsletter with your colleagues and please visit our website. Thank you for your support. Cooperatively yours, Lynda
Lynda Baloche
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