Group Dynamics

Thanks for pointing me to that article, Veena--it may be 20 years old but it's certainly very relevant.  I really like the way you have allowed it to guide and focus your thinking!
One of the challenges of being a teacher candidate is that you have so little opportunity to influence positively the group dynamics.  And despite the best of intentions, it's often hard to "get it right" in your first year of teaching, partly because the moves really exist only in theory until you start to enact them and partly because very little plays out as we would like it to on the first try (but don't give up!--I'm sure you wouldn't!).
Having read all that, I wonder what you think about the group dynamics in our physics class. I'm sure you notice differences from class to class. Can you pinpoint which teachers' actions have affected group dynamics positively or negatively??  Are there any issues we should be discussion in physics about group dynamics, specifically or generally??
I like your questions and I love the clarity of your statement that "I don’t want students to have to try to learn in a war zone."
THANKS
Tom