The group circle has not been a particularly fashionable
structure for holding meetings between adults. In the U.S.,
sitting in a circle is chiefly reserved for preschool and
kindergarten students, tucked somewhere between snack time and
nap time. However, no other group formation naturally lends
itself to an egalitarian and open discussion quite as well a
circle. This premise was the starting point for a pair of
researchers who designed a program about culture change for
long-term care staff. The culture change movement is committed
to reinventing long-term care facilities as homes instead of
institutions. A key component of this vision is resident-
centered care, a practice that allows more autonomy for
residents to determine their own schedules and lives. It has
been shown that residents, staff, and administrators all benefit
from adopting culture change principles, yet these changes
remain difficult to make. Part of the problem is awareness. The
researchers studied the effect of a learning circle program o