Examines problem-based small-group discussions and describes a study conducted in The Netherlands that investigated the thoughts of students, both content-related and non-task related, through a thought sampling method. Highlights include categories of students' thoughts; validity measures; and results of student questionnaires. (LRW)

Evaluates an approach that supplemented existing Reading Recovery programs with small-group, early literacy instruction in 28 Arkansas public schools. The program enabled many children to receive timely support. When space became available in Reading Recovery, these children made accelerated progress and were discontinued earlier than children who…

This study examined specific math practices utilized by 25 teachers in gifted preschool/kindergarten programs. Results indicated that most respondents used unstructured activities in small groups when providing math instruction. Although some concepts generally introduced to older students were taught, concepts of time and measurement were rarely…

Describes how a second grade teacher implemented a small-group, support-reading strategy with low-achieving readers. Describes (1) characteristics of the innercity classroom; (2) explanation of how the instructional strategy was introduced and implemented over time; (3) evidence of the intervention's success; and (4) comments on the…

Discusses a study of students in an innovative medical education program that organizes its curriculum around small-group problem solving and omits grades and written examinations. Examines professional socialization, sources of student uncertainty or anxiety, the striving for professional competence, adaptations to interactional evaluation, and…

Describes a reading intervention program that combined a modified enrichment program with cross-age tutoring and that resulted in significant gains in reading for both students and tutors. (SR)

Describes a small-group, problem-based tutorial that was developed at Harvard Medical School. Topics discussed include recruiting and training faculty members for problem-based tutoring; students' ratings of tutors; students' written narratives; a survey of tutors' perspectives; and tutor effectiveness. (LRW)

Discussion of computer-based second-language learning focuses on a study of elementary school students in grades four through six who used a contextualized computer environment that was designed to provide precommunicative practice with Spanish. Highlights include student roles in small groups, cooperative learning, and the teacher's role.…

Describes the evolution and testing of an inservice special education teacher training project in which teachers engaged in collaborative strategy instruction with small groups of severely reading-delayed adolescents. An analysis of videotaped pre- and posttest reading sessions showed significant gains in many dimensions related to fostering…

Describes a study that investigated whether second grade students internalized content and concepts embedded in a science computer simulation as opposed to treating it as a game to be played. Discusses cognitive outcomes and processes, thinking skills, use of scientific language, transfer to other contexts, and partner and gender considerations.…

The "Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (1989)" calls for the revision of existing secondary mathematics curricula which include an emphasis on contextual problems, multiple representations, and the use of computers. The focus of this revision significantly involves the acknowledgment of the key role of the…