Reports two approaches to learning, including (1) a 3-hour discussion meeting once a week and (2) provision for a variety of learning activities to be pursued individually, with the latter approach preferred by students. (Editor/SB)

A fourth grade teacher tells of her experience with a weekly class event called "free-time learning". (GB)

Issues in making small-group instruction effective are addressed in this theme issue, which focuses on an approach called Complex Instruction (CI). Developed by Elizabeth Cohen at Stanford University (California), the approach is designed for middle school students in heterogeneous classes. The program is based on four goals to help teachers…

This paper discusses "Guided Design," a method for teaching course content which engages students in group decision-making, where problems are solved or issues are resolved in a step-by-step process using instructions and feedbacks especially prepared to make students think for themselves about subject matter rather than depend on the…

Describes how less able students were motivated when assigned the task of inviting and being responsible for guest speakers from the community. (CRH)

This workbook presents guidelines and information on the use of cooperative learning (an instructional technique that requires students to work together in small, fixed groups on a structured learning task) and the development and implementation of student learning teams in postsecondary education. The workbook covers: (1) a definition of…

A questionnaire on use of cooperative learning was distributed to all faculty (76 respondents) in the College of Technical Careers at Southern Illinois-Carbondale (SIUC) and a sample of the membership (66 respondents) of the American Technical Education Association (ATEA). For both samples, the main use of groupwork was with laboratory…

A cooperative activity involving eight sixth grade students over five days focused on inventing static representations of motion. In generating, critiquing and refining numerous representations, strong metarepresentational competence was found. An intricate blend of the children's conceptual and interactional skills, their interest in and sense of…

In developing a program for the professional development of supervisors, cooperating teachers, and student teachers, consideration was given to traditional observation methods. These methods focus upon observing: (1) the organization of independent study; (2) activities designed to enhance learning as it relates to goals of the classroom; (3)…