The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on education systems worldwide, leading to significant learning loss, exacerbating existing educational inequalities and disproportionately affecting disadvantaged students. Governments around the world have begun to invest in large-scale tutoring initiatives as a key component of their…

Understanding how students develop learning opportunities through peer-to-peer interaction is vital for advancing research and practice on collaborative learning environments. This study investigated the discourse practices middle grade students utilized to resolve conflict in ways that promoted or inhibited learning opportunities. Seventy-seven…

This article describes the implementation of small-group reading instruction as secondary- and tertiary-level components of a three-tier model of prevention and intervention. The study consisted of 83 students who were targeted in the winter of kindergarten as being at high risk for reading failure. Intervention consisted of evidence-based…

This study compared the effectiveness and efficiency of using a small-group massed-trial instructional format to an individually administered distributed-trial format, both using the constant time delay procedure, in teaching eight preschool children (including three with developmental disabilities) to name pictures. Although all subjects acquired…

An examination was conducted by a teacher who was interested in how the responses of three multihandicapped students (7-8 years old) differed in one-to-one and one-to-three instructional arrangements given (1) the physical limitations of the students; (2) an activity that demanded much physical prompting; and (3) limited instructional resources.…

To explore how fifth grade students used their oral language in small group discussions to remake information, a study set up a series of small group tasks in the curriculum areas of social studies, current events, science, poetry, and mathematics for one class of 28 Canadian students. Students were randomly divided into seven groups of four…

Determined whether small groups would stimulate creativity more than individualized learning environments for fifth- and sixth-grade students (N=111). Results indicated that small groups were more creative with electrical circuits and that this grouping format should be used in elementary classes. (Author/DH)

This study examined microcomputer use by individual students and groups of two, three, and five seventh- and eighth-grade students to discover any relationship existing between group size and achievement of a correct problem solution, and whether there is a relationship between group size and time to solution. (MBR)

Effective instructional strategies used to teach language skills to 24 elementary aged students with autism or moderate mental retardation included the use of choral responding; the use of student-to-student responding; the frequent rotation of materials while teaching 2 to 3 concepts; and the use of random, unpredictable trials for student…

A progressive time delay procedure used in a small group instructional arrangement was successful in teaching four high school students with severe handicaps to read community-referenced words. Two of the students learned additional words by observing their peers. (Author/DB)

This study examined the use of heuristic problem-solving strategies in math by seventh-graders under three different conditions: working individually; working in groups; and working as cooperative teams. No significant differences were found for the three conditions over a 5-week experimental period on a problem solving post-text (the Maryland…

Reports an investigation into pupil-talk in small groups during a computer simulation. The role of language as a communication and understanding aid is considered, along with the microcomputer's potential as a stimulus to and generator of discussion. The contents of participants' conversations, at and away from the microcomputer, are analyzed.…

Five children (27 to 47 months old) with mild to borderline levels of mental retardation were given a milieu language intervention program of 3 or 4 small group training sessions weekly. Results indicated the training had a clear facilitative effect on the acquisition and generalized use of common nouns and verbs by four of the subjects.…

Two studies compared the performance of students (total n=66 and ages 5-21) with autism or developmental disabilities in one-to-one instruction to performance of those transitioned to small groups. Results indicated successful transition to small group formats across curriculum areas including language, math, readiness, and shopping. (Author/DB)

In successfully establishing and having students complete group tasks within a cooperative learning framework, 14 essential elements must be present. The elements necessary for cooperative learning are: (1) a clear set of specific student learning outcome objectives; (2) all students in the group accept the targeted outcome; (3) clear and complete…