In the action research project report, the teacher researchers found that many kindergarten and first-grade students did not have the reading readiness skills to be reading at their benchmark target. The purpose of the project was to improve the students overall reading ability. The dates of the project began on September 8 through December 20,…

This dissertation reports the results of a one-year pilot study conducted to determine the feasibility of a small group-discovery method with a class of college freshmen studying calculus. The class consisted of twelve volunteer students who had A or B grades in their high school mathematics courses. The pilot class scored slightly better on a…

It was postulated that the combination of heterogeneity and an element of similarity--i.e., complementarity--would produce a stimulating yet cohesive group interaction. The subjects for this study were 359 students enrolled in six required English and six required social science classes at Miami-Dade Community College. Within the limitations of…

Small groups provide an ideal environment for developing linguistic security (seeing one's language as acceptable to those with whom one is most concerned about communicating). In a case study of seven students representing a cross section of two composition classes, small groups did foster linguistic security and written fluency. From remarks…

This report describes a program for using explicit instruction of reading strategies through the implementation of guided reading groups to improve student comprehension. The targeted population consisted of elementary school students in growing, middle class communities, located in northern Illinois. Evidence for the existence of a deficiency of…

This study examines the use of "full processing" as a teaching model in basic speech communicaton courses. Full processing has four sequential components: a theoretically and factually based lecture, a transition discussion period, a simulation game, and a postgame discussion that relates the simulation game to the lecture material. The study's…

One hundred seventy-five first-year community college students enrolled in a course called "Developmental Writing 090" participated in this study. Some students were enrolled in an experimental group which was divided into two subgroups: one group was involved in independent study and the other in small group instruction. Other students in the…

This action research project report documents the action research project that was conducted to improve reading comprehension with second grade and third grade students. The teacher researchers intended to improve reading comprehension by using higher-order thinking skills such as predicting, making connections, visualizing, inferring,…

A cooperative learning model was used in Florida to change the state-mandated grade 12 course called Family Life and Sex Education, which had been found deficient in meeting students' educational and social needs. Pretest data before the change in model indicated a lack of knowledge that had a detrimental effect on thinking and problem-solving…

A study investigated whether group interaction in completing cloze passages resulted in better completion than individual work. An earlier analysis of cloze procedure was replicated with 41 community college students of English as a Second Language (ESL). The population was randomly divided into two samples. Each sample completed two cloze…

The author presents a model for inservice teacher training entitled the Process Oriented In-Service Experience (POISE) and attempts to identify changes occurring in the process movement and dynamics of interaction as reflected in attitudes and behaviors of teachers participating in this modified, small-group, process learning experience under…

This study attempted to better define the nature of critical thinking and its component skills (with a focus on the interpretation, analysis, and evaluation of data) by investigating the relationship between critical thinking competency and an activity card method of instruction, individual or small group work patterns, achievement, and sex. The…

The cross-cultural approach to reading, which involves a structured, individualized sequence of learning activities, was designed to accommodate the culture and language of black "nonmainstream" students. The approach includes two teaching/learning strategies: associative bridging, the process of beginning with students' familiar dialect and then…

Three modes of instruction were compared in teaching two units in an undergraduate course on the teaching of elementary school reading. All of the 116 students received packets of learning materials related to the objectives of each unit. Students in the lecture groups used the packets as supplementary materials, those in independent study were…

This action research project developed an intervention to determine and change the attitudes and beliefs about students and gender bias. Targeted population were freshmen through seniors in two high schools in a blue collar, middle class community in northeastern Illinois. The problems were identified by student surveys on attitudes and beliefs…