Asking students questions is a ubiquitous but often underestimated aspect of teaching within higher education. Questions can be used to engage students in discussion, to check their understanding, and to encourage participation or sharing of ideas. However, while it is a useful strategy to prepare a few key questions before class, many questions…

In order to assess how completely a Small Learning Community (SLC) and/or Career Academy is implemented in any given site, and to connect the degree of implementation with the amount of improvement in student performance, two kinds of information are needed. The first is information on the quality of implementation, which can be collected by…

This article reviews current literature on small group instruction with moderately to severely disabled students, discussing such components as group size, homogeneous/heterogeneous groupings, task selection, instructional strategies, attentional cues, presentation of the discriminative stimulus, trial presentation, choral and individual…

Changing demographics makes the nation's schools increasingly diverse, both culturally and linguistically. In this contribution to the Kids InSight series, the reader will gain an insider's perspective on what it means to be an English learner in a U.S. classroom. By reflecting on one's own work with language learners, one will develop a deeper…

Teaching strategies that promote cooperative learning within heterogeneous, small groups of students, can be effective ways to deal with mainstreamed students in content area instruction. Cooperative learning not only develops academic competencies, but promotes positive peer relationships. To set the stage for cooperative learning, students must…

Describes a group project teaching technique that was used to teach a college-level social research methods course. Students, working in small groups, planned an original study, developed an instrument, and gathered data to test their hypotheses. Lectures and readings also comprised an important part of the course. (SR)

This article describes an activity, "four of a kind," to help foster friendships among elementary students in general education classrooms that include students with learning disabilities. Small groups of four students use a poster format to list both their individual characteristics and the things they have in common. (DB)

A model focuses on three levels of observable behaviors that are essential for teachers to demonstrate in small-group learning situations: (1) teacher and student questioning; (2) teacher and student interaction; and (3) teacher monitoring. Five figures are provided for recording observations. (18 references) (MLF)

The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Practice Guide "Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction for English Learners in the Elementary Grades" addresses the challenge of providing effective literacy instruction for English learners in the elementary grades. The Guide offers five specific recommendations for district administrators…

Notes that the success of a writing effort for technical writers sometimes depends on their ability to bring a group of people together, elicit cooperation and involvement, and put thoughts down on paper. Presents three techniques that may be used to deal effectively with group projects: the group calculator, the Japanese Ringi system, and the…

Designed as a step book, this resource is intended to be used by all teachers, classroom volunteers, and parents for one-to-one or small group reading instruction. The resource provides a clear focus for guided reading groups and can be used with any text, on any grade level in elementary school. It could be a solution for the growing number of…

Students working together in small groups are a familiar scene in Australian elementary schools. But why are small groups used, and who benefits from their use? This book puts the case for small-group organization in the light of contemporary educational theory. In doing so, the book guides the teacher taking the first steps towards small-group…

Describes formal, intensive small group activities in large college classes, as well as initiatives to redesign courses around small-group learning. Strategies include "jigsaw," structured controversy, problem-based cooperative learning, and restructured lecture-recitation-laboratory activities. Notes basis of such strategies in constructivist…

Suggests five activities for the college classroom to stimulate discussion when students report results of small- group discussions to the class as a whole. The activities "newsprint dialogue," rotating small-group stations, "snowballing,""cocktail party," and "jigsaw" stress maximum student participation, interaction, and intellectual engagement.…

This paper presents an instructional strategy found to be effective in meeting the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse exceptional (CLDE) students. The strategy, called "Committees," involves dividing the class into small groups and assigning each group a different activity revolving around a selected theme or concept. Students rotate…