Relational thinking is a necessary skill for building students' individual capabilities and a core concept in geography education. Geographical relational thinking refers to being able to give interrelated, causal explanations for geographical phenomena such as regional change. The aim of this study was to gain more insight into differences in…

Studies of primary education within the UK have shown that small groups can feature within classrooms; however, equivalent research within secondary education remains scarce. Research has established effective group work approaches, yet secondary teachers may encounter difficulties employing approaches tied to parameters embedded within primary…

A study investigated the relationship between teaching style and group conflict within the small instructional group. The conjecture was that the transactional teaching style is associated with more positive resolutions to group conflict than either the nomothetic or idiographic style. Research was conducted on 10 instructional groups within the…

This review includes recent research that manipulated features of cooperative learning as well as studies of the relationship between interaction in small groups and outcomes. The analysis examines the kinds of discourse that are productive for different types of learning and moves toward studies of task and interaction. (SLD)

Describes the use of group dynamics in a junior high school science classroom as a means of dealing with problems associated with the heterogeneous nature of the student population. (JR)

Describes the characteristics and behavior of three kinds of peer groups in the composition classroom. Discusses some of the difficulties these groups encounter in their critiquing, and some suggestions for improving the dynamics of the less successful groups. (HTH)

The study described in this report investigated the effects of two context variables on small-group learning--namely, group size and group gender composition--within an adult learning framework. In the study, the "revolving circle" method was innovated. In this design, one group member is the center of the cooperative circle and all…

This study was an attempt fo document aspects of small group work in classrooms engaged in the process education curricula called "Materials and Activities for Teachers and Children" (MATCH). Data on student-student interaction was related to small group work and gathered by paper-and-pencil sociometric questionnaires and measures of group…

THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SMALL STUDENT-LED DISCUSSION GROUPS AS A METHOD OF INSTRUCTION. PERFORMED WERE TWO TYPES OF STUDIES INVOLVING OVER 1,400 STUDENTS IN 42 COURSES--(1) COMPARATIVE STUDIES WHICH EMPLOYED CONTROL GROUPS AGAINST MORE TRADITIONAL INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES, AND (2) INNOVATIVE STUDIES WHICH…

Logic and mathematics are used to gain some insight into the effective and efficient application of instruction. A pupil's state of knowledge is represented by the degree of confidence he possesses in the subject matter. A cost, gain, and return from instruction are associated with each possible initial degree of confidence and each instructional…

Presents the Two-Level Cooperative Group Learning Model, a small-group instruction technique, developed at the University of Houston-Clear Lake, and based on the Jigsaw II approach. Outlines a sample unit, showing how student expert groups teach their home teams. Demonstrates the technique's benefits: greater student motivation and interaction,…

Small group work is an indispensable component of self-paced individualized instruction and can also make possible a high degree of individualization in the conventional instructional situation. Partial instructional approaches varying whole-class presentations, small group work, and individualized study are discussed. Group work can facilitate…

To understand the nature of talk in small group writing workshops, including the way talk changes over time and the use students make of such talk, a study analyzed the conversations of 17 inexperienced college writers as they composed and revised self-selected pieces during a one-semester composition course. A student from the course who did not…

The child in the bilingual education situation must be aware of the two languages involved as two separate systems corresponding to the two distinct cultural entities that are part of his environment. The child must learn to separate, yet identify with, each system as a useful and necessary means of communication. The teacher-directed method is…

The study evaluates the effectiveness of a set of social studies activities in promoting cooperative interaction among junior high school students. A field experiment was designed to test three hypotheses: (1) groups which have previously worked together structure tasks more cooperatively than a newly formed group: (2) groups which have…