In science education students should come to understand the nature and significance of models. A promising strategy to achieve this goal is using authentic modelling practices as contexts for meaningful learning of models and modelling. An authentic practice is defined as professionals working with common motives and purposes, pertaining to a…

This study examines the use of narrative and paradigmatic modes of explanation in large group discussions about science in preschool classrooms. Participants comprised students and teachers in 29 preschool classrooms, 19 of which used the ScienceStart! curriculum, a hands-on, inquiry approach to teaching science with young children. Analyses of…

Online learning at the K-12 level has been growing dramatically over the past decade in the United States and worldwide. Proceeding on a similar trajectory, the use of charter schools as a means to provide education choice in the United States has also grown. These two paths have converged in many instances to form online or virtual charter…

An examination of the effectiveness of a group leader given varying levels of leader-to-group agreement on issues. (CH)

Suggests ways of teaching how to plan and conduct conference-type meetings. (CH)

This paper introduces a new method for the detection of patterns or phases in small groups based on fuzzy pattern recognition procedures. It tells how the method provides an accurate description of all the patterns of group interaction, detects rather than assumes the number of patterns and their length, and is based on fuzzy set theory so that it…

If a small group is conceptualized as a communication system the operation of which generates discussion, that discussion is a stationary process to the extent that its parameters do not change significantly over time. This research casts some doubt on the nonstationarity conception of discussion. (Author)

Teachers can help students increase reading comprehension by instituting a student discussion period in which students are encouraged to contribute ideas without risk of ridicule or failure. Teachers introduce the discussion, observe what student participation indicates about comprehension, and summarize the discussion. Such an approach is an…

Problem solving groups have helped young pupils to solve their social and behavioral problems. Examples of students' progress are offered and the program's expansion is described. (CL)

The adversary system is a bad bargain for everybody, these authors believe, since insecurity and fear are the results. They describe an approach they found successful and recommend that teachers and students also use it. (Editor)

This book discusses the issues involved in ethical decision-making in a way that children and adolescents can comprehend. Kids will learn to recognize the impact of their actions upon others and on their own sense of well-being. These developmentally appropriate activities help children and youth internalize the concepts associated with "doing the…

Groups assigned to the High Orientation condition'', wherein a confederate manipulated behavior, were significantly closer to concensus after discussion than groups in either the Low or No Orientation conditions''; thirty groups were involved in the study. (Author/SP)

The author describes an experiment performed with her college class. The students realize there can be many interpretations and impressions of a single incident. (MR)