Examines the language of writing groups at fifth, eighth, and eleventh grade levels to determine what students say when they critique one another's work. Analysis of idea units revealed that the highest proportion focused on the content of writing. The rubric for coding ideas is appended. (HOD)

Suggests two units for use in grades 10 to 12 based on the topics for group discussion in the booklet "Guide to the Bagrut Examination." The units are intended to prepare students for the oral examinations to be used in Israel starting in 1986. An annotated reference list is included. (SED)

Examined the skill and gender of individual group discussants and the sex composition of the group as factors potentially influencing perceptions of emergent leadership. Confirmed that task competence, more than gender, was crucially related to an individual's emergence as the group's leader. (PD)

Describes a systematic approach to reading instruction with gifted students that increases their reading ability and broadens their interests. (AEA)

Results confirm the hypotheses that performance/self-esteem has a substantial impact on an individual's chances of being perceived as a group's emergent leader, his or her ratings by other group members and trained observers on key leadership variables, and his or her self-assessment as a group participant. (PD)

This article outlines a group career-counseling project designed to assist minority students in developing effective job interview skills. (Author)

This paper describes an online collaborative process among three university classes in a cross-country project. Two of the classes were undergraduate courses at the Indiana University Bloomington and Northwest campuses, and the third was a graduate course at North Carolina A & T State University. Each course was a traditional campus-based…

As the United States enters the 21st century, the rich diversity of its people may be its greatest promise and its greatest challenge. The country still struggles with a legacy of racial discrimination and ethnic disparity, even if their forms are subtler today. This book is designed to promote public deliberation that can help individuals find…

The "Vicarious Learner" project at Glasgow Caledonian University and the University of Edinburgh is looking broadly at issues concerning the role of dialogue in learning. This paper looks at the more general question of how the value of dialogue in learning depends on the structure of the environment in which it takes place. In…

This book offers a tested method for utilizing groups in the English classroom. It uses theory and ethnography to document why groups succeed and how to remedy them when they are failing. Five chapters focus on: (1) "Group Work Matters" (e.g., how to make groups worth it, the need for groups, and the process of finding communication);…

The purpose of this study is to investigate learning effects of online peer-support for generating critical questions and counter arguments in small group online discussion. The online peer-support includes descriptions of what to do and generic and domain specific examples of questions. About 45 students were recruited from an online introductory…

The main purpose of this Naturalistic inquiry study is to explore four ethically diverse Web-based Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) students' perceptions of and experiences in knowledge construction and group collaboration. Findings suggest that individual and group successes are interconnected and rely on successful negotiation…

In professional development, attention to both collaboration and critical thinking in the various interactive socialization processes of teaching practices should be essential strategic elements in a formative environment. This study presents contributions from the teleinteractive dynamic established in a virtual environment for the critical…

Since 1989, the Reference and User Services Association/Management and Operation of User Services Section's Management of Reference Committee has successfully used case studies to foster structured discussions among public service librarians on a wide variety of issues relating to managing change in reference services. The information offered in…

This paper summarizes what the author has seen go wrong in six years of participation in online discussions and recommends some remedies. The emphasis is on helping discussion leaders to structure and guide online discussions for maximum effectiveness. The paper has a focus on learning environments, which are central to both formal academic…