Surveys students and faculty in a school of business, finding that a Total Quality Management approach can increase students' learning in a class, help students support one another in a cooperative learning environment, and foster positive feelings toward the instructor, even one who maintains the necessary high standards. (SR)

Examines virtual-learning communities in higher education from a student's perspective. Discusses student-centered learning, cooperative learning, e-mail, listservs, bulletin boards, discussion groups, newsgroups, real-time discussion and the appropriate software, the World Wide Web, levels of effort needed for online learning, and a sense of…

Observes that the development of new instructional technologies has produced a proliferation of distance learning courses and programs. Examines one mode of distance learning, known as asynchronous learning networks, and discusses some pedagogical principles and practices that can guide this delivery mode. Points to some positive aspects of online…

Describes how to combine computer-assisted learning with collaborative learning in an introductory chemical engineering course in process dynamics and control. Discusses participants' impressions regarding the effectiveness of the approach. (WRM)

Examines how elementary school students improved their scientific discourse on a computer-networked database environment called Computer-Supported Intentional Learning Environments (CSILE). Results showed that system affordance specially designed for jointly written discourse in the discussion-note based (D-CSILE) configuration significantly…

Describes a five-week English course in which pairs of students work collaboratively on team-building activities, library research, research-paper topic selection, outlining, paraphrasing and summarizing, and writing and editing a joint research paper. Presents the peer-evaluation techniques, which differentiate students' share of the work so that…

Recounts experiences of Brigham Young University student teachers in Mexican schools. Explores reasons for lack of interest in facilitating creativity, despite a rich culture. Discusses four positive changes occurring in Mexican education: (1) students allowed to write about their own topics; (2) open-ended questions and informal debates; (3)…

To categorize the various components available for use in Web-based instruction, a hierarchical framework was developed for describing related instructional activities. This framework includes six levels ranging from simple information delivery to immersive collaborative environments and includes the general instructional perspective, Web/Internet…

Describes software which was developed to help collaborating pupils test hypotheses. Discusses use of the software by 9-14 year-old pupils in Scotland, comparing their activity with that of similarly aged pupils who worked with otherwise equivalent software which lacked any prompts. (Author/AEF)

Investigates the effects of preservice teachers working in paired-learning conditions versus working independently on a computer-based tutorial/simulation designed to teach users about an electronic-mail system. Findings support previous research on the positive effects of paired learning using computer-based instruction designed for individual…

Describes how Directed Reading Sequence, a small group cooperative learning method for teaching reading to low achieving students, may be used effectively in middle schools. Presents suggestions for group formation and the four-step Directed Reading Sequence: (1) selecting selection; (2) establishing the roles; (3) intermittent use; and (4)…

Describes the development of the Mentor Teacher Model that trained middle school and high school mathematics teachers in New Jersey as mentor teachers in the effective use of computer-based technologies for teaching mathematics. Highlights include student-centered teaching methods; cooperative learning; problem-solving activities; and technology…

Describes a Conceptual Understanding Procedure (CUP) designed to improve students' understanding of difficult concepts in senior secondary physics. CUPs are based on a constructivist view of learning, target individual students' ideas, and use cooperative learning. Though designed in a physics context, CUPs have equal applicability in other…

Presents a lesson for an United States Government class where the students work in groups in order to explore the tradeoffs among energy usage, transportation, environmental issues, and policy choices that must be made when solving urban transportation problems. Includes six handouts. (CMK)

A middle-school principal initially skeptical of Margrove College's distance-learning program for teachers was pleasantly surprised by the teacher teamwork and cooperative-learning classroom activities this Master's degree engendered. The program effectively transferred skills to practice by blending theory, demonstration, practice, feedback, and…