In Flemish education, there is an ongoing debate regarding the implementation of the concept of student centered education within educational settings. In order to investigate student teachers' beliefs about the learning environment within the learning to teach process, this case study, conducted within two departments of preservice and inservice…

This guide features a problem-based learning (PBL) unit specifically designed for student-centered learning of new and meaningful content on diseases. Students grapple with a complex and changing problem that requires higher level thinking skills in an environment in which students work both individually and in collaboration with others. Includes…

This action research project evaluated a program designed to increase the use of appropriate social skills and improve academic achievement. The targeted population was comprised of first through third graders in four separate communities located in northeast Illinois. Evidence of the problem included teacher observational checklists denoting…

The purpose of this study was to determine the design features of the physical learning environment that support and enhance collaborative, project-based learning at the community college level, and to gain an understanding of the rationale for selection of the features. The characteristics of the physical environment investigated in the study…

Many concepts, methods, and technologies regarding computer support in collaborative environments have been proposed. It is important to take into account human relations in collaborative learning environments, where personality plays a central role. However, it is not easy to build human relations in Web-based education (WBE), because there are…

A challenge in online collaborative learning teams is assuring that all members of the virtual learning team are actively engaged and contributing to the work of the team. One strategy to hold individual members of a learning team accountable for their contributions is through the use of peer and self evaluations. This paper provides a summary of…

In this colorfully illustrated kindergarten activity, students read (and re-read) "My Blue Suitcase" (Sharon Katz), as an introduction to traveling. The book uses all of the basic forms of transportation and forms the transportation lesson outline. The activity gives the students the task of learning about each mode of transportation:…

This paper describes how Open Source philosophy, a movement that has developed in opposition to the proprietary software industry, has influenced educational practice in the pursuit of scholarly freedom and authentic learning activities for students and educators. This paper provides a brief overview of the Open Source movement, and describes…

This paper describes the design and implementation of a real time on-line collaboration tool, EDUCO. The main focus is to demonstrate how the tool is applied to a real life on-line distance education course, discuss the preliminary research findings of the qualitative empirical study, propose directions for future work and discuss implications.…

This toolkit provides tested lessons and a selection of alternative ideas for the middle grades to help adapt and integrate the teaching of information skills in a way that meets the needs of teachers and students. After an introductory section, eight chapters of Collaborative Integrated Skills Lessons are provided. The lessons are grouped by…

This paper provides an overview of the interdisciplinary program at Auburn High School, a small high school in Riner, Virginia, and describes a recent schoolwide project to construct an Elizabethan gazebo and Shakespeare garden. To develop interdisciplinary units, the teachers begin by brainstorming ideas, looking for overlapping content. The next…

This action research project evaluated a program for improving middle school and high school students' engagement and ownership in the learning process. The problems of students exhibiting an inadequate level of engagement and ownership was documented through data showing quality of student work, anecdotal records kept by the teachers, and…

This ethnographic case study investigated the challenges of six elementary teachers who attempted to embrace, comprehend, and apply elements of cooperative learning. The study examined solutions that teachers found effective in dealing with problems they encountered when using cooperative learning. Over the course of 1 year, researchers collected…

This final report, covering the period September 1, 1997 to August 31, 2001, discusses the development, activities, and outcomes of Upgrading Preparatory Work To Augment Reading Development: UPWARD for Students with Disabilities, a multi-faceted program for providing children with disabilities intensive, phonological awareness and other early…

This lesson plan imagines the student as part of a delegation to a special meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)-sponsored Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council being held in Brussels, Belgium, where the topic of discussion is a proposal by several NATO members to invite independent republics of the former Soviet Union to become…