Discusses the need for holistic curriculum development and reflective teaching, examining five persistent myths related to teacher education and noting strategies for refuting them. Challenges excuses for maintaining the status quo in education (lecturing and testing as the normal mode), viewing learning as an interactive process. (SM)

Presents secondary students' perceptions of cooperative learning (CL) in an attempt to understand how and why CL benefits students affectively and cognitively. After describing the structure of learning and schooling, the article discusses how CL promotes positive interdependence, social skills, work skills, and individual accountability. (SM)

A college teacher used cooperative learning in English as a Second Language and linguistics classrooms. She discovered international students enjoyed working and writing in small groups and getting to know other students. Linguistics students enjoyed whole-class cooperative projects and papers. All students gained experience in being colleagues.…

Reviews recent research on student achievement, self-concept, and curriculum and instruction showing the ineffectiveness of tracking and ability grouping. Certain court rulings show that tracking violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Innovative alternatives include cooperative learning, mastery learning, peer tutoring,…

Describes a problem to challenge students as they come back from summer vacation. Working in small groups, students discover Pick's Theorem, the formula to calculate the area of a polygon constructed on a geoboard. A writing assignment evaluates the students' efforts. (MDH)

Discussion of the use of interactive videodisc in teacher education focuses on a study of elementary education teacher students that investigated the effects of interactive video on learning concepts of cooperative learning. Treatment of experimental and control groups is described, and a model for using videodisc in teacher education is…

To study democratic participation in small town schools, educators, policymakers, and students were interviewed and observed. Presents data on citizen involvement, administrator-teacher collaboration, teacher collegiality, student voice, and cooperative learning. The democracy found had little to do with academic life. Presents recommendations to…

Discusses use of portfolios for student assessment. Suggests that such an ongoing collection of the student's best work will aid the teacher and the student in judging the quality of learning. Examines the purpose and design of the portfolio, storage containers, and evaluation. Emphasizes the need for communication and peer review in learning. (DK)

Describes a successful approach to teaching a research unit in a "problem" class. Uses word processing, group work, physical movement and manipulative activities, plenty of individual choices, and respect for each individual. (SR)

This study of third graders examined whether qualitatively distinct cooperative computer environments (using LOGO and curriculum-based instruction in writing) engender social experiences that enhance motivation and self-concepts as learners; and the extent to which differences in motivation and self-perception accounted for differences in…

This article offers reasons for using cooperative-learning strategies in classrooms characterized by student diversity including disabilities. It provides a definition, guidelines concerning important instructional decisions prior to implementing cooperative learning, and suggestions for preparing students and evaluating student outcomes.…

Five questions about the academic, psychological, and socialization effects on gifted and talented learners of grouping for enrichment, of cooperative grouping for regular instruction, and of grouping for acceleration are addressed. Analysis of 13 research syntheses supports sustained periods of instruction in like-ability groups for gifted and…

Overviews some current approaches and practices of the basic aspects of foreign language in the elementary school (FLES) methodology and illustrates classroom implementation of these techniques. FLES practitioners need to explore ways to appeal to students to help them retain different types of Spanish content and gain new insights into Spanish…

Describes a study in which elementary school students were required to collaborate in studying a hedgerow, producing boundaries and sketches. Results stress the importance of talk in learning. The hedgerow lesson presented an ideal situation for developing personal knowledge through the explanatory discussion of information with peers. (SM)

Presents results of an experiment enabling students to develop their own cognitive and metacognitive strategies to promote autonomous learning in mathematical problem solving, knowledge acquisition, and written composition. Explains that students dealt with models of teachers' and classmates' cognitive performances and monitored their own…