Suggests group learning in the secondary social studies classroom increases student involvement and builds competencies in analysis, research, organization, and evaluative skills. Presents sample activities on the John Marshall Supreme Court decisions and the 1945 Yalta Conference. Includes discussion topics, questions, and handouts. (NL)

Presents a cooperative two-day geography lesson in which student teams research and reach consensus about where in Western Europe they would like to live. Discusses use of the Jigsaw method in the lesson. Provides background information about 12 Western European countries. Explains how the lesson fulfills content and process objectives. (CH)

Outlines a unit of study in which students undertake a scavenger hunt for data about the civil liberties guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. Lists 36 activities (e.g., obtain a copy of a search warrant) and assigns points for the completion of each. Explains that student groups attempt to earn a 200-point total by completing activities. (CH)

After reviewing the literature comparing resource room and consultation models for serving children with low achievement, this paper addresses six best practices: peer tutoring, direct instruction in basic skills, precision teaching, cooperative learning, computer-aided instruction, and applied behavior analysis. Teacher attitudes and behaviors…

Discusses Vee mapping, a technique to assist students in categorizing the relationship between the conceptual and procedural aspects of science. Presents a study to investigate elementary education majors' (n=27) use of the Vee heuristic and concept mapping for the construction of knowledge; attitudes toward learning science in collaborative…

Designs an elementary level social studies unit with the focus on Japan. Provides sample units of cooperative learning group projects. Suggests integrating mathematics, language arts, economics, fine arts, and science. Lists resources for obtaining more information and materials about Japan. (NL)

This article examines the role of social context in teaching and learning at the college level and reviews principles of six research and conceptual approaches which address social context: the transactional perspective; student-centered instruction; cooperative learning; communication theory; group-process theory; and curricular/structural…

Discussion of collaborative hypermedia instruction focuses on a study that compared the achievement of eighth-grade students working individually or in pairs on a hypermedia-based unit on computer ethics. Group composition (i.e., homogeneous versus heterogeneous pairs) and the impact of social context are investigated. (Contains 41 references.)…

Contends that effective use of time is critical in today's elementary classroom. Describes a curriculum development process in which 75 preservice elementary teachers created an integrated geography, language arts, and arts curriculum. Maintains that the approach could be used at all levels to teach about geographic features. (CFR)

Reports on a study of two secondary teachers who used the practical reasoning or practical argument approach to classroom management. Finds that practical argument techniques can benefit teachers by providing opportunities to question and revise their theories of learning and teaching. Recommends that teacher education programs employ the…

Summarizes a study that maintains that students who work together in small groups had a better understanding of map concepts. Discusses why making maps in groups can enhance students' conceptual geographic understanding and offers suggestions for improving geography instructions using small group configurations. Includes statistical and graphic…

Describes an integrated schoolwide project at a California high school in which students learned real-world technology skills and workplace etiquette by working together to create a multimedia CD-ROM project, in the form of a quilt, that described local history. Student teams, scheduling changes, teacher roles, community judging, and student…

Discusses a partnership between Northern Arizona University and a local school district that enables preservice teachers to practice innovative strategies for facilitating inclusion of students with disabilities into general classrooms. Strategies such as cooperative learning, collaborative teaming, peer tutoring, student empowerment, and creative…

Describes a group of participants in a highly productive, nonformal learning environment that exemplifies the practices of a collaborative community. Diverse elementary students and university undergraduates participate in entertaining educational activities within an after-school computer club. The club focuses on hybrid literacy practices and…

Investigated the effects of mathematics methods courses that used manipulatives, technology, and cooperative learning on preservice mathematics teachers' meaningful mathematical content knowledge and attitudes toward mathematics. Pre- and postintervention student teacher surveys indicated that there were significant increases in content knowledge…