This book, which is intended for educators and trainers involved in designing group activities, examines the theory and practice of group activities. The first three chapters, which introduce theories about group instruction, deal with the following topics: the rationale for group instruction (types of group methods and reasons for using them);…

This book is the second in a series aiming to promote international exchange of ideas, experiences, and studies relating to technical and vocational education. Information provided is designed to help educators and trainers plan for an intelligent use of new training technologies (NTTs) to improve the access to basic and advanced lifelong learning…

This manual is designed for individuals responsible for training Head Start staff and parents to lead "Exploring Parenting" groups. It focuses on the role of trainers of groups of leaders and effective training methods. Chapter 1, "Approach to Training," describes the approach to training group leaders in a nonthreatening,…

This study of student groups working with the Chelsea Bank computer simulation concentrates on the extent to which students are involved in activities related to the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) categories and to knowledge about work place practices. Studying students using the Chelsea Bank simulations offers the…

A longitudinal study described the language and literacy abilities of urban at-risk children at several points over a 3-year period; provided the children with small-group literature-based reading/language arts instruction; and compared these children's progress in literacy achievement to other similar groups. Participants in the study were…

This study was designed to pursue the question of the relationship between enablement, alienation, and attitude toward science in the seventh and eighth grades. Subjects are 2,159 students taught by 19 teachers in 4 middle schools. There are strong relationships between student perceptions of classroom structure and their attitude toward science.…

This publication provides materials on the Small Group Learning Methodology Project in Victoria, Australia. The first chapter concerns the purpose of small groups in adult literacy learning. Chapter 2 deals with types of adult literacy programs, interviews, student needs, student placement, and forming groups. Chapter 3 discusses group processes,…

A study was done to develop and evaluate a program designed to improve the academic and personal achievement of Hispanic American high school students. The study posited that the causes of Hispanic American students' belief that they could not achieve were: (1) dysfunctional learned behaviors; and (2) acculturation difficulties. Using findings on…

A discussion is provided of the role of community colleges as the primary delivery sources for workforce retraining, using the Pellissippi State Workforce Innovation Program as a case study. The first sections of the paper document the need for worker retraining in the United States, reporting the Department of Labor Secretary's Commission on…

A way in which second language teachers can use analysis of student discourse to understand how small group interaction defines students' roles relative to each other is demonstrated in a case study. The study compared the participant role of a 21-year-old Japanese male student in an intensive English second language program in two different…

The Literacy Education Action (LEA) program was established in the fall of 1985 under the initiative of the president of the El Paso Community College (Texas). During 1985 and 1986, LEA concentrated on developing its own literacy tutoring program, including recruiting and training volunteers and community members with reading skills below the…

Designed to explore the ways language functions to help children gain access to meaning as they progress through the educational system, this journal issue views communication as a social, interactive process in which speakers and writers attempt to link into what listeners and readers know, want to know, or need to know. The 12 articles in the…

This reaction paper presented at a conference on compensatory education begins with reviews of three studies prepared for the program and staffing session of the conference and dealing respectively with student-to-instructor ratios, instructional setting, and summer programs. The paper then presents the view that huge gains in achievement will not…

First published in 1951, this guidebook for college instructors and teaching assistants was written to answer the questions posed by new college teachers, to place them at ease in their jobs, and to get them started effectively in the classroom. The book contains the following parts: (1) Getting Started (e.g., course preparation, meeting the…

An ethnographic study was made of the portion of pre-lesson transition activity, the call to lesson time (CTL), devoted to "setting up" lessons in elementary classrooms. Participants were two teachers and 62 elementary school students in two classrooms: a grade 1-3 open classroom and a traditional third grade classroom. Videotapes of 7.5…