Examined how social aspects of a peer collaborative context related to differences in adolescents' interpretations of task and social problems while collaborating with peers in a naturalistic classroom setting. Found that salience of social problems, gender, and friendship were important for understanding project performance. Explored the value of…

Using a cooperative learning approach with a twist, special needs students were paired with classroom teachers. Each person in each team of two developed functional word processing skills. Through the shared process, teachers and students learned more than the use of a computer program: they came to rely on one another for solutions and…

Describes the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Parkland College (Illinois) as a model for how faculty can engage in learning to improve their teaching while helping students connect to their own learning in new ways. States that the center also helps part-time faculty by offering stipends for their participation. (NB)

Describes the group dynamics, science discovery processes, and activities involved in building a raft at camp. The project used recycled products and required group cooperation; critical thinking about density, buoyancy, and balance; use of familiar resources in creative ways; and application of previously learned facts. (SAS)

Students' conceptions of three major artificial intelligence concepts used in the modeling of systems in science, fuzzy logic, neural networks, and genetic algorithms were investigated before and after a higher education science course. Students initially explored their prior ideas related to the three concepts through active tasks. Then,…

This case study documents an example of inquiry learning and teaching during a summer institute for elementary and middle school teachers. A small group constructed an explanatory model for an intriguing optical phenomenon that they were observing. Research questions included: What physics thinking did the learners express? What aspects of…

How do meetings in elementary classrooms influence student attitudes and behaviors, both individually and collectively? Can regular opportunities to participate in collective problem solving educate students for peacemaking and alter the social dynamic of the classroom? As an experienced teacher who previously studied class meetings in a private…

The Virtual Gorilla Modeling Project--a professional development project--is a collaboration of middle and high school inservice teachers, Zoo Atlanta primatologists, science and computer educators, and students. During a 10-day professional development summer workshop, middle and high school teachers explore the world of the gorilla through…

This article describes and evaluates the pairing of 2 preservice teachers to 1 mentor for early fieldwork. Traditionally, many programs have been reluctant to assign more than 1 student to a mentor. This study describes how the pairing is implemented; it addresses practical considerations; and it evaluates the innovation. Feedback gathered from…

We discuss the development of an instructional design model, WisCom (Wisdom Communities), based on socio-constructivist and sociocultural learning philosophies and distance education principles for the development of online wisdom communities, and the application and evaluation of the model in an online graduate course in the USA. The WisCom model…

This paper discusses learning communities as pedagogy for introductory sociology courses, which are often plagued by student apathy. Most importantly, it examines the potential for learning communities to incorporate active and collaborative learning techniques as a vehicle to subvert dominant views of diversity, to see diversity as intersecting…

This article explores relationships between feedback, group learning, and performance. It considers how feedback to individuals and the group as a whole supports continuous group learning. Feedback source, purpose, clarity, and valence may affect perceptions, processing, and outcomes of feedback. How feedback is processed and used may be…

This study examined member behaviors, distribution of performed behaviors, and development-shaping forces in order to identify group development patterns of virtual learning teams. Participants of this study were 7 newly formed virtual learning teams working on a final group project in a 12-week online graduate-level course. Examining the group…

In the past two years, three graduate students and a senior faculty member have co-taught a participatory action research (PAR) course to undergraduate and graduate students. In this article the co-teachers advocate a set of pedagogical principles and practices in a PAR-oriented classroom that establishes congruency with community PAR projects in…

Previous research with classical instrumental musicians has highlighted the intrinsic benefits of teaching in addition to the perhaps more obvious benefits of securing a regular income. Yet, despite the presence of educational activities in the portfolio of most musicians, teaching remains on the periphery of many music performance programmes in…