The seven brief chapters of this paper advocate mixed-age grouping in schools and child care centers. Discussion defines mixed-age grouping and examines some limitations of single-age grouping. Research findings on social and cognitive aspects of mixed-age grouping are reviewed. Social aspects are discussed by considering in turn the following…

This paper describes an analysis of facilitation of a student-centered problem-based learning group. The focus of this analysis was to understand the goals and strategies of an expert facilitator in support of collaborative learning. This was accomplished through interaction analysis using video data and stimulated recall to examine two PBL group…

While problem-based learning (PBL) has a relatively long history of successful use in medical and pre-professional schools, it has yet to be widely adopted by K--12 teachers. This may be due, in part, to the numerous challenges teachers experience when implementing PBL. In this paper, we describe specific hurdles that teachers are likely to…

To help educators continue to refine approaches to nourishing children's imaginations, this bibliography brings together 652 references on alternative school systems. The references are arranged into 17 categories and indexed by subject category and author. The categories include alternative, cooperative, experimental, interdisciplinary, and…

This research has been done to find out the factors influencing the students' successes in learning a foreign language (English). In other words, the effects of the methods and techniques, used by the teachers on the staff to teach the chosen foreign language, on the students' success. The main aim of our study is to make the foreign language…

In the 1900s, distance education attempted to mimic the traditional classroom lecture via the transmission of live or "canned" broadcasts, regardless of the technologies used: satellite, television, film, or radio. These kinds of media predisposed distance education (DE) to closely adhere to the lecture (sit and absorb) model, where…

This 9-week curriculum workshop, "Buddy Books," is a creative art and writing partnership between middle and elementary schools. The workshop offers eighth-grade students an opportunity to use writing workshop methods to draft, revise, confer, edit, illustrate, and publish children's books with first-grade students at a neighboring…

In this grade 4 interdisciplinary unit, students are instructed to consider water issues in the city of San Francisco (California). Using Internet and other resources, participants are required to prepare a detailed letter to a U.S. Congressional committee dealing with water issues, and possibly to testify before Congress. Students may represent…

In this interdisciplinary grade 6 world history and language arts unit, students examine the fall of Rome (Italy). Working in teams to research the causes of Rome's demise, participants develop a theory explaining why Rome fell. The student guide provides detailed instructions on how to complete the activity, a list of resources, and includes…

This paper describes the use of collaborative writing software and simultaneous electronic chats in an English as a Second Language (ESL) class. Most ESL students have little experience using word processing software, and most have no keyboarding experience. Using electronic chat sessions assists ESL students with sentence construction, vocabulary…

This paper addresses two elements of teacher education in the United Kingdom (UK): open learning partnerships and the use of new technologies to develop a model of preservice education and training. The Open University Postgraduate Certificate in Education (OU PGCE) is a part-time course emphasizing standards in teaching and involving partnerships…

This simulation allows students to learn of the shared Hispanic background of the Southwestern states and help students realize that the states developed in a parallel fashion, not in isolation. The packet is divided into eight sections: (1) "Introduction"; (2) "Land"; (3) "Native Americans"; (4)…

This simulation allows students to learn about the history and culture of Islam and the Islamic world by "becoming" Muslims. There are five phases of the unit. Students are assigned to a city, choose an Arabic name, and become familiar with their group and responsibilities outlined in the Student Guide. In the introduction section,…

Based on a 3-year ethnographic study of college students in a Latino Studies course, this book tells the story of how the students navigated their academic life in a predominantly White university to construct their own education. Drawing on the principles of critical pedagogy, the course, "Sociology of Latino/a Culture and Identity,"…

This study describes a program designed to increase academic achievement in reading and writing among first and second grade students in a rural, middle-income area. Evidence for the existence of the problem includes reading comprehension tests, observation checklists for reading skills and reading behaviors, and writing samples. Analysis of…