Compared the rational quality of fourth-graders' discussion of literary texts with an ideal model and over the course of the academic year. Analyzed the collaborative reasoning capabilities of 6 three-student groups using a graphical coding system with an analysis of the literary content of the students' argumentation. Identified important…

Academic mailing lists are formed by scholars and professionals interested in intellectual discussion and professional exchange of ideas. Academic mailing lists focus on academic and scholarly subjects, but they are not immune from "flaming," hostile, insulting language in computer-mediated communication. Two scholarly mailing lists,…

Guidelines present ways to create written material for small group, democratic, and highly participatory discussions of social and political issues. Twelve suggestions for creating effective study circle materials precedes consideration of study circle goals. The overarching goal of any study circle is to provide opportunities for people to learn…

Counselors can play a vital role in educating parents. An effective counseling program includes services for parents. To reach more parents, these services must go beyond individual parent conferences. The parent study group is one means of providing services to all interested parents. (Author)

A test of distributional and sequential structure. (CH)

The extent to which television can be used to promote prosocial behavior is examined in this study. A total of 132 boys and girls (age range 8 to 18 years) with behavior problems serious enough to require institutional care participated in the study. The average IQ (WISC) was approximately 88. In the course of a year each of four treatments was…

This study sought to determine the effect of sociability, a personality variable, on the kind and number of statements made by an individual in a group. Subjects were 65 adult basic education workshop participants from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee. They were divided into seven groups by stratified random sampling on age,…

The purpose of this study was to compare the knowledge and attitude test results of a student-led discussion group in two college-level introductory health courses. The 70 students enrolled in the courses were divided into eight groups represented as equally as possible concerning sex, age, year, and major in school. Student discussion leaders…

Competence in discussion ability cannot be assumed. Discussions will only be facilitated in a style that is exciting, learning-oriented, and useful, when teachers and students are prepared and competent. This article was designed to acquaint teachers with six significant aspects of the discussion facilitation process. (Author/RK)

Describes a nine-step workshop approach to short-story writing, providing collaborative criticism and multiple audiences for students' writing. (AA)

Examined friendship formation as developing a common understanding of social reality. Individuals engaged in weekly discussions completed repertory grids and attraction ratings after the 4th and 18th weeks of acquaintance. Deteriorating partnerships were significantly less similar in their assessment of other group members than were developing…

Claims that encouraging children to act cooperatively instead of competitively can make learning a positive experience for the majority of students. Suggests activities which encourage this shift. (JK)

Results indicated that the moral discussion group had a significant impact on the moral reasoning ability of delinquent and predelinquent adolescents as compared with a placebo group and a control group. Findings also indicated that gains in moral reasoning do not necessarily lead to improved classroom behaviors. (Author/ABB)

A study of the effects of variation in student preparation and leadership (emergent vs. assigned) in discussion groups found that both factors influenced verbal inactivity. The leadership effects were explained in terms of interaction-expectation theory and behavior modelling. (MSE)