Observations of 90 lessons reveal the limitations of the whole-class discussion, the dominant teaching method in elementary and secondary schools. In addition to producing a low percentage of student involvement, rarely more than 50%, teachers' questions and answer techniques do not usually stimulate critical thinking. Besides most often asking…

A description of a teaching method which encourages student participation through small discussion groups is offered along with a sample group discussion guide and worksheet. The student group analysis technique is presented as a structured, competency-based method in which small groups of students cooperatively arrive at answers to a worksheet.…

This handbook was developed to assist teachers of secondary agricultural cooperative training with related instructional periods and to assist students in developing the civic and social aspects of their lives. The contents of the handbook are intended as a guide for teachers in leading group discussions with their class members, selecting…

The study circle concept, now almost a century old, is by far the most popular form of adult education in Sweden. Swedish study circles are sponsored by 10 national educational associations that receive substantial annual subsidies from the national government. Together with 140 folk high schools (residential adult programs), university short…

The Seattle Public Schools' effort to define and establish effective schools is described in this paper, a transcript of four coordinated presentations. Ellen Roe, the first presenter, recounts the design of the project. Planning, she states, was begun in late 1981 by a decision seminar (comprised of teachers, administrators, a community…

The paper describes the basic features and techniques of a specific kind of discussion group, the Grouptalk. Grouptalk, especially useful in the elementary grades, is a formal discussion of a question by a small group and a leader. Participants follow the specific rules that all contribute relevantly to the discussion and that all help in the…

This is the final report of a three year program for preventing dropout attitudes from developing in the middle schools in grades 6,7, and 8. The project plans focused on three major goals: staff training for leading the project activities the development of materials for assisting teachers in the project activities, and the provision of…

This booklet is a guidebook for leaders of small group discussions in the Valleybrook Elementary School-Lakemont High School Simulation Game. The game focuses upon typical problems of elementary and secondary schools with heterogeneous (racial and ethnic) student bodies. The information in the guidebook is confined to a brief explanation of the…

In 1967, the California Congress of Parents and Teachers (PTA) and the Bureau of Adult Education of the State Department of Education conducted a ten day parent education workshop designed to help the participants understand how group dynamics functions to develop individuals to act as leaders in home and community. Lecturers addressed themselves…

A television workshop in human relations for teachers and other school staff was developed as a cooperative project involving the San Francisco and Oakland, California public schools, a unit of the University of California, the Far West Laboratory for Educational Research and Development, and KQED, the area's educational television station. This…

Adult education in rural areas in Australia provides a contrast both in its general mood and intentions and in its organization with that in the United States. Particularly in rural areas, there seems to be less of the compulsion to organize groups (there are usually no school boards, no chambers of commerce, no women's clubs, no youth centers)…

Describes three literacy organization and public library programs: Project LEARN (Cleveland, Ohio), which encourages higher-level beginning adult readers to want to read on their own; Greenville County (South Carolina) Library's Latchkey Kids Program; and policies on unattended and disruptive children developed by Iowa City and Cedar Rapids (Iowa)…

This paper describes and analyzes the experiences of an inquiry group that was part of a National Science Foundation-funded elementary mathematics teacher enhancement project, the "Mathematics for Tomorrow Project." Inquiry group meetings focused on discussions and interpretations of data that teachers have brought from their classrooms. A…

This study examined how children, drawn from K-6 grades in 3 primary schools in southwest Sydney, use computers in their homes and the physical and social environments within which they use them. Key issues explored were diversity of access, range of uses, and factors which influence use, including gender, age, and parental and sibling role…

Studied the effects of computer-oriented undergraduate research on student's cognitive and affective development. Findings indicate students in research or conventional discussion groups didn't differ on cognitive development; mandatory activities have a negative impact on attitudes; voluntary participation had a positive effect only on…