Examines modification of mother-child instruction as a function of age of learner in middle childhood (six versus eight years). Instruction and learning were compared on two tasks designed to simulate school and home activities. Results show more intense instruction of all kinds for the younger children in the school task. (RH)

Found that the discussions of "effective" and "ineffective" groups were distinguished by (1) how the groups examined opinions and assumptions advanced by group members; (2) how the groups evaluated alternative choices; (3) the nature of decisional premises; and (4) the nature of influence exerted by influential members of the group. (PD)

Assessment of student needs on a continuing basis will provide an educationally sound environment. Data collected from college students (N=952) provide support for this hypothesis. (Author)

Kindergarten children (N=90) were given opportunities to report to their class during "sharing time" the cooperative or friendly behaviors of their peers which had occurred during the day. Cooperative behavior increased and aggressive acts decreased when peers reported prosocial behavior to the class. (Author)

Discusses the advantages of using the unstructured group in teaching interpersonal communication and notes the learning processes which take place specifically in this type of group experience. (MH)

Experimental research relating seating position to group interaction was critically reviewed. Studies have found that persons in central seating positions were able to maintain eye contact with the most group members, thereby enhancing their ability to interact with the group and emerge as the leader. (Author)

A peer tutoring program in spelling was developed to investigate effects of several tutor and tutee characteristics on tutorial outcomes, amount of learning and learning efficiency. Examination of the data reveals only the tutee's pretutorial spelling score was a significant predictor of the amount of learning. (Author)

The effects of the Program for Academic Survival Skills (PASS), a group behavior management program, on behavioral observation data and standardized achievement test measures were investigated. Results indicated PASS produced significant gains in survival skills during operation and one week following termination in reading and mathematics periods…

A close-up of 257 teacher-student dyads shows predominantly "Happy Classrooms", in which teachers and students like and respect one another's evaluations and perceptions. The criteria of respect and liking consist of strictly conventional definitions of student roles. (Author/NQ)

The major thrust of this review is on the leaderless technique as it applies to counseling/psychotherapy groups. The first section explores leaderless groups as they have been used for a variety of different endeavors. Section Two is written with an historical perspective. Section Three details existing research on the efficacy of leaderless…

Briefly reviewing his own research, and that of critics of the Pygmalion Effect, the author proposes a four-factor "theory" of the influences that produce the effect: the relationship of teachers to special students differs in climate, input, feedback, and output. (JM)