This publication comes in answer to many requests for a brief study of forums which engage the interests of young people. It presents a summary of much material which has flowed into the Office of Education as a result of its sponsorship of community wide public forums. It is presented to educators and laymen in the hope that it will give valuable…

Objectives and procedures are described for using a game focusing upon discussion which involves students in important and current issues. (SM)

Support for this research was provided by The University Research Committee of the University of Alabama.

An alcoholism segment in a behavioral medicine course is described that consists of didactic presentations, videotaped clinical material, patient interviews; and small group Socratic discussion. The course provides an introduction to patient-oriented clinical skills, gives awareness of stereotyping, and addresses social and individual…

This paper stresses the importance of collaborative evaluation and discussion for helping preservice teachers develop the disposition and skill to engage in self-evaluation. Participation in the action-research process can enhance students' abilities to analyze different types of teaching experiences. (Author/PP)

Eleven specific thinking skills are discussed, along with activities to help teachers develop each skill in their students. The skills are: (1) observing; (2) comparing; (3) classifying; (4) imagining; (5) hypothesizing; (6) looking for assumptions; (7) collecting and organizing data; (8) summarizing; (9) interpreting; (10) problem solving; and…

Small group learning monitored by tutors is an essential ingredient of medical education at Limburg State University. Tutor functioning was assessed by students and found to be related to tutor expertise in subject matter under discussion but not to tutor age or experience. (Author/MSE)

Examines the causes of student passivity in social studies classes. The need for more classroom discourse and free-flowing, critical inquiry into controversies is stressed. Strategies for improving classroom conditions to promote discourse are described. (AM)

Addresses the problem of providing individualized attention in classes which, because of fiscal restraints, have 30 to 40 students. Presents five suggestions for the improved apportionment of the teacher's time through the use of learning lab materials and paraprofessional aides. Discusses the effectiveness of the lecture-reading-discussion…

Because of repeated conflicts between immigrant and local Filipinos in Hawaii's schools, the Kabataan project was implemented to create an ongoing dialogue between the academic and Filipino communities. This project description, part of a theme issue on community education, includes a summary of the input by Filipino parents. (SJL)

Describes a classroom technique designed to inject an interactive discussion framework into the classroom and to focus students' attention on reading and absorbing information from a textbook. (DDR)

One college history teacher finds lively and constructive classroom discussion in a survey course is primarily a result of the teacher's attitudes toward and assumptions about students. The teacher must create a safe atmosphere in which students can speak, and be direct and respectful with students, which clears the classroom of anxiety and…

After discussing educators' changing roles in U.S. society, this paper encourages teacher educators to guide students' professional development through classroom environments that nurture students' minds, souls, and values. The paper examines how to engage preservice teachers in dialogs about values, identities, and conflicts, challenging them to…

Discusses Louis Ormont's theory of group experience and the effectiveness of the Group Meeting and Triad Resolutions processes--part of his Group Process--in modifying the behavior of kindergartners. Suggests that children learn to take charge of their own behavior and are strengthened by feelings of group membership and personal empowerment.…

Explores what focus groups are, how they have been utilized by researchers, and some of the practical and theoretical implications for incorporating focus groups in the design of educational research. Includes verbatim transcripts from interviews and specific examples of various focus groups. (MJP)