Reports on five different strategies (repeated readings, peer reading, choral reading, modeling, and small group instruction) that can be used in the classroom to promote fluency in emerging readers. States that, although some of the strategies are intended for remedial uses or in small groups, all are adaptable to the regular reading classroom…

Writers' workshops are a type of small-group interaction designed to provide middle school students with a forum for sharing their writings and receiving direct and functional feedback to support their rethinking and revising. Students in one sixth-grade class learned that other students could comment as insightfully on their writing as their…

In the Dictagloss method, a short text is read at normal speed to a class of learners who jot down familiar words as they listen. Students then gather in small groups to review and reconstruct a version of the text and then compare their version with that of other groups. Implications for creativity and memory are discussed. (three references) (LB)

Describes alcohol discipline program developed as forced referral option to combat abusive drinking and encourage responsible drinking on a college campus. Program used small-group format, leaders of varying backgrounds, and highly flexible subject content with 172 college students referred by campus proceedings officer. Evaluations showed that…

Most secondary school English classes in Indonesia are large, often with 40-60 students of mixed ability. Classroom management and student motivation are difficult issues for teachers. This article reviews various techniques to solve the problems, including teaching aids, group work, and group communicative grammar teaching. (Contains four…

Research has demonstrated that small groups exert powerful emotional influence on members. Learning group effectiveness in American schools is hindered by groups' short-lived character. Article recommends that American educators stress group persistence by keeping discrete groups of students and teachers together over long time periods, reorganize…

Provides excerpts from two composition classes which use small group instruction in different ways, where the teacher is leader and model and where the teacher is not available as model. Concludes that writing teachers should articulate clearly a purpose for writing; and model ways of using writing that students can follow. (NH)

Discusses integration of Lev Vygotsky's theory of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) with the instructional strategy of cooperative learning. ZPD provides a conceptual basis for explaining the five basic tenets of cooperative learning: positive interdependence; face-to-face interaction; individual accountability; small-group and interpersonal…

Describes the use in business-communication classes of Team Learning, an approach to teaching in which students spend approximately 80% of their in-class time working in permanent, heterogeneous teams, becoming active and responsible participants in the learning process. Describes the instructional activity sequence, getting started, forming the…

Identifies the problems and challenges of large lecture-class-format college classes and offers empirical and theoretical rationales for moving to approaches that emphasize small-group learning. Cites research showing small groups promote cognitive elaboration, enhance critical thinking, provide feedback, promote social and emotional development,…

Describes a number of informal "turn-to-your-neighbor" approaches that create an active learning environment in college lecture settings. These include: launching class in discussion, breaking up the lecture for comprehension checks, closing class with small-group conversation, and debriefing exams. (DB)

Summarizes a discussion about cooperative learning in second-language teaching by 45 teachers, highlighting six issues: how to cover the syllabus, how long cooperative groups should stay together, how cooperative learning is affected by competition in society, using cooperative learning with low language proficiency students, using cooperative…

This article describes an early intervention model for enhancing developmental opportunities for a child with a disability by expanding on and strengthening the parent-child relationship in a group environment. The theoretical underpinnings and components of the Parents Interacting with Infants model are discussed, along with practice indicators…

This article discusses the evolution of the group model for the Adaptive Skills Program used by the New York Lighthouse Vision Rehabilitation Services. Recommendations are provided for program site selection, transportation, consumer selection and group size, program schedule, and curriculum. The benefits of group instruction are described.…

Discusses bibliographic instruction in special libraries, including individualized orientation; special group presentations on services; building a support network; acclimating clients to available information; marketing and imaging; and proving benefits of library services to the organization. (Author/LRW)