Teachers can aid students in solving problems by developing self-help groups in the classroom. As group facilitator, the teacher has students identify their problems, respond to problems, develop action plans, and then follow up on progress. (DF)

Investigated how majority and minority arguments are positively or negatively responded to by group members and the effects of such responses on the polarization process. Demonstrated that reactions to minority arguments, not the forwarding of minority arguments per se, were significantly correlated with the degree of group polarization. (PD)

Describes the use of value analysis exercises to promote small group and class discussion. (MM)

Discusses previous research on the potential of small-group activities in both research and instructional contexts, and considers the use of a science task as a context for group problem-solving. (MLH)

Describes a college drug education course designed to: (1) devote class time to expressing and clarifying values; (2) allow students to study topics of interest to them; (3) use an essay final examination instead of a multiple choice test; and (4) study over-the-counter products. (Author/SL)

Described are group processes of goal setting and class meetings which may help emotionally disturbed and behavior disordered children to pinpoint and control their problem behaviors. (CL)

Civics courses are a source of civic skill development, yet not all American students receive civics instruction. This fact sheet reports evidence on the effect of civic education on the civic skill levels of young people. It uses "average treatment effects" to report the effects of studying various civics topics on civic skills. Civic…

"Courage Work," based on the writings of Parker Palmer, often involves the use of poetry as a vehicle for exploring and examining teachers' inner lives. This paper discusses how poetry was used with a group of undergraduate preservice elementary teachers in the Fall 2004 term, to explore how students responded to the poetry, particularly in light…

For one freshman composition instructor, the method that has brought more students out of their shells in her classes over the past three years is group conferencing. Adapted from compositionist Donald Murray's method of conferencing with individual students to discuss their papers, group conferencing gives students the opportunity to discuss…

The culminating course in the Human Biology core sequence at Stanford University, California, is a course that considers the relationship between the social and natural sciences and the development of wise public policy. A Web-based forum was developed to facilitate weekly debate on policy challenges presented in this course, and this forum was…

This paper discusses the notion of community as an outcome of working within an online environment. In particular, the paper explores the concept of users' development of a sense of community as an outcome of working within an online environment designed to support the professional and personal development of its users. The paper discusses…

This study examined the influence of participation in school-based professional study group activities on both general and personal teaching efficacy. It also examined teachers' perceptions of changes that occurred in their teaching performance as a result of participation in the study group sessions. Participants were elementary teachers who…

This paper explains that an interdepartmental writing across the curriculum course at Syracuse University was developed and proposed by a writing teacher and a professor of experimental psychology and psychopharmacology. The paper states that the course, Perspectives on Drug Experience, was to be offered in both writing and psychology and sought…

Describes a program in which high school students were given the opportunity to discuss mutual problems in a group setting with professional supervision. (RP)

The author presents a short drama intended for use in group counseling sessions with the parents of elementary school students. (RWP)