Research on asynchronous online discussions has primarily focused on their efficacy in relation to learning outcomes. Rarely are there investigations on how the design of online learning activities or how discussions could be incorporated into student learning experience. We contend that successful online activities need careful and meticulous…

This study compared "Structured Controversy" (a semi-formal debate like small group activity) with a traditional open discussion format for medical and physical therapy students. We found that those students who had participated in Structured Controversy changed their personal opinion on the topic more than those who were in the Open Discussion…

This article explores results from a research project studying teacher learning and faculty teaching in two online courses for teachers in a master's degree program. We focus on the interactions among students in online small-group discussions. We argue that three aspects of the online courses impact the way students enter into discussions online,…

National efforts have been made to encourage technology integration in teacher preparation with expectations for frequent and successful applications with K-12 learners. While online learning has become pervasive in many fields in education, it has been somewhat slow to catch on in K-12 settings. The "Handbook of Research on Emerging…

The nineteen lessons in this unit, designed to foster the practice and use of the basic skills of group discussion, were prepared for use by high school juniors and seniors who have had practice in effective speaking by preparing and delivering short talks. Each lesson outlines the objectives, content, procedure, reading assignment, and materials…

This paper explores a middle school teacher's and his students' perceptions of the differences between online synchronous literature discussions and face-to-face literature discussions. Each member of this literature group participated in two face-to-face and two online literature discussions. Participants were interviewed twice to discuss their…

Many English teachers feel underprepared to teach students with disabilities. While teachers may want to do whatever they can to make all their students successful, some may feel that they don't have as much time as they would like to prepare high-quality differentiated instruction, to fully accommodate every student, or even to know what…

An examination of the effectiveness of a group leader given varying levels of leader-to-group agreement on issues. (CH)

Suggests ways of teaching how to plan and conduct conference-type meetings. (CH)

This paper introduces a new method for the detection of patterns or phases in small groups based on fuzzy pattern recognition procedures. It tells how the method provides an accurate description of all the patterns of group interaction, detects rather than assumes the number of patterns and their length, and is based on fuzzy set theory so that it…

If a small group is conceptualized as a communication system the operation of which generates discussion, that discussion is a stationary process to the extent that its parameters do not change significantly over time. This research casts some doubt on the nonstationarity conception of discussion. (Author)

Teachers can help students increase reading comprehension by instituting a student discussion period in which students are encouraged to contribute ideas without risk of ridicule or failure. Teachers introduce the discussion, observe what student participation indicates about comprehension, and summarize the discussion. Such an approach is an…

Problem solving groups have helped young pupils to solve their social and behavioral problems. Examples of students' progress are offered and the program's expansion is described. (CL)