Assails the problem of emphasizing "don'ts" in freshman English composition courses. Suggests remedies for negativism in teaching and calls for "delight" as a professional goal for freshman writing. Offers suggestions on selecting textbooks, maximizing student interaction in class, and bringing teacher writing into the…

Effective group discussion needs to involve as many students in the classroom as possible. This article describes split information tasks, their design, and their usefulness in the classroom, with particular reference to mathematics vocabulary. (Contains seven references.) (LB)

Presents guidelines for developing group process skills in peer groups that older adults can then use to improve relationships with sons, daughters, and grandchildren. (SK)

Data from 1,548 Women, Infants, Children clients showed that 93% found nutrition education valuable. A process-oriented evaluation of 494 clients using a skills inventory, and 513 using self-efficacy measures, identified topics they knew most and least about. Clients in facilitated discussion groups scored highest in self-efficacy compared with…

Describes literature conversations as complex adaptive systems. Discusses four research studies from this perspective, and explains some assertions about this conceptual framework as a tool for teacher researchers. (SR)

Describes a project that linked two graduate-level teacher-education classes on children's literature with electronic discussion to extend teachers' breadth and depth of thinking about issues in complex children's literature. Shares teachers' comments about two books, discusses a follow-up questionnaire, and offers a list of…

The second in a series on ways to introduce gifted students to philosophy, this article focuses on the importance of metaphysics. The nature of time is discussed through excerpts from "The Confessions" by St. Augustine and strategies are provided for engaging students in a discussion of his philosophy. (CR)

Describes nine group activities used to build cooperation and teamwork in adventure-, challenge-, and experiential-education settings. Includes target group, group size, time and space requirements, activity level, props needed, instructions, ideas for post-activity group processing and reflection, and facilitator tips. Target groups include…

Discusses the administrative role and the social role of three listserv student moderators as they mediated discussions about literature with Year 12 students in Australia. Suggests student moderators can facilitate discussion by initiating topics, contributing to existing discussions, and modelling effective discussant behavior. (NH)

Investigates how parliamentary procedure is practiced in community groups, and how the use of parliamentary procedure facilitates or constrains vigilance and critical thinking. Finds that parliamentary procedures are widely practiced in a limited form. Reports on a case study showing how parliamentary procedure was employed to facilitate…

This article examines the benefits of educator study groups, outlines the different types of educator groups, and provides guidelines for forming educator study groups. Membership of the group, leadership, assessment of needs, creation of the study group, materials, meeting organization, and group evaluation are addressed. (Contains references.)…

Tells the story of a primary classroom in which bilingual children engaged in thoughtful dialogue about critical issues, such as racism and discrimination, through small group literature discussions. (SR)

Describes the development, implementation, and assessment of a faculty study group program at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The study group was designed to foster teaching as a reflective, collaborative activity and encourage interaction of faculty of different disciplines, age groups, ranks, and teaching experience. (DB)

Examined the thinking of six high school social studies teachers about two alternative purposes of classroom discussion (learning of academic content and development of discussion competence), describing ways that their conceptions and practice related to these purposes. Data from interviews and think-alouds indicated that respondents used…

Considers how many students find speaking in large group, whole class or "public" contexts intimidating. Explores what constitutes an effective "public" speaker at GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) level, and suggests various teaching strategies as starting points. (SC)