Presents an activity for students to investigate equal parts and area and the connection between area and fractions. Highlights the importance of such a lesson in which children explore rich mathematical ideas, share their thinking and their work with one another, and make connections to other mathematical ideas. (ASK)

Outlines current ideas about the use of focus groups in library and information science and considers advantages and disadvantages of different types of focus group discussions. Discusses reasons for choosing this research method. (AEF)

The author tells how he began storytelling to teen audiences, how fairy tales were originally geared toward adult audiences, and highlights some of his favorites. Violent, gory, and humorous stories appeal to teens but invoke discussion and promote reading. Provides a list of storytelling hints and finding, learning, and practicing the story. (LAM)

Describes a strategy to incorporate interactive and cooperative methods into oral reports of term papers. Introduces fresh perspectives into the subject of discussion and sparks new interests on the part of the students. (JRH)

Describes a demonstration which creates the illusion of violating Archimedes Principle. The procedure involves two liquids with identical densities and produces drops of one liquid suspended in the middle of a column of the second liquid. (DDR)

Describes the use of electronic mail discussion lists for students in science methods courses as an attempt at ensuring that preservice teachers are able to use electronic educational technology in teaching science. (JRH)

Explores connections to be made between literature and life by using "Cinderella" as an occasion for classroom drama and personal discussion. Explains how the instructor assumes the role of a reporter as students tell their own Cinderella stories. (TB)

Shows how interactive read-alouds encourage children to verbally interact with the text, peers, and teachers, providing a means of engaging students as they construct meaning and explore the reading process. Discusses approaches to read-aloud events, conceptual foundations, and planning interactive read-alouds. (SR)

Studied the effects of motivational styles on group work and discussion-based teaching in an environmental science course in which 180 university students participated. Discussion-based teaching appeared attractive to almost all students, although liking for group work varied. Discusses implications for teaching and learning. (SLD)

Focuses on laws that influence U.S. immigration, such as the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (1996), the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (1996), the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (1996), and the Legal Immigration and Family Equity Act (2000). Includes discussion…

Examines the extent to which talking helps learning in a convergent group discussion task, where the students' goal is to construct predetermined "true justified knowledge." Analyzes instances where the same group of Malaysian students, studying on a higher education program in the United Kingdom, both succeeded and failed to arrive at the truth.…

Examines the experiences of an instructor and teaching assistant who employed online communication strategies in a graduate seminar to deliberately foster the development of a virtual learning community using synchronous and asynchronous online events. Compared their reflections with what the student reported about their learning in online…

Presents three lesson scenarios using inquiry/discovery and lecture/discussion methods and discusses the specific instructional strategies that each employs. The first two scenarios demonstrate how these strategies and their supporting tools and activities are applied in a single content area while the third one shows how inquiry/discovery…

Examines online discussions using lexical scoring techniques. Suggests that online conversations become more sophisticated as learners interact with each other over the duration of a course, that collaboration among learners fosters the social construction of knowledge and that evidence of such knowledge-building activities is embodied in the tone…

Advocates the use of Socratic dialogue as a paradigm of classroom organization that supports the primary goals of Montessori secondary education. Describes similarities between the structure of the Socratic seminar and first- and second-period Montessori lessons. Argues that Socratic practice provides a safe, structured environment in which…