Literature circles generally involve four or five students who are actively engaged in cooperative learning. Learners choose a library book to read based on interest. The same titled paperback might be discussed by participants in the literature circle. Alternative suggestions for literature circles include choosing a library book on a similar…

"The Horse Dealer's Daughter" is usually taught as being about love's redeeming power. Usual interpretations of this story, however, ignore its title. It is also about a woman who discovers and uses her sexual power. To begin discussion, students are asked how many have ridden a horse and whether they have ever bought or sold a horse at…

This package includes a guide for formation and implementation of community study circles on cultural diversity, an abridged version of the same text entitled "A Busy Citizen's Discussion Guide", for study circle participants, and a 23-minute videotape recording. The main guide begins with a section on the need for community conversations, based…

A study examined the characteristics of the learning process when it is facilitated by computer-mediated communication in nonformal learning contexts. In this paper, learning is defined as the transformation of experience through reflection, conceptualization, and action. Such experiential learning often occurs in dialogue with others.…

Reciprocal teaching, a type of metacognitive strategy, has been found to be an effective method in improving comprehension in school-aged students; however, little research exists on using reciprocal teaching with adult high school students. This study investigated the efficacy of using the reciprocal teaching method to improve reading…

The character traits children assimilate during their growing-up years will determine how they behave, how they see themselves, how they treat others, and the type of adults they will become. Children who develop character built on honesty, respect, diligence, and self control will be better able to handle the frustrations and disappointments of…

This Fall 2001-Spring 2002 newsletter provides resources and information to educators, particularly economics, history, social studies, and business educators, throughout the western district of the Federal Reserve System. The goal of the newsletter is to highlight new Federal Reserve teaching materials and resources, including Web sites,…

The use of film to supplement course material can be an excellent way to stimulate critical thinking. Film can be a particularly useful tool in the interpersonal communication course since students are able to observe both the verbal and nonverbal behaviors of the characters. However, discussion prior to and following the film is important, so…

A professional library for inservice education of teachers can be useful in founding a Teaching of Reading Book Club. The Teaching of Reading Book Club, in time and sequentially, needs to become a community of learners in studying, assessing, and trying out new, recommended approaches in reading instruction. Knowing how these trial runs in new…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects and the effectiveness of the use of an on-line community to support preservice teacher and new teacher interaction and development. Mathematics, Science, and Technology (MaSTech) was designed to connect middle grade mathematics preservice teachers and beginning teachers with their peers as well…

Span of life dicussions attempt to help students become more aware of the choices and decisions they make during their college years and how these decisions affect the total span of their lives. Through this program, students begin to explore their own and peer values in relation to the development of a personal life style. (Author)

Videotaped discussions were utilized to enhance communication between students and teachers. (RK)

Board members of Instructor have an informal discussion about important educational issues that affect each child's learning proficiency. (Author/RK)

The problem of extremely large introductory sociology classes is solved by a combination lecture-discussion method in which basic social processes are generated and experienced by the student. General objectives, basic procedures, and rules are outlined; results are discussed. (KM)