Discusses a study examining the perspectives of three gifted middle school students on peer-led discussions and on each other. Highlights issues of voice, gender, interruption, and empowerment. (SR)

Describes the discussion continuum, a class activity that helps readers to interact with the text by taking a position that they will have to support. Notes that it promotes lively class discussion. (SR)

Librarians can play a major role in the development of Holocaust literature programs for libraries and classrooms through reading strategies, including annotation, shared inquiry, and interpretive discussion. Librarians and students use writing journals to articulate and exchange questions, comments, and feelings about the books they have read.…

Describes CHMINF-L (Chemical Information Sources Discussion List), including the history of its development on the Internet, its place in today's chemical information environment, and its possible future developments. Typical postings are described, subscription information is included, and listserv features and the future of listserv and similar…

A longitudinal study of the retention and academic performance of college freshmen taking freshman seminars found that participating students with higher Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores were significantly less likely to leave college than nonparticipating controls, and participating students with lower SAT scores showed slightly better…

Describes an open-discussion format for an eighth grade literature class in which students engage in higher order inquiry and clarification skills which then transfer to their reading and writing tasks. Provides rules for open discussion: be courteous; tolerate silence; and self-evaluate. Includes a sample discussion cue sheet. (MM)

Analysis of transcripts of nine undergraduate lectures in the humanities and social sciences found that professors used asides and local breaks in topicality to increase global semantic and pragmatic unity, introduce various mutually reinforcing interpretive frames, resolve apparent contradictions, highlight contrast, and establish relevance and…

Presents a lesson plan designed to enhance student understanding of the value of history study. Focuses on David Laushey's 10 values of the study of history. Creates a series of discussion vignettes based on these concepts. Includes questions for study and a list of vignettes for classroom discussion and problem solving. (NL)

Describes a classroom demonstration using differential reinforcement to shape student participation in a small psychology laboratory. Concludes that the technique was useful for illustrating how reinforcers shape behavior. Suggests that the demonstration facilitated understanding of operant conditioning procedures and encouraged more equitable…

Describes a program in which undergraduate psychology students submitted questions about homosexuality prior to a panel discussion by a gay rights organization. Suggests that such a program helps students understand that discrimination and abuse are not justifiable responses to homosexuals. Includes questions about family relationships,…

These activities focus on the following topics: winter olympic sports; women on the French ski team; French winter sports resorts; and sport, drugs, and politics. (SR)

Describes aspects of a year-long classroom research project designed to explore ways to teach discussion skills. Points out how teacher authority and gender roles influence classroom interaction. Maintains that analyzing their own discourse, students can learn about the authority they must assume (and its nuances) to participate in classroom…

Describes a "Booktalk" program at a middle school, in which groups of parents and students read the same book and then gathered at the school to discuss the books. Notes that, after group discussion, students wrote letters to their parents about the book and the discussion and that parents wrote letters back to their children as well. (RS)

Reports on a study using a teacher education method centering about situations lived by teachers that engage participants in "reflection-on-practice" exercises. Although the two supervisors discussed similar items during postobservation conferences, one was adept in using his remarks as springboards for probing teachers' thoughts about…

Describes three approaches teachers can use to help students understand the computation of numbers: calculator explorations, problem solving, and discussion topics. Specific examples are provided for primary and upper grades. (MDM)