The ideas in this mini-brochure are intended for teachers interested in creating opportunities for students to pose questions during literature-based discussions. The brochure suggests that a child-centered approach to questioning is a highly motivating way to conduct discussions because students of all reading abilities can participate. The…

The research on cooperative scripts is brought together using a model that provides an overview of the learning processes involved and the outcomes to be expected from the use of certain scripts. By providing such a framework, the wealth of research may be compared and generalized, thereby promoting its instructional utility. The Cognitive…

Much of the emphasis in this handbook is on helping students develop investigative, problem-solving, and thinking skills, but the importance of students' working together in a cooperative and democratic setting to solve problems is also stressed. Cooperative learning is an instructional tool that can often be used to the student's advantage. Part…

This study explores what cooperative learning activities in an undergraduate chemistry course meant to the students. Cooperative learning activities were used throughout the course with one class session per week being entirely devoted to such activities. An analysis of field notes and a questionnaire completed by the students yielded three…

As technological changes in the delivery of instruction overtake colleges, thought needs to be given to maintaining the fundamental principles of adult education, especially regarding the role of the learner in the educational process. The trend toward electronically distributed education will make college a network of resources, rather than a…

Students often question the relevance of a variety of topics that they are asked to learn in school. Many teachers have decided to tackle this question with activities and lessons that help students relate their school work to their everyday lives and by helping students to form connections across disciplines. The project discussed in this…

Schools have been intractable to change and the attainment of goals set by reformers. A major failure has been the inability of reformers to confront this intractability. As a result, each new wave of reform learns nothing from earlier efforts and comes up with recommendations that have failed in the past. Nine chapters explore why reform efforts…

A study of graduate students in education and forestry explored their preferences and perceptions of cooperative learning strategies. The study examined strategies derived from the work of R. Slavin and D. Johnson including the following: think-pair-square, think-pair-share, jigsaw strategies, and cooperative group investigation. Of the 208…

This report describes a program for increasing adolescent visualization and understanding of geometry problems. The targeted population consisted of high school students in two geometry classes in a growing middle-class community. The inability of students to adequately visualize and understand geometry problems was documented through teacher-made…

This study compared the effects of team projects alone with team projects coupled with team-work education on college students' attitudes toward team work. The study modified a 30-item survey originally developed to study team work in professional research and development teams. The survey was administered to 250 students at the beginning and end…

A historical perspective is provided of instructional theories, and some comments are presented on five papers from a session of the 1998 annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). There is a large array of contemporary instructional design theories and models, and the number of theories is increasing. Some ways of…

An ethnographic study examined the impact of a writing workshop on non-academic writers. Subjects, 11 adult non-academic writers who wrote little, were seldom around others who did, and did not think they were good writers, participated in 10 Saturday sessions conducted in a bookstore in a rural town. They wrote narratives on self-selected topics…

This book was developed to provide explanatory support material for the classroom teacher or guidance counselor interested in cooperative learning techniques. A brief section on how to use the book is followed by a discussion of the theory behind the concept of cooperative learning. Other introductory sections focus on teambuilding; setting up…

The effective use of cooperative skills is becoming increasingly necessary to cope successfully in today's team-oriented workplaces. This booklet presents jargon-free cooperative learning skills and strategies suitable for the middle school science student. Strategies suggested capitalize on the interests and strengths of middle school students.…

The jigsaw reading technique maximizes the interactive basis of cooperative learning. The advantages of cooperative learning are that it increases student independence; promotes peer teaching; can be used in multi-level classrooms; can be used in a variety of content areas; can be adapted for use in all age groups; promotes individual and group…