In an attempt to understand the perceptions of educators toward the use of cooperative learning (CL) with gifted students, a survey was designed to look at the attitudes of educators from both gifted and CL associations. One hundred respondents were randomly selected from the mailing lists of four such associations; the return rate was 75%. The…

A pilot study examined the relationship between cooperative learning, speech communication skills, and the academic progress of gifted students. Subjects, five female undergraduate honors students, were interviewed regarding their life experiences and opinions of various learning styles. In addition, an open-ended questionnaire was distributed to…

The first year of school reform in Chicago was devoted to preparation for governance and the election of local school councils to serve in each school. The second year of school reform was devoted to continued preparation for governance and attempts to restructure classroom instruction. The importance of restructuring education to match how…

This collection of materials for a 2-day workshop on collaborative teaching, cooperative learning, critical thinking, and critical assessment of resources includes an agenda for each day; workshop goals; guidelines for preparing an annotation; a letter to participants that accompanied four articles for them to read before the workshop; information…

A study examined the socio-technical impact of computer-mediated communication (CMC) on students' attitudes towards computers, CMC, and their classes. Five classes at universities across America (119 students and faculty) participated in COMCONF, a BITNET computer conference which provided a unique laboratory for observations of CMC processes in…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined the relationship between the outcome of collective team learning and the extent of differences in power that team members have available to them. This successful outcome is defined as the production of new knowledge. The study examined four teams in the research and development department of a…

This study investigated discrepancies in partners' skills that arose during children's collaborative problem solving. Some researchers have concluded that expert peers' poor teaching skills seriously curtail the learning potential of expert-novice peer collaboration. This study examined the ways in which experts and novices negotiate and…

Intended to help teachers define critical thinking/reading and to unfold opportunities and strategies for critical reading, this monograph discusses some of the practical issues that teachers face and summarizes some of the philosophical and psychological questions related to the teaching of critical thinking. Sections of the monograph include:…

Little has been written about the practical considerations for reforming schools from the inside. This booklet explores how people responsible for schools can develop better relationships, new forms of colleagueship, and new ways of working together more productively. Three aphorisms describe the phenomenon of faculty-led school improvement: (1)…

This document begins with a paper titled "Accommodating for Greater Student Variance in Local Schools" by Jacqueline Thousand and Richard Villa, which identifies the fundamental characteristics of successful heterogeneous public schools and describes specific examples of educational and organizational practices that enable schools to accommodate…

Jigsaw, a form of cooperative learning, was researched by Aronson (1978). Later, Slavin (1981) adapted Jigsaw to Student Team Learning and called it Jigsaw II. Jigsaw currently shows the least achievement gains among the various cooperative methodologies. Nonetheless, it is a viable methodology and is useful for covering and reviewing material.…

Argues that the strategies and goals of cooperative learning promote good citizenship and the reduction of prejudice. Reviews supporting theories and research and reports on a fifth grade's ten-week cooperative learning experience. (JDH)

The Developmental Approaches in Science, Health and Technology (DASH) program provides opportunities for students to experience the worlds of scientists and technologists in elementary classrooms. It aims to build an understanding of technology and science through constructivism and hands-on science for K-6 graders. This instructional guide…

This paper describes the use of student peer evaluation, a form of 360-degree performance assessment, to provide student input to the overall grades in college classes in which students participated as teams. The paper discusses the experiences of two faculty members using the approach with both graduate and undergraduate students. Lessons are…

Management of student teams in information systems (IS) courses so that students learn how to participate in teams effectively is an important task for IS professors. However, most research on this topic applies what is learned from student teams to teams in the work world, not to the academic environment. Three professors at two universities in…