Introduces a group activity in which students build a catapult. Includes a list of materials required for catapult construction and directions for testing. (YDS)

Describes a process used to develop a constructivist, student-created curriculum. Focuses on how objectives were accomplished by forming an alliance with a computer teacher to carry out a collaborative project for high school and elementary school students. (DGM)

Discusses how students can thoroughly understand the process of revising a few sentences by discussing revisions with a partner, reading the revisions of the same sentences by other students, and reviewing the best revisions with the whole class. (RS)

Cooperative learning encompasses both a teaching philosophy and instructional methods that encourage students to work together to maximize learning. This article examines the rationale for incorporating cooperative learning in health education, reviews cooperative-learning basics, and provides an example of cooperative-learning technique in health…

Presents abstracts of 2 documents and 13 journal articles representing recent research related to the theories of Vygotsky and Piaget in early childhood education settings. Some of the topics include the relationship between proximal development and cooperative learning, scaffolding, sharing books with children, and the importance of make-believe…

Describes the use of cooperative learning teams as a means of persuading students of different backgrounds and cultures to work together. Presents a cooperative learning activity where students work as a team and observe and identify chemical reactions and physical properties. (JRH)

Describes activities for starting the school year that allow students to begin learning laboratory skills and also gives them a chance to meet and interact with classmates in a relaxed atmosphere. (JRH)

Investigates how communication predispositions promote or detract from individual students' motivation relative to their collaborative learning (CL) groups. Finds distinctive patterns of emergent motivation for students in each of the four optimal challenge categories for each of the CL learning modalities. Discusses instructional implications.…

States that the Progressive Novella Project for high school students involves the collaborative writing of a 35-50 page novella. Explains that prior to the actual writing process, students are educated in the basic elements of fiction writing. Describes the division of labor into groups. Comments that the results of the project are invariably…

Investigates students' perceptions of selected aspects concerning the organization of and learning from fieldwork. Findings indicate that students either seek partners whom they regard as capable of making positive contributions to the fulfillment of learning tasks, or they opt for friendship groups and a large minority of students regard…

Analyzes Australian students' public and private statements to themselves and their peers collected in the course of a multiyear study of teacher management of communication in cooperative learning groups. Data reflect how students perceived and responded to subtle features in the public enactment of the curriculum, the task, and the setting…

Presents results obtained from using small groups and cooperative learning in the discussion sessions of large lecture classes in the mathematical sciences. Provides data indicating where this approach worked well and where additional changes were needed. (Author/ASK)

Effective heterogeneous cooperative learning helps students grow academically, socially, and emotionally. Within heterogeneous groups, teachers can differentiate tasks by complexity and quantity, use high-achieving students' ideas, enhance individualized work, plan challenging peer-tutoring assignments, add enrichment options, vary criteria for…

Investigated relationships among sixth-grade peer partners' shared mutual-participation goals, gender, friendship, and collaborative task performance. Found that greater shared goals for mutual participation were associated with greater degrees of friendship, were more prevalent among same-sex dyads, and were related to better task performance for…

Discusses connections between global education and interdisciplinary teaching and learning, cooperative learning, active learning, and authentic assessment at the middle school level. Considers differences between multicultural education and the broader scope of global education to include international events and interactions among cultures…