This book provides guidelines and suggested activities for collaborative learning for elementary grade students with a variety of abilities and disabilities. It is based on experiences at the Developmental Studies Center (Oakland, California). Activities are presented as blueprint formats that provide a comprehensive set of structures which can be…

This study reports on a high school teacher using emancipatory action research to implement cooperative learning strategies in a chemistry class. Data were collected and analyzed using qualitative methods. The findings of the study indicate: (1) students accept cooperative learning if they feel it can increase their ability to learn content; (2)…

A study examined the effect of cooperative learning on the reading comprehension of 16 second-grade students. A modified Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC) program was used with the experimental group over a 20-week period. A control group of 17 students was taught to read using traditional whole-group instruction with a…

Class collaboration and small group composition illustrate the embedding of cooperative learning theory in whole language classroom events. Through this experience all students participate in active learning. The teacher has a weighty role in decision making, setting of the lesson, assigning roles, and monitoring segments of cooperative learning…

Upper-level elementary classroom teachers can integrate wordless picture books (usually used only in the lower elementary grades) with the Jigsaw approach to cooperative learning. Students are first assigned to heterogeneously-balanced "home teams." Members of the home team write a story to accompany a picture book, usually in about 15…

John Dewey employed the phrase "water-tight compartments" to mark deficiencies of integration within an individual's personality. For Dewey, the self is complex, but a strong personality integrates its various habits so that they reinforce rather than conflict with one another. Dewey's focus on this problem of personality has relevance…

An instructor developed audio-stimulus activities for use with students and colleagues after attending conferences and short courses where similar activities were conducted. After listening to a tape-recorded "typical scenario" (different for each audience), participants answer a few questions about the scenario. Small groups of students…

This observational study was conducted to investigate the nature of individual interactions within groups. The research has demonstrated that cooperative learning groups can lead to improved achievement and more positive attitudes. The time-on-task research has suggested that increasing the time a student interacts with information or materials…

Teacher education programs for preservice teachers have traditionally focused on study of the theoretical base of instructional strategies and on observation of relatively expert demonstrations. Until recently, practice, feedback, and coaching functions were reserved for student teaching experiences or delayed until induction and inservice…

This paper presents a detailed description of two information-processing tools, scripted cooperation and the use of knowledge mapping, and their potential application to deaf education. Scripted cooperation is a method for structuring the cooperative learning activities of student pairs. The roles and activities of the participants are scripted.…

Three collaborative writing faculty projects which were designed and put into effect at Santa Clara University are peer advising, composition seminars, and inter-active observation. Peer advising matched faculty members who had previously taught in the writing program on campus with instructors new to the program to serve as professional resources…

How students perceive each other in the classroom and how they interact with one another have been variables in teaching which have been relatively ignored. Yet, how students interact with each other affects their learning outcomes and their self-images. To provide additional information and evidence on this variable, a study hypothesized that…

This materials packet, developed for the Higher Education Component of an American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) symposium on cooperative learning, is divided into four sections. In the first section, quotes are provided from national reports which stressed the need for active learning at the collegiate level. In the second…

The current educational format emphasizes learning for grades, for future reward, or to avoid punishment. To promote learning for its own sake and a better understanding of society, secondary schools need to become dynamic learning and living centers where all students, teachers, and administrators are engaged cooperatively in integrated, active…

This report describes a program for improving reading comprehension through cooperative learning. The targeted population consisted of elementary and middle school students in growing middle class communities, located in northern Illinois. The problems of reading comprehension in content areas were documented through teacher observation and…