This document offers an overview of the Houston READ Commission (HRC), a nonprofit urban literacy coalition created by the Mayor and City Council in the Greater Houston area. It describes how the coalition of community organizations first came together in 1988, in response to a survey's finding that there are over one million functionally…

This document describes the programs and services offered by the Houston READ Commission (HRC), a nonprofit urban literacy coalition created by the Mayor and City Council of the Greater Houston area. After highlighting what HRC provides for the community, the document provides brief descriptions of general programs and services, talks about the…

This document highlights some of the success stories resulting from the activities of the Houston READ Commission (HRC), a nonprofit urban literacy coalition created by the Mayor and City Council of the Greater Houston area. It relates the stories of "those who are the future," lists gifts which support HRC programs, and donors and…

In this kindergarten unit, students read "My Blue Suitcase" by Sharon Katz as an introduction to traveling. After reading, students gather resources, including books, magazines, maps, CD-ROMs, videos, and information from the Internet. After collecting resources, students make a collage of the items they will need for the trip they are taking.…

This study investigated whether cooperative learning groups with the highest mean levels of knowledge of the research process, as measured via midterm and final examination scores, produced the best cooperative learning projects, as measured by the quality of research article critiques and proposals. It also explored whether heterogeneity was…

This report describes a program for improving literacy skills, such as expression, fluency, and comprehension through the use of drama in the reading curriculum. The targeted population consisted of kindergarten and first grade students, both in middle class communities, located in two northern suburbs of Chicago. The problems of reading ability…

This report describes a program for increasing the targeted student's ability to demonstrate appropriate use of social skills in a cooperative base group setting. The targeted population consisted of elementary students in an urban middle class Midwestern community. The problem of lack of appropriate social skills was documented through teacher…

This paper focuses on second language (L2) learning through task-based interaction as well as the compatibility of the theories of task-based learning and Vygotsky's sociocultural theory. Language tasks encourage L2 learning by using language as a tool to accomplish a goal. This study analyzes the interaction of first-semester French students…

This document presents an interdisciplinary course and workshop that aims to develop a better understanding of cooperative learning, interdisciplinary curriculum, and earthquakes among the participants. Students are encouraged to develop their own math and environmental education curriculum. An exercise on earthquakes and power law frequency are…

The background of this paper is an internal research project at the German National Research Center for Information Technology, Integrated Publication and Information Systems Institute, (GMD-IPSI) dealing with software engineering, computer-supported cooperative learning (CSCL) and practical biotech knowledge. The project goal is to develop a…

Primary students solve "oversized" story problems using drawings, equations, and written responses, helping them understand the links between the language of story problems and the numerical representations of matching equations. The activity also includes oral language and reflective writing, thus bringing together a variety of language…

Team-based student projects have become an intrinsic part of coursework in information technology courses. The rationale is that once students enter the work environment they will be required to work in teams. Challenges of teamwork are reviewed and factors influencing student team performance are identified. An approach is described which deals…

This article proposes a categorization model for online distance education environments, based on two different aspects: interaction and content. The proposed categorization, which was based on the experience acquired in developing, implementing, and operating different remote training courses, is aimed at providing evidence to help educational…

Teams working in distributed projects go through the same stages and encounter the same problems as typical face-to-face teams. The main difference when the environment is moved to a distributed setting is that some problems become more complex, other problems become less noticeable, and some new obstacles occur. One of the main problems with…

Design of feedback in an online workshop is considered from the perspective of legitimate peripheral participation. A tool for gathering and reporting feedback in an online workshop was developed and tested in the context of ongoing practice. Social and software design issues are considered together. Discussion includes: feedback and online…