Discusses an activity called "The Dating Game" that is based on Willa Cather's "My Antonia." Explains that students determine the year Jim Burden, one of the main characters, arrived in Nebraska, using historical events in the novel. Reports students learn about life in the plains and national events and trends in the 1880s.…

Analyzed case dilemmas written by elementary student teachers for the nature of dilemmas and solutions. The most frequent types of dilemmas they posed concerned disruptive individual students, whole-group management, and difficulty encountered while implementing cooperative learning. The most common solutions involved using a behavioral strategy.…

Deals with the importance of problem solving and how cooperative learning can play a role in helping students solve problems. Emphasizes the importance of communicating mathematical concepts through reading, writing, and discussing. Gives specific suggestions for implementing cooperative learning in the classroom. Presents a classroom example of…

While research has a great deal to tell educators about how college students learn, the educational community is becoming dependent on research and ignoring what can be learned from the principles of good practice in the classroom. Research should be the beginning, not the conclusion, of the investigation into student learning processes. (MSE)

Investigated the effects of cooperative learning on secondary students' mathematics achievement and attitudes. In one class, students used cooperative-learning groups. In a second class, students studied independently. Results from a student survey and students' chapter test scores indicated that students who used cooperative learning had…

Describes STILE (Students' and Teachers' Integrated Learning Environment) project that used a computer-mediated communication environment to assist student learning on a computer science course for both technical and nontechnical students. Discusses the student-tutor and the student-student exchanges in two of the tutorial conferences. Focuses…

Describes how and why the author has students in his composition classes collaboratively create scoring guides. Argues that this focuses students on the goals of the paper and provides a clear notion of how to improve their own performance. Offers scoring guides. Comments on the process that created them. Offers guidelines for using scoring guides…

Describes a training program for graduate teaching assistants that utilizes examples, coaching, evaluation, and "prep meetings," conducted like a class in cooperative learning, but emphasizing teaching techniques as well as subject matter. Notes program effectiveness is assessed by classroom evaluations, student feedback, and self-evaluations.…

Presents an active-learning technique in which students design their studies that was found to be successful in an animal behavior laboratory course. Divides the laboratory course into three components: (1) structured and technique-oriented exercises; (2) open-ended and student-designed investigations; and (3) independent projects. Explains…

Addresses questions about the nature of collaborative learning in middle schools and its effect on literacy learning. Offers practical suggestions for implementing a collaborative learning program, including designing reading activities, problem students, grading, time allotment, and gifted students. (JPB)

Describes how text sets (a group of related texts of varied genres and reading levels) can help meet the needs of the diverse population of students enrolled in community college developmental reading courses. Describes how to develop a text set, and describes four text sets used by the author. Discusses how cooperative learning and journal…

Investigates the effect of implementing cooperative versus individual learning and orienting activities during computer-based instruction (CBI). Results indicated that students who received instructional objectives performed significantly better on posttests than students who received either advance organizers or no orienting activities. Learning…

States that learning can shut down very quickly when learners are held back or pushed by grade-level constraints. Argues that multiage classrooms support each learner's continuous progress based on each child's experience, background, learning needs or strengths, and interests. (SR)

At Lowell Elementary School, gifted and highly motivated students from Tacoma (Washington) elementary schools come together to work on projects and develop their skills in creative thinking, critical thinking, problem solving, and group interaction. Projects draw on student interests to foster motivation, independent and cooperative study, and…

Analyzes students' visual renderings of concepts related to the term "hypermedia" to determine whether groups, membership of which was based on a mixture of learning styles or a mixture of hypermedia knowledge, constructed concept maps that differed in terms of several factors. Learning style seemed to explain the types of interactions more than…