Two techniques can be used to improve spelling scores and make spelling more interesting. The first technique is a combination of peer tutoring and the corrected-test technique. Students are paired as tutors and tutees on the basis of past spelling performance. The tutor gives a series of bi-weekly spelling tests to the tutee and helps with error…

In this book, teacher educators and researchers show how classrooms can come alive when talk is used constructively. Following an introduction by Donald L. Rubin, the articles include: "Speaking Creatures in the Classroom" (Judith Wells Lindfors); "Oral Language and Learning" (Douglas Barnes); "Negotiation, Language, and…

Over the past several years, an increasing number of educators have come to believe that teaching should acknowledge the transactional nature of knowledge and suggest that a shift be made to focus on social practice, meaning, and patterns. This style of teaching proposes that it is important to permit students to construct knowledge meaningfully…

The Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow (ACOT) research project provides classroom sites with equipment, ongoing support, and training, enabling educators to discover the potential of networked learning environments. ACOT networks link together technology from Apple IIe computers and Image Writer printers, to Macintosh II systems, synthesizers, laserdisc…

This study examined relationships between students' cooperative learning experiences (including both the frequency and quality of their interactions in small groups) and their attitudes toward school; perceptions of the classroom environment; intrinsic motivation; and various social attitudes, skills, and values. Participants (n=756) were teachers…

The overall goal of this module is to provide elementary and secondary students with the knowledge and skills necessary to evaluate their behavior, take responsibility for their health, and understand the consequences of their actions in order to minimize and/or avoid health risks. The module is divided into four major groupings: primary, upper…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether cooperative learning would produce higher achievement test scores among low-ability fifth-graders than the traditional mode of instruction. Subjects were students in two low-ability classes, one taught by a teacher who used traditional instruction, and another taught by a teacher who used…

In one university, bibliographic labs were developed to help students retrieve and evaluate sources in the disciplines of history and literature. The labs were designed not only to provide training in the skills necessary for preparing a research presentation and paper, but to build on the foundation of faculty-librarian-student collaboration to…

Given that grouping students homogeneously has proved to be more deleterious than beneficial to student learning and self-concept, principals of middle level schools have the responsibility to implement more heterogeneous grouping arrangements in their schools. Grouping programs that provide multiple criteria for determining student ability and…

Education is a team sport. Current developments in cognitive, social and educational psychology suggest the potential pedagogical value of adopting "a group perspective." Over the last few years, the Air Force Academy has examined the effects of several classroom interventions intended to develop and harness the power of groups to improve…

The concept of inertia--the property by which a body in motion tends to remain in motion, and a body at rest tends to remain at rest--is analogous to a situation that occurs in reading. Some students, despite being able to read, choose not to read when other options are available. In terms of inertia, these students are at rest and tend to remain…

Futurum in Sweden is described here as a school that does not have any classrooms, there is nothing like a timetable, no school bells can be heard, the students do not have any school bags, and teachers are without desks. Futurum is a radically new school that merges creative architecture with modern learning and teaching methods. This article…

This guide offers suggestions for implementing active learning techniques in the community college classroom. The author argues that, although much of the literature on active learning emphasizes collaboration and small-group learning, active learning does not always involve interaction. It must also involve reflection and self-monitoring of both…

The purpose of this study was to explore the benefits of cooperative learning in weblog networks, focusing particularly on learning outcomes in college writing curriculum integrated with computer-mediated learning tool-weblog. The first section addressed the advantages of using weblogs in cooperative learning structure on teaching and learning.…

Do students often struggle with difficult novels and other challenging texts? Do they think one reading of a work is more than enough? Do they primarily comprehend at a surface-level, and are they frequently unwilling or unable to discover the deeper meaning found in multi-layered works? Do teachers feel that they are doing more work teaching the…