Noting that there is more to grouping readers than the traditional grouping by ability, this book describes a variety of grouping patterns and ways to implement them throughout the elementary grades. It notes that flexible grouping allows teachers to address diverse classrooms with diverse needs and examines research on grouping practices in…

"Research in the Schools" publishes empirical studies focusing on the results of applied educational research, scholarly reviews of research, descriptions of technology applications and innovative teaching strategies, and other topics of interest to educational researchers. Issue number 1 contains these articles: (1) "Factors…

The use of advanced learning technologies enables various new forms of collaborative learning and group assessment. This paper outlines a radically different model of student assessment to that traditionally used in most universities and other educational institutions. The model is particularly suited to those using, or seeking to use,…

This paper demonstrates how the Digital Video Disc (DVD) video player, with or without computer technology, can provide powerful and multiple functions within the college classroom (particularly the English-as-a-Second-Language classroom), enabling the teacher to design various film activities, create different subtitles for different ability…

This study developed and formatively evaluated an instructional design theory to guide designers in selecting when and how to utilize interactions as instructional methods in a Web-based distance learning higher education environment. Research questions asked: What are the types and outcomes of interactions between participants in a Web-based…

The purpose of this applied dissertation was to examine the effects of constructivist pedagogy when addressing the issues associated with below proficiency scores in basic skills in mathematics on the state exit exam. Scores of thirty-four 11th and 12th grade students who did not perform at the state-mandated levels of proficiency in basic skills…

The purpose of this study was to determine if teaching techniques and teacher attitudes tend to reduce math anxiety in secondary-level students. The research group consisted of 48 secondary students enrolled in Algebra I at a rural school in West Virginia, with the experimental period lasting 12 weeks. The control group was instructed in the…

This article shows the extent to which pupils borrow information from one another. In the course of classroom observations, learning in groups appeared to be polyphonic and was based upon the ideas of others. Learning through plagiarism, however, must be interpreted not as negative interdependence, but as a way for children to construct new…

This paper presents and discusses the results of a project in which seven teams of elementary school students were involved in designing and implementing interactive multimedia resources in science for younger children. During a period of 3 months, students in grades 5 and 6 were divided into teams and met regularly to program the multimedia…

This simulation allows students to role play workers and consumers in businesses they create. Students become involved in learning about communities by taking study trips within their real community and by reading literature related to neighborhoods and communities. Through the simulation, daily activities are introduced to students as daily…

This document consists of a package of seven separately published "activities" or simulations that allow students to learn about and participate in many of the aspects of United States history that have influenced our present institutions and way of life. The seven units include: (1) First Americans Arrive: 11.000 BC; (2) Puritan General Court,…

An action research framework is used to learn what cooperative learning activities mean to students in a physical chemistry course, to discover how the activities can be improved, and to learn how students' perception of cooperative learning changes. Through an analysis of field notes and a student questionnaire, two findings emerged which…

This report describes a program implemented to improve inadequate student communication skills, specifically in the areas of listening, speaking, social, and emotional development. The targeted population consisted of first and second grade students in a middle class community, located in central Illinois. Evidence for the existence of the problem…

Laptops for students, increased teamwork and group interaction, and teaching as a facilitator of active learning have successfully converged in the classrooms of Northern Michigan University. This paper offers practical guidelines for integration strategies, theory, and outcomes assessments, based on a study undertaken for the 1999-2000 academic…

With the advent of constructivist oriented instruction in learning institutions comes an enormous challenge, that of structuring individual-centered learning within a community of learners. Within this instructional framework, struggles to satisfy both individual and group learning needs can lead to one canceling the other out. Tendencies towards…