Examined the instructional reform process in 17 middle schools. Reforms included heterogeneous grouping, cooperative learning, active learning, and interdisciplinary instruction. All reforms relied on teachers' willingness to change daily instructional content or strategies. Heterogenous grouping and interdisciplinary instruction posed the…

Reviews research on the effects of ability grouping on the achievement of middle school students. Found no or few effects of ability grouping for high, average, and low achievers in 27 studies. Alternatives to between-class ability grouping, including cooperative learning and within-class grouping, are discussed. (PAM)

Wigginton's Foxfire program requires that students and teachers collaborate on important, intriguing issues and use certain experiential methods to address and assess them. Wigginton handed out copies of Georgia's 92 language arts objectives to his ninth and tenth graders and allowed them considerable flexibility in learning them. Cooperative…

This article presents several recommendations for helping elementary and secondary school students with learning problems to apply story writing strategies. Recommendations include create an environment for writing that nurtures developing writers; encourage teacher and peer interaction through a variety of collaborative activities; and monitor…

Examines resistance to cooperative learning, focusing briefly on possible poor presentations of its principles, and concentrating on ways that cooperative learning threatens the beliefs many teachers hold about individualism and the importance of competition. To make cooperative learning more readily received, some of its ideas are being diluted…

Examines research that offers insights from a variety of disciplines and orientations on the importance of social relationships in educational settings. The research indicates that human interaction is a critical factor in the cognitive development and subsequent academic achievement of children. Implications for preservice and inservice teacher…

This article summarizes research findings on ability grouping in relation to gifted students. Grouping variations (e.g., tracking, flexible grouping, multiage grouping, and magnet schools or teams) are distinguished. The article also considers assessment of gifted students with achievement tests, leveling effects of heterogeneous groups,…

The article describes four general kinds of instruction that can foster independent learning by helping special needs students learn to think. They are metacognitive explanation; scaffolded instruction; cognitive coaching; and cooperative learning. Teachers can adapt and combine these methods to teach students how to think as they read, write, and…

Explores the origins, characteristics, and objectives of peer coaching in faculty development, looking at its two basic forms (coaching led by experts and reciprocal coaching). The article presents theoretical concepts and proposes directions for future research, indicating points to consider when establishing a peer coaching program. (SM)

Describes experiences of the Far West Laboratory for Educational Research and Development in delivering the Peer-Assisted Leadership (PAL) program to North American audiences. PAL's collaborative inquiry helps school administrators analyze and interpret their own leadership as a means of professional growth. Participants receive validation,…

Suggests that the cooperative learning group is more effective than the straight lecture method of teaching written business communication. States that, in an earlier study, students' comments showed maturation in the area of interpersonal relationship skills. Suggests procedures for structuring and implementing cooperative learning groups and…

Reports two small-scale studies that investigate whether the understanding of scientific concepts will be enhanced by using collaborative pairings. Examines how types of pairings affects performance. Finds students working in pairs outperformed their counterparts working individually. Also notes that dyads improved upon initial performance in…

This chapter explores some of the historical underpinnings of collaborative learning and highlights the issues involved in designing collaborative approaches including roots of collaboration in education, epistemological theory, reframing the student and teacher roles, and shared inquiry as a process of reform. (MLW)

"Business Week" recently awarded 170 grants to teachers for innovative projects exemplifying changing requirements for entry level employees. Most projects featured collaborative learning, active student participation, students as workers, shared decision making, teamwork, and interdisciplinary activities. Projects also helped students…

This commentary responds to several issues raised in a critique of a paper on cooperative professional development. Issues include facilitation of knowledge exchange between special and general education teachers, potential politicization and competitiveness in cooperative professional development teams, and accountability of cooperative…