People with severe disabilities (SD) communicate in complex ways, and their teachers, parents and other involved professionals find it difficult to gain knowledge and share their experiences regarding the person with SD's communication methods. The purpose of this study is to contribute to our understanding of how parents and professionals share…

Research has addressed what instructional conditions may inhibit or promote scientific argumentation. Little research, however, has paid attention to interpersonal factors that influence collaborative argumentation. The present study examines the ways interpersonal factors affected group dynamics, which influence the features of collaborative…

Over the past decade Problem-based Learning (PBL) and distance education have been combined as educational approaches in higher education. This combination has been called distributed PBL (dPBL). However, more research is needed to obtain more evidence and deeper insight in how to design and implement dPBL. The present study aims at describing the…

Test takers should have a voice in testing practices (Mathew, 2004). However, when incorporating their input, systematic processes to ensure the validity of testing practices must be followed. Such processes allow for test development to be a more democratic process (Shohamy, 2001), without sacrificing the value of the resulting inferences made…

For a variety of reasons, online education is an increasingly viable option for many students seeking to further their education. Because of this, the demand for online instructors continues to increase. Instructors transitioning to the online environment from the traditional classroom may find teaching online overwhelming. While some practices…

Debates have been used to develop critical thinking within teaching environments. Many learning activities are configured as working groups, which use debates to make decisions. Nevertheless, in a classroom debate, only a few students can participate; large work groups are similarly limited. Whilst the use of web tools would appear to offer a…

In an effort to engage children in mathematics learning, many primary teachers use mathematical games and activities. Games have been employed for drill and practice, warm-up activities and rewards. The effectiveness of games as a pedagogical tool requires further examination if games are to be employed for the teaching of mathematical concepts.…

Principals are the front-line administrators being asked to do more with less--strengthening teaching and learning, maintaining morale and building a culture of trust, and creating high expectations while managing scarce resources. Given the challenging roles that these school leaders play, giving voice to principals' needs as well as their…

The authors provide a brief case study of a three-strategy approach for teaching undergraduate research methods that (1) incorporates active learning assignments and discussion-based learning, (2) integrates a cross-discipline and cross-method faculty guest discussion facilitators series, and (3) focuses on the challenges and rewards of conducting…

This manual describes four discussion techniques that may be used in an adult education setting following a presentation by one or more resource persons. These four techniques--the huddle group, the buzz group, the chain reaction forum, and the reaction symposium--are designed to help the learner acquire information, develop skills in problem…

The Nominal Group Technique (NGT), developed by Andre Delbecq and Andrew Van de Ven at the University of Wisconsin in the 1960s, is used to enhance the generation, exploration, and communication of ideas relevant to problem-solving situations. The NGT is unlike other typical interacting group techniques in that individuals work in the presence of…

Literature study discussions have been included in many instructional frameworks for the past twenty years. As classroom teachers struggled to get quality discussions going, researchers and educators offered a variety of pedagogical approaches, theoretical considerations, and instructional resources to support their efforts. While the use of…

"Planning Educational Change: Vol. III, Integrating the Desegregated School," by Chesler, Jorgensen, and Erenberg is reviewed in this issue of the "NCRIEEO Newsletter." The book in question tries to provide teachers and administrators with methods for improving race relations in desegregated schools. Some of the techniques suggested include role…

When the Tacoma School District in Washington State moved to end de facto segregation in April, 1968, an inservice training program for teachers was instituted. The objectives of the program were: (1) to develop educators' awareness of prejudices and sensitivity to racial minorities; and, (2) to develop procedures for creating this new awareness…

Students who work in small discussion groups will not significantly surpass those who study under teacher direction in terms of mean learning achievement, cognitive operations such as comprehension and application, or acquired learning. This conclusion resulted from a study of learning in two classroom situations, one utilizing teacher-directed…