This article describes a 20-hour, eight-week course for experienced foster parents. Goals include understanding the causes of child abuse, understanding the consequences of child abuse, and understanding the interaction patterns which provoke child abuse. (Author/DB)

A year-long teacher's discussion group, organized and coordinated by a school psychologist, is described. Sanctions for the meetings, the meeting format, the role of the school psychologist, and an evaluation of this intervention strategy are discussed. (Author/MH)

Four exercises to help students get ready for class activities are presented. The exercises are designed to develop skills in listening and following directions, awareness and retention, giving directions, and office problem solving. The exercises involve paper and pencil, newspaper articles, and office problem situations. (MF)

The effects of student self-recording and contingent points on undergraduates' verbal behaviors during class discussions were investigated. The contingency system increased the percentage of students participating and the frequency of individual comments during each discussion. The points were more effective with reticent students. Students'…

Examines cooperative learning in youth services and adult education. Discusses characteristics of cooperative learning techniques; specific cooperative learning techniques (brainstorming, mini-lecture, roundtable technique, send-a-problem problem solving, talking chips technique, and three-step interview); and the role of the trainer. (AEF)

Describes research that investigated how use of an interactive videodisk information system helped preservice elementary school teachers expand their visions of teaching, learning, and assessment in mathematics. Teachers and lessons in the videos served as models for the preservice teachers and offered a springboard for student reflection and…

Examines assumptions underlying the use of groupwork in the teaching of English as a foreign language (FL) in China. The article concludes that the primary role of small group discussion in FL learning should be in the development of collaborative learning strategies to master content rather than interpersonal communication in the target language.…

Suggests ways to help college English-as-a-Second-Language learners become readers and in turn develop language comprehension. These include bringing a variety of books into the classroom, allowing students to choose their own books, providing blocks of time for independent reading and group discussion, and freeing the environment of…

Initial results of this study of post-graduate students using a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) as part of their course showed that both distance and face-to-face students, native speakers (NS) and non native speakers (NNS), working collaboratively on the same course through the VLE, had comparable outcomes on essay assignments and that NNS and…

The article describes a program which provides parents and hearing-impaired children with information concerning postsecondary options and upcoming developmental stages. The community outreach program involves hearing-impaired college students at the University of Akron (Ohio) in meetings with hearing-impaired high school students and with parents…

Describes a series of lessons used with a year-five class which encouraged the use of analogical reasoning in problem solving and giving attention to students' awareness of strategies and applications. Students were encouraged to discuss and question their own thinking to make connections among the problems being solved. (MKR)

This study used direct observation procedures to analyze communicative intent and subsequent frequency of turntaking between four adults with developmental disabilities and their residential staff. Results suggest that in group discourse, questioning-type speech may set the occasion for a greater number of subsequent conversational turns than does…

Examines the benefits of Decision Support Systems (DSS) for end-user group decision making. An experiment was conducted which required groups to reach a consensus on human resource-related decisions. The results of the experiment provide implications for the use of group DDS in organizations and for future study. (Author/AEF)

Modification mitigates negative feedback by immediately attempting to improve the feedback's level of acceptability. This article introduces modification as a group-leader skill necessary for the processing of messages containing both counterproductive and productive elements. Describes the value and application of modification in group work. (RJM)

Describes the Online degree program at the University of Phoenix which recently graduated the first class of MBAs (Masters of Business Administration) to have obtained their degrees via this distance education program. Discussion of telecommunications includes descriptions of interactive group conferences and methods of measuring students'…