Reports on a round table of elementary school teachers who had attended inservice training programs. The teachers' motivation for enrolling in these institutes, the problems discussed during training and the impact of the program on their approach to teaching French were the round table main topics. (MES)

Summarizes and critiques 114 studies on small group communication published in speech communication journals between 1969 and 1979. Classifies the literature into three new lines of research focusing on communication variables of small group processes and three traditional lines of research, namely, leadership, discussion, and pedagogy. (JMF)

The group strategies that are discussed include brainstorming, problem solving, debate, games, the lecture forum, open forums, panel discussion, question and answer sessions, role playing, quizzes, roundtable discussions, success-storytelling, and the symposium. (RL)

The segmented treatment was more effective than the control group treatment regarding three skills while the combined modeling treatment was only significantly better on the listening variable. (Author)

Describes how large-group brainstorming via e-mail at the University of Northern Iowa was used for strategic planning. Discusses factors affecting electronic brainstorming success and the advantages and disadvantages of electronic brainstorming. (AEF)

Describes using the jigsaw reading strategy (in an 11th-grade English classroom) with a literary classic: Henry David Thoreau's "Walden." (SR)

Examines first-year college students' conceptions of a good discussion and whether activities designed to encourage the conversation-like discussions found in adult book clubs affected these conceptions. The article presents stories of four students illustrating changes in their conceptions and analyzing them along three dimensions. (21…

Traces the development of ideas explored during reading lessons in children's writings from one transitional bilingual fourth-grade classroom. Uses transcripts from audiotaped and videotaped lessons to study the way reading lessons turned into an anchoring activity for the negotiation of joint meaning. Traces developments in five student…

Rudeness and status can affect group-problem-solving processes. A new statistical method for analyzing group processes was used to analyze predictors of agreement and solution score. In successful groups, agreement was affected positively by academic status and negatively by justifications. In unsuccessful groups, however, agreement was affected…

Describes Body Parts Writing, an activity which focuses on the reader's own text-based and self-based interpretations of literature. Notes that the purpose of this activity is to invite and support readers' personal responses and give them a forum to discuss their individual interpretations. Concludes that it provides readers with another way to…

Discusses three electronic conferencing tools that apprentice novice learners and encourage them to interact and grapple with alternative perspectives. Technical details of each tool are described, along with 1 instance where all 3 technologies were united, resulting in a highly interactive conversation shared by over 30 people at 4 different…

Describes how a community college teacher of an essay-level developmental writing class improved the quality of writing groups in the class. Discusses how she researched writing groups and cooperative learning; developed lesson plans for several class meetings; revised the structure of the groups after observations and feedback from students; and…

Describes establishment and activities of a support group for hard of hearing secondary students, who may not define themselves as either deaf or hearing. Examples of discussion topics include definitions, dealing with insensitivity, student advocacy, assistive devices, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and self-exploration. (DB)

Describes a group counseling and team-building session, using the results of a career interest inventory to stimulate debate. Offers suggestions for conducting the session and developing an agenda, logistical procedures, and tips on practical administrative techniques. Most of the article addresses the development of a histogram. (RJM)

Investigates use of oral narratives by a Mexican-born girl (Isabela) participating in small group literature discussions in a bilingual second-grade classroom in the U.S. over a year. Examines both the role of narratives in Isabela's discussions of texts and the role of context in shaping her talk. Suggests a notion of achievement that departs…